Gareth Owen | |
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| Born | Gareth John Owen 20 August 1979 |
| Education | University of Plymouth (BA) |
| Occupation | Theatrical Sound Designer |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Spouse | Carmen Bierens |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | www |
Gareth Owen is an twelve time Tony & Olivier Award-winning / nominated [1] sound designer specialising in musical theatre in London's West End, on Broadway and internationally.
Gareth John Owen was born in Sheffield, England, a son of two teachers, [2] both of whom specialised in special needs education. At the age of nine the family moved to the Cayman Islands where Owen attended Cayman Islands Middle School. Upon returning to the UK the family moved to St. Ives in Cornwall where Owen attended both Mounts Bay School and Penwith Sixth Form College [3] before going to the University of Plymouth [4] in Plymouth, to study for a bachelor's degree in underwater science. While at university he worked in nightclubs [5] as a lighting and sound engineer, and as a boatman and beach lifeguard in St. Ives. [6]
Owen initially began working in live sound when the Penzance nightclub he was working at started to present live bands which Owen was asked to mix. From here he secured work with Birmingham's SSE Audio Group [7] which lead to an early career in rock & roll, working at festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading, Party in the Park, and T4 on the Beach; and mixing acts such as Def Leppard, The Stereophonics, B B King, The Spice Girls and The Rolling Stones.
Owens theatre career began when he was invited to mix the musical The Blues Brothers which was running at what is now the Trafalgar Studios in Londons west end. About this time, Owen is quoted as saying in an interview "I didn't have a lot of money so I bought a tent and lived in the band's garden". [8] From here he was offered a job as sound designer for the UK tour of Stephen Schwartz' musical Godspell, [9] beginning a collaboration which would continue until the present day. [10] Owen went on to design a number of shows in a freelance capacity, before joining London's Orbital Sound as a full-time sound designer. [11] In late 2009, Owen left Orbital Sound and formed his own company, Gareth Owen Sound. [12]
Since 2010, Owen has since worked with composers including Alan Menken, [13] Andrew Lloyd Webber, [14] Stephen Schwartz, [15] Björn Ulvaeus, [16] Glen Ballard, Max Martin, [17] David Bryan, [18] George Stiles, Cyndi Lauper, Pete Townsend, [19] Alan Silvestri, [20] Alicia Keys, [21] David Foster, Tom Kitt [22] and Stephen Sondheim. [23] Owen has also created musicals based on the music of pop icons such as Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, and The Beatles; [24] and is a collaborator with top directors including Robert De Niro, [25] Christopher Ashley, [26] Jerry Zaks, [27] Des McAnuff, [28] Luke Sheppard, [29] Jerry Mitchell, [30] Laurence Connor, [31] Christopher Wheeldon, [32] Terry Johnson, Michael Grief, Emerald Fennell, [33] Scott Schwartz, Michael Arden [34] and Sir Trevor Nunn. [35]
Owen has worked as sound designer on the following Broadway productions [36] in New York City:
Owen has worked as sound designer on the following West End musical productions [39] in London:
Owen has worked as sound designer on the following productions around the world:
Owen has worked as sound designer on the following West End straight plays in London, although the timeline suggests he is no longer active in this particular discipline:
Owen is credited with a long list of technical achievements and industry firsts.
