Biography
A native of Atlanta, GA, pianist Caroline Owen frequently performs as a soloist and collaborator. She has played in venues across the U.S. and in Europe, including the Wiener Saal and Solitär at the Mozarteum (Salzburg).
After winning the 2018 Pro-Mozart Society of Atlanta Competition, Owen received a scholarship to study at the Mozarteum, where she worked with Dominique Merlet and Christopher Hinterhuber. She returned to Salzburg in February 2020 to compete in the live rounds of the 14th International Mozart Competition. She was also a semifinalist at the International Keyboard Odyssiad and won the 2019 Florida MTNA Young Artist Competition. Owen has appeared as soloist with the Furman University Symphony Orchestra and, most recently, the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra for the premiere of Donald Yu’s Piano Concerto No. 1. She has also given performances at the 2018 American Liszt Society Conference and the Russian Consulate of Prague.
Owen has participated in and performed at festivals including PianoFest in the Hamptons, Atlantic Music Festival’s Summer Piano Institute, the PianoTexas Young Artists Program, and the Prague Piano Festival. She has worked with distinguished artists and teachers such as Marvin Blickenstaff, Lucille Chung, Boris Giltburg, Richard Goode, Douglas Humpherys, Martin Katz, Vincent Larderet, Julian Martin, Pascal Rogé, Sandra Shen, and Dina Yoffe in masterclass settings and had additional studies with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Philippe Bianconi, Joel Hastings, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Jerome Lowenthal, Louis Nagel, Ursula Oppens, Elizabeth Pridonoff, Ann Schein, Paul Schenly, and Boris Slutsky, among others.
With a background in dance, Owen has a deep interest in interdisciplinary projects. She particularly enjoys combining her passions for music and dance in her ongoing collaborations with Houston-based composer Badie Khaleghian. In 2019, Owen and Khaleghian produced a multimedia work for solo piano and dance entitled Life Suite, and they recently premiered a new work, Electric Sky Blue, for piano, dance, and interactive intermedia in spring 2022. Owen also enjoys research opportunities and the promotion of both new and lesser-known compositions, most recently programming works by Vítězslava Kaprálová and Florence Price in concerts.
Passionate about chamber music, Owen co-founded her Athena Trio in 2018 alongside violist Claudia Malchow and clarinetist Kelly Riordan. She has more recently been performing on tour with the Astralis Chamber Ensemble, a dynamic ensemble that aims not only to support the development of the arts through new compositions but also to reach communities of all backgrounds through music, in its 2022-2023 season.
Owen recently earned her DM degree in piano performance in May 2022 from Florida State University, where she studied with David Kalhous and also served as an instructor of Group Piano. Her other primary teachers have included Liza Stepanova, Derek Parsons, and Jody Smith Parrish. Outside of making music, Caroline enjoys gardening, hiking, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.