John J. Craven (b.1971) was especially drawn to listening to LPs of classical music and musical theater as a child. Formal study in piano began when he was 7, and, at the age of 12, he was a winner in the Fourth International Aaron Copland Competition for Young Composers. After high school, he continued his studies at the Peabody Conservatory, and in 1992 transferred to the University of Iowa where he received a B.A. degree in Communication Studies in 1994. In 1997, he returned to composition, receiving a B.F.A. from Purchase College SUNY.

Since 2000, he has worked as a musician in a manner that displays his eclecticism. He provided music direction for Off-Broadway readings, regional theater, and community theaters, as well as theater for children. Craven received a M.M. in composition from Peabody in 2011.

Since 2020 he has made his music available on the eScholarship Open Access Publishing Platform that is subsidized by the University of California and managed by the California Digital Library. He most recently participated as a composer in the 9th Annual Charlotte New Music Festival where he composed music premiered by the loadbang contemporary ensemble

Albums

Sustain Vol. 2

Release Date: April 23, 2021
Catalog Number: NV6345
21st Century
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Piano
Piano Trio
Saxophone
Two years after the release of SUSTAIN comes the long-anticipated follow-up, SUSTAIN VOL. 2. This fresh collection of works centered around the piano includes a range of contemporary compositional styles: tonal, atonal, and everything in between. This volume features a new cast of composers and performers, with contributions by Sarah Wallin-Huff, Karen Tarlow, Chen-Hsin Su, Bill Sherrill, Jim Puckett, Ron Nagorcka, Gordon Monahan, Kenneth A. Kuhn, Santiago Kodela, John Craven, and John A. Carollo. The album’s varied soundscapes and arrangements—including solo piano, piano and saxophone, and piano and strings—constantly surprise and delight the ear. A fitting sequel to the first installment, SUSTAIN VOL. 2 is steeped in the dynamic complexity piano music offers.