Samantha Owens

Samantha Owens is an Honorary Professor in the School of Music at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on historical performance practices, German music in Australasia (1850–1950), and early modern German court music. She has held visiting fellowships at institutions including the Herzog August Bibliothek (Wolfenbüttel), Clare Hall (University of Cambridge), and the Bach-Archiv (Leipzig). A Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities since 2012, she has authored multiple books and edited volumes, including The Well-Travelled Musician: John Sigismond Cousser and Musical Exchange in Baroque Europe (2017). Her work explores topics such as the Württemberg Hofkapelle, women musicians in the 17th–18th centuries, and the impact of 20th-century technologies like radio on Australasian listening cultures.

Previously, she served as Associate Professor (2015–2018) and Professor of Musicology (2019–2024) at the New Zealand School of Music–Te Kōkī. Her teaching spanned historical performance, Western European music history, and the cultural history of music in New Zealand. Owens has received grants from the Australian Research Council and the Lilburn Trust, supporting projects like the Music in Colonial New Zealand Cities symposium (2022). Her index for Music at German Courts (2011) won the 2012 Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers Medal.

Her articles and conference papers address themes ranging from Bach’s reception in Australia to the role of dance at German Protestant courts. She has also contributed to radio programs on Baroque composers and historical musical contexts, blending academic rigor with public engagement.