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.