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. 
Ms. Houghton began composing in 1993, studying first with Mary Ann Griebling,
and then with Dennis Eberhard. She received an M.M. in Composition from the
Cleveland Institute of Music in 2003, where she studied with Margaret
Brouwer.
Ms. Houghton has been the recipient of awards from ASCAP, the American Music Center, the i-Park Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council (an Individual Excellence Award in 2007), 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 Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, University Circle Wind Ensemble, Contemporary Youth Orchestra and CIM Orchestra. Her solo and chamber works have been performed many times in northeast Ohio, and have been heard in such far away places as Paris, France, and Shanghai, China. Her music is also broadcast on WCLV’s Not the Dead White Male Composers Hour. Her solo organ piece Erebus is available on the AZICA label as part of a CD collection of organ music by Ohio composers recorded by organist Karel Paukert and produced by the Cleveland Museum of Art, or as an individual MP3 download from Amazon.com.
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." Improvisational elements appear in
some of her works. She has composed for non-Western instruments.
Her music reflects an appreciation of the diverse possibilities for
human expression through music.
In addition to her concert music, Ms. Houghton has composed an award-winning opera in two acts
entitled The Big Bonanza. 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 has served on the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music and as Instructor for the Joint Music Program with Case Western Reserve University for nine years. Among her students are several who have won awards at the state, regional and national levels.