Harvey was born in Sutton Coldfield, and studied at St John's College, Cambridge, eventually obtaining a PhD.
[1] He also took private lessons with Erwin Stein and Hans Keller on the advice of Benjamin Britten.
[1] At IRCAM, Harvey produced works such as Speakings, a composition for large orchestra and electronics, in collaboration with sound artist and composer Gilbert Nouno and researchers Arshia Cont and Grégoire Carpentier.
[citation needed] From 2005 to 2008, Harvey held the post of Composer in Association with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
[6] Speakings received six votes in a 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000.