Monica (Niki) Houghton was born in Bennington, Vermont, and grew up in Reno, Nevada. She received A.B. and A.M. degrees from Harvard University and more recently, an M.M. in Composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Margaret Brouwer. Ms. Houghton began composing in 1993, studying first with composer Mary Ann Griebling and later with Dennis Eberhard. She has been the recipient of awards from ASCAP, the American Music Center, the Ohio Arts Council, the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs, ASCAP/SCI and the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2007 she was named Composer of the Year by the Ohio Music Teachers Association. Her works for large ensemble have been performed by the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, the University Circle Wind Ensemble and the CIM Orchestra. Her solo and chamber works have been heard on concerts of the Cleveland Composers Guild, the Tuesday Musical Club, the International Alliance for Women in Music, the Ernest Bloch Music Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival, the AKI Festival of New Music and the Shanghai Spring International Music Festival, and performed by individual artists and ensembles across the US and the world. Her music has been recorded on the AZICA label and broadcast on WCLV’s “Not the Dead White Male Composers Hour.”

Ms. Houghton often derives inspiration from the natural world for her compositions. Her work has been described by listeners as "evocative" and "full of feeling." She likes to experiment with interesting timbres and has begun writing for non-Western instruments. Monica has introduced improvisational elements into several of her works. She is interested in exploring the relationship between performer and composer in her music and enjoys working with performers to tailor works to their specific strengths, styles and needs.

Ms. Houghton is developing a full-length opera entitled, “The Big Bonanza,” scenes from which have been presented at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin College Conservatory and the Virginia Arts Festival John Duffy Composer Institute. She traveled to China in 2004 to gather material and insight into Chinese folk music and operatic traditions for use in the seventh scene of the opera. Ms. Houghton currently serves on the faculty of the Preparatory and Continuing Education Department of the Cleveland Institute of Music and as Instructor of Composition for the Joint Program with Case Western Reserve University.