Ennis Harris is a Los Angeles-based composer, arranger, saxophonist, flutist, and educator whose work bridges musical cultures and forms through the lens of storytelling. His music moves fluidly across genre and cultural traditions and has been performed by leading artists, professional orchestras, and student ensembles across the U.S. and abroad.

Ennis's newest work, Jubilus for String Orchestra and Harp, was commissioned by an eleven-member consortium led by Sabrina Behrens and John Niiler of Travis High School (Richmond, Texas), and will be performed at the 2027 Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis. His orchestral work From the Wind, That Which Augurs, commissioned by Dr. Larry Livingston, premiered under Livingston's baton with the 2026 TMEA All-State Symphony Orchestra and has since been programmed by the West Texas Symphony, the USC Thornton Symphony, and the University of Colorado Boulder Symphony Orchestra. Other recent work includes his arrangement of Nino Rota's La Dolce Vita: Finale, performed by the Orchestra Sinfonica del Conservatorio Niccolò Piccinni featuring Joe Lovano and conducted by Vince Mendoza. He also arranged and conducted "Tell The World (Orchestral Version)," a 2026 release by vocalist Sha'Leah Nikole featuring saxophonist Terrace Martin, produced through Nikole's nonprofit My Footprints LA to bring students and industry professionals together in the studio.

His work Water Painter for marimba and percussion ensemble premiered at the 2026 Northwest Percussion Festival with virtuoso marimbist Kana Funayama and the Central Washington University Percussion Ensemble. Ennui: Manila, 1926, written in honor of Luis G. Dato, premiered with the UCLA Contemporary Jazz Ensemble in May 2026.

For the 2025 Quincy Jones Symphonic, Ennis created original arrangements in collaboration with USC Thornton School of Music Dean Jason King, conducting chair Dr. Larry Livingston, and Visions and Voices. His contributions included new orchestrations of The Color Purple, In Cold Blood, and other works; a reimagining of "Just Once" for symphony orchestra featuring Yafeu Tyhimba alongside Greg Phillinganes and JR Robinson; and a new setting of "Everything Must Change" bringing together baritone Derrick Lawrence, cellist Seth Parker Woods, and Greg Phillinganes at the keyboard. The concert was conducted by Anthony Parnther.

Ennis is a 2025 Ravinia-Steans Jazz Fellow and a 2024 recipient of the BMI Composer Award for Adarna, a concertino for clarinet and orchestra. That same year, he received first prize in the ASMAC Van Alexander Arranging Competition for a tango-inspired arrangement of Duke Ellington's The Lake. In 2023, he received the Jeff Clayton New Note Commission Award from the Los Angeles Jazz Society, which resulted in the premiere of Images and Silhouettes, a 23-minute work for 19-piece jazz chamber ensemble, at the Angel City Jazz Festival. He also received the ISJAC/USF Prize for Emerging Black Composers for his big band work Eye in the Sky.

Earlier recognitions include the Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award for Portrait Poem (2022), written for chamber orchestra and jazz septet, and a commission from theBABAorchestra, which premiered his big band piece Ruggell later that year.

As a saxophonist and flutist, Ennis has performed with artists including Emily Bear at the Blue Note Los Angeles, the Jon Hatamiya Sextet and Big Band, the Bill Holman Big Band, Pete Escovedo, The 7Teen Big Band, and Sammy Miller and The Congregation. He appeared with Red Bull Symphonic alongside producer Metro Boomin under the direction of Anthony Parnther, and has been featured as a saxophone soloist with the San Bernardino Symphony. In 2026, he performed as soloist in his own From the Wind, That Which Augurs with the West Texas Symphony under Music Director Gary Lewis.

An active educator, Ennis teaches at Dinjes Music Academy, a community music program serving teens and adults with disabilities. He has also directed jazz combos and taught lessons at USC Thornton and works with university ensembles as a guest artist, including a November 2026 visit to the University of Colorado Boulder. Ennis also offers private lessons; visit the Lessons page to learn more.

Ennis holds a B.A. in Global Jazz Studies from UCLA and an M.M. in Jazz Performance from the USC Thornton School of Music. He earned his D.M.A. in Jazz Studies at USC, with an academic field in Music Teaching and Learning and elective fields in Composition (with Vince Mendoza) and Instrumental Conducting (with Larry Livingston).