John McCowen is a composer/clarinetist originally from Southern Illinois. His work focuses on extending the possibilities of the clarinet. His work has been described by The New Yorker as “the sonic equivalent of microscopic life viewed on a slide”. His music has been released on Edition Wandelweiser, International Anthem, Astral Spirits, Cairn Desk, and others. Performances include ISSUE Project Room, Norður og Niður Festival(Reykjavik), B10(Shenzen), Berkeley Art Museum(BAMPFA), Ende Tymes Festival, National Sawdust, The Lab, and Roulette Intermedium. John was a 2017 & 2019 artist-in-residence at Lijiang Studio in Yunnan, China, and also the 2020 artist-in-residence at ISSUE Project Room in Brooklyn. He received the Elizabeth Mills Crothers Award for excellence in music composition in 2016 from Mills College where he received an MA in Music Composition under Roscoe Mitchell. He currently resides in Reykjavik, Iceland.