Alec Harris

Alec Harris is president of GIA Publications, Inc., a leading publisher of choral music, music education resources, liturgical music, hymnals, and recordings with more than 7,000 titles in print and a full-time staff of 55 employees. Alec has a strong passion for publishing innovative resources and music of the highest possible quality, and has worked with some of the leading music educators of our time, including Edwin E. Gordon, James Jordan, Weston Noble, John M. Feierabend, Tim Lautzenheiser, Alice Parker, Dennis Shrock, and many more.

In the fall of 2013, GIA acquired Walton Music, a leading publisher of school and community choral music, including works by Eric Whitacre, Norman Luboff, and Ola Gjielo. GIA’s sacred titles include works by Marty Haugen, the Taizé Community, David Haas, and Richard Proulx. Alec joined GIA in 1987 after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and working for two years as a newspaper reporter in the Washington, DC area. Alec is the fourth generation in his family in the music business. His great-grandfather opened and managed the Carl Fischer retail music store in downtown Chicago in the 1890s.

Since joining GIA, Alec focused on bringing technological innovation to music publishing, establishing the OneLicense.net service, and building a visionary editorial team. He serves on the national boards of the Church Music Publisher’s Association and the Union for Reform Judaism. He completed a term on the national board of the American Choral Directors Association. Alec lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with his wife and two children.