With such reviews as “poetic” and “passionate”, pianist Harsha Abeyaratne leads an active career as a teacher, solo pianist, and collaborative pianist. Currently an Associate Professor of Music at Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio, he has given performances at such venues as St. Martin’s in the Fields in London, England; Baha’i Worship Center in Chicago; Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Blue Lake, Michigan; Gansu Grand Theater in Lanzhou, China; Graves Recital Hall in Columbus, Ohio; Lionel Wendt Theater in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Interharmony International Festival in Arcidosso, Italy; and Carnegie Hall (Weil Recital Hall), the first time in 2012 and the second, in 2022. An equally dedicated collaborative pianist, Abeyaratne has performed with internationally recognized artists George Wolfe, Rebecca Rischin, and Randy Sabein, among others. In this collaborative medium, he has played works by contemporary composers such as Hindemith, Creston, Fink, Tower, Gweneth Walker, Ewazen, Desenclos, and Glazunov.

Abeyaratne has performed Rachmaninoff’s “First Piano Concerto” with the Colombo Symphony Orchestra (in Sri Lanka); Rachmaninoff’s “Second Piano Concerto” with the Southeastern Ohio Symphony Orchestra, and Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Muskingum Valley Symphonic Winds. As a chamber musician, he performed on several occasions as a member of the Alato Trio. In 2018, he released his CD entitled, “Grateful”, featuring popular piano solo works by Mozart, Liszt, Brahms, and Dello Joio. Abeyaratne has also given recitals at several universities in the US, namely Ohio State University, Ohio University, Jacksonville University, Marshall University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Texas A&M University in Commerce, West Liberty University, and the University of Southern Oregon. In demand as an adjudicator in Ohio, he has judged the OhioMTA/Graves Piano Competition, OhioMTA/Buckeye Auditions, and Young Artist’s MTNA/Ohio Competition, all highly respected competitions. In addition, he is a recipient of the 2010 Ball State University School of Music Alumni Achievement Citation Award and several faculty grant awards from Muskingum, which have enabled him to perform in New York, China, and Italy.

At Muskingum University, Abeyaratne teaches piano and music theory; presents an annual solo recital;  and collaborates with his colleagues as well as students at their senior recitals. He helps to make the department visible also by frequent adjudications in Coshocton, New Philadelphia, Columbus, and Zanesville. He is also a member of the Thursday Music Club in Zanesville and for several years served as a board member of the Zanesville Concert Association. Prior to Muskingum, he served the respective keyboard departments of Manchester College, Manchester, Indiana and Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia. He has degrees from Lewis and Clark College (BA, BSc) and Ball State University (MM, DAMus) where he studied, respectively, with the late Ann Miller and Robert Palmer. He has also worked with Peter Takacs at the Oberlin Conservatory. Some his interests outside of classical music include jazz, tennis, and NBA basketball.