Joseph Ott (1929 – 1990) was a composer and electronic music pioneer who produced over 400 works during the 1950's, 60's, 70's and '80's.

Throughout his career, Ott received many prestigious honors including a Pulitzer Prize nomination (1985). He was the first American composer to win first prize in the “Citta di Trieste” International Competition for Symphonic Composition (1963) and the first composer of any nationality to give a full concert of exclusively electronic music at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (1977).

Major performances of Ott's work have been presented at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Stratford Music Festival, New York Chamber Music Festival and by the National Symphony Orchestra, Trieste Philharmonic, Seattle Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the U.S.C. Chamber Choir. His music has been described as, “exciting music that moves and throbs and grabs the listener,” by The Washington Post, and, “slashing, here-and-now music,” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Quite obviously a name to be remembered,” High Fidelity Magazine said.

Mr. Ott held positions at George Washington University, U.C.L.A., Milton College, St. Paul Institute for Advanced Study, The Bennington Composers Conference and was Composer-in-Residence and head of the Music Composition-Theory Department and Electronic Music Studio at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas from 1971 until his death in 1990. Claude Benny Press is dedicated to preserving and promoting this important work.