Paul Owen is a percussionist, drum set artist, and educator known for his versatility and multi-dimensional approach to music performance and instruction.

As a performer, Paul has fostered a wide-ranging career spanning the musical styles of traditional/contemporary jazz drum set, rock/pop drum set, and contemporary/orchestral percussion. As a member of the Portland Percussion Group, Paul strives to promote percussion performance through concerts, educational outreach, and the commissioning of new works for chamber percussion. He also served as drummer for the double platinum selling artist, the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, with whom he recorded two studio albums, instructed masterclasses, and gave performances throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Paul has performed at numerous renowned events such as the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, Makrokosmos Project, New Music Detroit’s Strange Beautiful Music, NienteForte’s Contemporary Music Festival, Reno Jazz Festival, Northwest Percussion Festival, and the GAIDA Festival of Contemporary Music in Vilnius, Lithuania featuring a collaboration with the Colin Currie Quartet performing Steve Reich’s masterwork Drumming. Owen has served as Principal Percussionist with the Salem Chamber Orchestra in addition to performing with numerous Northwest regional ensembles such as the Eugene Symphony, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Coast Music Festival, Oregon Festival of American Music, and Newport Symphony.

As an educator, Paul has served as Instructor of Percussion and Drum Set at Western Oregon University (Monmouth, Oregon), Willamette University (Salem, Oregon), Reed College (Portland, Oregon), and Linfield College (McMinnville, Oregon), while concurrently partnering with numerous high schools in the Willamette Valley/Portland Metro area. His diverse musical background has built capacity for the growth of the percussive arts in the region through the instruction of jazz and contemporary percussion ensembles, in addition to the creation and leadership of traditional Brazilian Samba ensembles at the aforementioned institutions as well as the Portland Summer Percussion Academy. Paul also served as co-host of the 2018 Northwest Percussion Festival at Willamette University, featuring the performances of over 15 collegiate percussion ensembles from the Pacific Northwest and California, as well as facilitating performances and clinics by guest artists Nancy Zeltsman and Colin Currie.

Owen earned his Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of Oregon where he studied percussion with Charles Dowd and drum set and improvisation with Gary Hobbs. He completed his Masters of Music in Percussion Performance degree at the University of Michigan, under the mentorship of Joseph Gramley and Jonathan Ovalle.