Born in Shanghai, Haosi Howard Chen immigrated as a child with his family to Los Angeles. He graduated from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Arts in piano performance and in composition, before completing his Master of Arts in composition while teaching music theory classes as a teaching assistant there.
Upon finishing his terminal degree in composition under the guidance of Wolfgang Rihm and Markus Hechtle at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe (HfM KA), he took on a lecturer position there in the music theory department, while continuing to work as a church pianist/organist as he had during his student years.
Between his years in Los Angeles and Karlsruhe, he has written for ensembles such as: wild Up, International Ensemble Modern Academy, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, SCHOLA Heidelberg, ALEPH Guitar Quartet, among others. Recent engagements/commissions include a work for the Youth Guitar Orchestra Baden-Württemberg, as well as curating and performing in a portrait concert with the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe in February 2025.
After a recent artist-in-residence scholarship in Baden-Baden, culminating his 8 years of sojourn abroad, Howard has returned to Los Angeles, to serve in his church and to spend more time with his family.
