John Watts (composer)

John Everett Watts, Jr. (1929–1982) was an American composer of electronic music throughout the 1970s and 1980s. One of the medium's main advocates and teachers, Watts wrote about new music, experimenting with literary composition and journalism. Watts worked extensively with his wife, Laura Foreman, on performance art and dance pieces. Together, they formed the Composers and Choreographers Theatre, "an entity that quickly grew into a nationally recognized venue for contemporary dance and music in New York City."

From 1969 until 1982, Watts was a faculty member at the New School for Social Research in New York City. While there, he directed the Electronic Music Program and coordinated music workshops, concerts, and festivals.

Watts was born in Maryville, Tennessee. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree (Music Composition) from University of Tennessee (1949) and commenced working on a master's degree there. However, with the outbreak of the Korean War he was drafted into the US Army (1950). He received a medical discharge from the Army in 1951.

Returning from the Army, Watts applied for and received a music scholarship to University of Colorado, where he received a Master of Arts degree (Music) in 1953. He transferred to University of Illinois to pursue a Doctorate in Music Composition, but moved to Cornell University when his principal advisor (Robert Palmer) left Illinois for Cornell. Before completing the degree requirements Watts took a leave of absence and taught Music at North Dakota Agricultural College in Fargo for a year (1956–57).

After Fargo, Watts studied music and composition, both independently and under the tutelage of Roy Harris. By 1964 he was ready to return to Cornell to complete the Ph.D., but his application was rejected.

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