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Lisa Harriton, who early in 2007 made her debut as touring keyboardist and backing vocalist with the re-formed Smashing Pumpkins, has joined the keyboard faculty at MI.

Born into a professional music family, before her ninth birthday Harriton began earning credits as a studio vocalist on sessions for Disney, Integrity Media, Word Records, and pre-production tracks for Rod Stewart's Great American Songbook. She graduated with distinction from the Royal Schools of Music in London with a degree in Classical Piano followed by a degree in Jazz Piano from USC, where she studied privately with prominent jazz pianist Alan Pasqua. For several years Harriton played the Los Angeles jazz club scene, building a growing following with eclectic sets that interspersed jazz with original songs influenced by artists such as Maria Schneider and the Yellowjackets. At the same time, she was busy performing and recording with veteran jazz musicians including Ernie Watts, Joe LaBarbara, Darek Oles, Ingrid Jensen and Larry Koonse. After joining the Smashing Pumpkins, Lisa appeared in videos for "Tarantula" and "That's the Way (My Love Is)" and was featured in the April 2008 issue of Keyboard magazine. Her endorsement sponsorships include Yamaha acoustic pianos, Roland and Moog. At MI, Lisa will be teaching in the Modern Rock Live Playing Workshop as well as conducting private lessons and open counseling.