A pioneer in the field of immersive theatre sound, Owen was the first person to use the object based wave field synthesis immersive audio in both Londons West End [41] and on New Yorks Broadway, [42] for the musicals Come from Away and Diana , respectively. He created the world's first sound design to incorporate object based mixing in to a rotating auditorium [43] for Andrew Lloyd Webbers Cinderella musical at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London; and what was, at the time, the largest SoundScape installation in the world [44] for arena musical Starlight Express . Owen is also credited as the first person to integrate wireless tracking of performers in to an object based sound system on Broadway, [45] this time for MJ the Musical . Indeed, he and his team are credited with creating one of the industry standard control applications for live immersive audio, [46] d&b's EnSnap, [47] used on multiple shows and productions around the world. [48]
Owen's use and development of cutting-edge technologies is not limited to immersive audio. He is believed to have designed the show with the largest number of radio mics ever used on a west end musical, [49] 42nd Street at Londons Drury Lane. He was the first person to use the d&b KSL line array system [50] on both a Broadway show and on a west end musical, in both cases for Back to the Future the musical. He was the first person to use the d&b XSL line array system on a Broadway show, this time for & Juliet at the Sondheim theater. Owen was the first person to use a DiGiCo mixing console in theatre, [51] the now defunct D5, for the UK Tour of the Cliff Richard musical Summer Holiday. [52] He is credited as being the first to use both the Avid Venue mixing console [53] and the Avid S6L mixing console in theatre, for the shows Annie Get Your Gun and Broadways Come From Away respectively. Owen was one of the early adopters of computer game audio engines to create dynamic sound effects in theatre, notably on Broadway's Back to the Future musical. [54]
Owen is co-founder and CCO of audio hardware manufacturer Fourier Audio, [55] where he is "working to redefine the future of pro audio". [56] In 2023, he and his co-founders Henry Harrod and Peter Bridgman sold Fourier Audio to live mixing desk manufacturer DiGiCo for an undisclosed multi-million pound sum. [57] From this springboard they went on to release the transform.engine, a revolutionary VST plugin host, designed exclusively for the live environment. [58]
Owen is also a co-founder of the software house Show Control Ltd, a company specialising in the coding and development of dedicated theatrical show control systems. [59] There is little information available regarding this endeavour beyond a list of the developed software on Owen's website. [60]
In 2009, Owen joined a steering committee that eventually formed the Association of Sound Designers [61] where he served as a committee member for the maximum term of five years, from 2012 to 2018. [62]
In 2022, Owen was presented with an Honorary Doctorate [63] from the University of Salford. [64]
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Hell's Kitchen | Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical | Pending | |
| 2024 | The Who's Tommy | Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Sound Design | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Back to the Future | Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Sound Design | Nominated | |
| 2023 | The Who's Tommy | Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical | Won | |
| 2023 | & Juliet | Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical | Nominated | |
| 2023 | & Juliet | BroadwayWorld Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical | Won | |
| 2022 | MJ: The Musical | Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical | Won | |
| 2022 | MJ: The Musical | Drama Desk Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical | Won | |
| 2022 | Back to the Future | Olivier Award for Best Sound Design | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Back to the Future | WhatsOnStage Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2020 | Come From Away | BroadwayWorld Award for Best Sound Design of the Decade | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Come From Away | Green Room Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2020 | Come From Away | WhatsOnStage Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2020 | & Juliet | WhatsOnStage Award for Best Sound Design | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Come From Away | Olivier Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2019 | The Donna Summer Musical | NAACP Theatre Award for Best Sound Larger Theatre | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Starlight Express (Bochum) | Pro Sound Award for Best Immersive Design | Won | |
| 2018 | Carmen La Cubana | BroadwayWorld Germany Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2018 | Bat Out of Hell The Musical | AV Technology Award for Best Use of Audio Solutions [65] | Won | |
| 2018 | Come From Away | BroadwayWorld Toronto Award for Best Original Sound Design | Won | |
| 2018 | Bat Out of Hell The Musical | Olivier Award for Best Sound Design | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Come From Away | BroadwayWorld Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2018 | Summer | Craig Noel Award for Best Sound Design | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Bat Out of Hell The Musical | AV Technology Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2017 | Come From Away | Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2017 | Bat Out of Hell The Musical | BroadwayWorld Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2017 | Come From Away | Dora Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2017 | Individual Recognition | Pro Sound Award for Sound Engineer of the Year [66] | Won | |
| 2017 | Come From Away | Helen Hayes Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2016 | A Bronx Tale | BroadwayWorld Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2015 | Memphis the Musical | Olivier Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2015 | Memphis the Musical | Pro Sound Award for Best Theatre Sound [67] | Won | |
| 2015 | Hunchback of Notre Dame | BroadwayWorld Award for Best Sound Design | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Merrily We Roll Along | Olivier Award for Best Sound Design | Won | |
| 2013 | Top Hat | Olivier Award for Best Sound Design | Nominated | |
| 2014 | I Can't Sing! | Pro Sound Award for Best Theatre Sound | Won | |
| 2012 | End of the Rainbow | Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical | Nominated | |
| 2011 | End of the Rainbow | Olivier Award for Best Sound Design | Nominated | |
| 2010 | A Little Night Music | Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical | Nominated |
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