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Bio

Owen Johnson (b. 2003) is a Boston-based composer and pianist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His music explores natural cycles, conceptual dualities, and formal boundaries, creating musical unity out of many approaches. Built on a pianistic foundation, texture and color drive his music while modal and contrapuntal thinking shape his technique. He has an avid interest in 20th century music, using historical dodecaphonic techniques in an intentional and personal way, with an aim to bring them into the present day. As a pianist, Owen often performs his own work, and has premiered many of his own pieces as well as other contemporary music. Currently enrolled in the rigorous Tufts University/New England Conservatory Dual Degree program, Owen is pursuing two Bachelors degrees: a BM Composition at NEC and a BA Hispanic Cultural Studies at Tufts. He studies composition with Kati Agócs.

Recent works include a commission from the Violin and Cimbalom duo Lamnth for Ghosts, a premiere by the composer for Monument, for piano, and a recording by the NEC Philharmonia for 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, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (virtual programming), Boston Conservatory, and Illinois Weselyan University. Besides Kati Agócs, other mentors include Stratis Minakakis, Sid Richardson, David Ludwig, Kevin Moll, Marti Epstein, Nancy Galbraith, and John Marcinizyn.

Outside of composing, Owen is a frequent contributor to the Boston Musical Intelligencer, focusing on new-music reviews. This included traveling to Tanglewood in Summer 2025 to review their New Music Festival. He also interned for the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble in 2022, where he focused on performance production and marketing. In addition, Owen has found work as a freelance copyeditor and arranger, formatting parts and arranging for weddings. He is also starting to teach private composition lessons, beginning Winter 2026.

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