Monica (Niki) Houghton was born in Bennington, Vermont in 1954, grew up in Reno, Nevada, where she began her musical studies at the age of six.  With both A.B. and A.M. degrees from Harvard University, she began composing in 1993 with guidance from Mary Ann Griebling of Akron, Ohio. Her works for voice and for chamber ensembles have been programmed on concerts of the Cleveland Composers Guild, and the Tuesday Musical Club of Akron, as well as "Stars in the Wings" at Severance Hall.  She was commissioned in 1996 to write music for a Chinese language instructional video under development by the Middlebury College Language Schools.  She also participated in the Kent State University Composition Seminar in 1996-97, studying with Dennis Eberhard.  Recently several of her works have been aired on WCLV's "Not the Dead White Male Composers Hour."  Ms. Houghton currently studies piano performance with Sandra Shapiro of the Cleveland Institute of Music.  Ms. Houghton maintains a private piano teaching studio in Kent, Ohio, where she lives with her two children.

See Monica Houghton's works collected at the University of Akron library.

Collected Sound Recordings

Collected Works of Niki Houghton (1999)  Cassette

Contents:
Meditation performed by Monica Houghton for Tuesday Musical Club on April 19, 1994
Fantasy for 'Cello and Piano performed by Deborah Newcomb and Heather Shea Lanners for Tuesday Musical Club on March 14, 1995
Psalm 121  (SSA version) performed by Arch Bishop Hoban Choir under the direction of Elender Meinecke on May 9, 1995
Fireflies and  In the Neighborhood performed by Eileen Moore and Andrew White with Christine Hill for the Cleveland Composers Guild on October 15, 1995
Fantasy and Scherzo for 'Cello and Piano  performed by Deborah Newcomb and Raquel Faiello for Cleveland Composers Guild on October 13, 1996 and for Tuesday Musical Club on April 22, 1997
Selections from In Singing Weather performed by Eileen Moore and Judith Ryder for Cleveland Composers Guild on October 26, 1997
Menage a Trois (violin, 'cello and piano version) performed by Rong Yan, Bjorn Ranheim and Shanshan Sun for the Cleveland Composers Guild on May 17, 1998 at Lake Erie College
Psalm 121 (soprano solo with organ accompaniment) performend by Rebekah Weissburg with James David Christie, Houghton Chapel, Wellesley College, on May 23, 1999

Archived Works

Fantasy and Scherzo for 'Cello and Piano (1994)

Fireflies (1994) text by Niki Houghton
Instrumentation: Soprano and Piano

Impass
Instrumentation:  Piano Four Hands

In Singing Weather, A Song Cycle for Female Voice with Piano. (1996)  Poems by Maggie Anderson.

In the Neighborhood (1995)  text by Niki Houghton
Instrumentation:  Baritone and Piano

Menage a Trois (1997)
       I.  Entanglement
       II.  The Bird on the Mountain
       III.  Theme and Variations
Instrumentation:  For Violin, 'Cello and Piano; Flute, 'Cello and Piano; or Flute, Bassoon and Piano.

Music for Clara Yu (1996)
Instrumentation:  Piano

Psalm 121 (1998)  Dedicated to Edda K. Morrison
Instrumentation:  Soprano and Organ

Sonata for Piano (1998)

The Sorrow of Lady Li (1995)  Text by Clara Yu
Instrumentation:  Soprano and Piano