John W. Downey (October 5, 1927 – December 14, 2004) was an American contemporary classical composer, conductor, pianist and educator.
His works have been performed extensively in Western and Eastern Europe, South America, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, Israel, Asia, Mexico, and Canada, as well as throughout the United States.
[2][failed verification] Among the numerous composers with whom Downey had the opportunity to work are Copland, Alexander Tcherepnin, Rieti, Sessions, Messiaen and Krenek.
Lukas Foss, Zdenek Macal, Margery Deutsch, Izler Solomon and Pierre-Michel Le Conte are just some of the conductors who have performed his music.
Many individual performers have commissioned works from Downey including George Sopkin, Erie Mills, Geoffrey Simon, Yolanda Marculescu, Jeffrey Peterson, Stanley DeRusha, Daniel Neesley, Harvey Phillips, Stephen Basson, Robert Thompson, Gary Karr and Tom Stacey.