Harrison was born in Bolton in 1969, and studied first at Leeds College of Music (1988-91). There he developed an interest in composition, spurred on by his yearly attendance at hcmf, beginning in 1991. In addition to deepening his knowledge of contemporary music, the festival gave him some early performances of his work, most notably Frozen Earth played by Irvine Arditti and Mieko Kanno in 1995. From 1994-6 he studied for an MA with Gavin Bryars, before freelancing until his appointment as a lecturer at the University of Huddersfield in 2006, with a PhD following in 2007. He is currently Head of Composition at the university. His work has been performed by many of the leading European ensembles, including ensemble recherche, Apartment House, London Sinfonietta, [rout], Ixion, Klangforum Wien, asamisimasa, plus-minus ensemble and London Symphony Orchestra, and at festivals including Wien Horgange, Ultraschall, Hannover Biennale, Gaudeamus, Festival Klangspuren, Europaischer Musikmonat, Wittener Tage, Ostrava, Paris Festival Automne and the ISCM World Music Days.