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Bio

Owen Johnson (b. 2003) is a Boston-based composer and pianist originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With a focus on orchestral music, Owen explores conceptual dualities, coloristic effects, and formal boundaries on a large scale. This can be seen in his upcoming work, Hooded Night, which is to be recorded by Fantasia Orchestra in Autumn 2026. At the same time, through his experience as a performer, musical intimacy, idiomaticity, and consideration for the performer predominate in his chamber and solo works. Owen often performs his own music, and has premiered the music of others.

Recent works include a commission from the Violin and Cimbalom duo Lamnth for Ghosts, a premiere by the composer of Monument, for piano, and a recording by the NEC Philharmonia of Landmake, for large orchestra. Awards include the American Guild of Organists Student Commissioning Project with organist Jacob Gruss, the NEC Orchestra Reading Competition (both in 2022 and 2025), the Penn State Young Composers Contest, and the Westmoreland Youth Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. He has attended Summer programs at the Curtis Institute, Boston Conservatory, and Illinois Weselyan University.

Starting October 2026, Owen will be pursuing an Masters in Composition from the University of Oxford, mentored by Jennifer Walshe and Martyn Harry. He is also a recent graduate of the New England Conservatory/Tufts University dual-degree program, holding a BM in Composition with a Minor in Music Theory from NEC, and a BA in Hispanic Cultural Studies from Tufts. As a part of his studies, Owen conducted a research project on the Spanish composer Ramón Barce, exploring his novel compositional techniques, tying together his two disparate areas of study. At NEC, his primary mentor in composition was Kati Agócs. Other mentors have included Stratis Minakakis, Sid Richardson, Katarina Miljkovic, Kevin Moll, Marti Epstein, Nancy Galbraith, and John Marcinizyn.

Outside of composing, Owen has contributed to the Boston Musical Intelligencer, with a focus on new-music reviews. This included traveling to Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Festival in Summer 2025 to review their New Music Festival. He also interned for the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble in 2022, focusing on performance production and marketing. In addition, Owen works as a freelance copyeditor and arranger. In his free time, he enjoys biking, hiking, and trying new food.

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