Dr. Allen began his serious music studies at Baldwin-Wallace College where he earned his bachelor's degree in French Horn Performance and Music Theory. He graduated with highest honors (magna cum laude). At Baldwin-Wallace, Allen was a student of composer Dr. Loris Chobanian and long-time 2nd horn of the Cleveland Orchestra, Martin Morris. He was also a conducting student of C. Dwight Oltman. But it was Dr. Chobanian that set Allen's feet firmly on the path of composition. Allen has often expressed a deep appreciation for his time at Baldwin-Wallace where he made many life-long friends.



After Baldwin-Wallace, Allen moved to Evanston, IL and began working on his master's degree at Northwestern University. He graduated one year later with a degree in 'computer music' and moved to Colorado, where he began his doctorate degree in composition. At CU, Allen studied with Dr. Luis Gonzalez, Dr. Charles Eakin and with Dr. Richard Toensing. Allen graduated from CU in 1990. During his tenure at CU, Allen composed many works and created the concept of the isorhythmic round. He also taught many sections of ear training (for which he designed the corriculum) and recieved accolades for his work as a teacher.

After graduation from CU, Allen took a breather from composing and decided to focus his time on a career in computer science. When he started composing again, he created the Frenetic Horse and Drowned Under an Open Sky. He also worked with his concept of the isorhythmic round and learned ways to incorporate it into compositions in such a way as to be relatively inconspicuous and beautiful.

It was during this time that Allen envisioned a composing tool that would require little if any musical knowledge and allowed anyone so inclined, to produce music that incorporated the isorhythmic round. This computer program is still under development today. It is called Bang Box. Allen uses this tool to find beautiful examples of the round and to subsequently build a complete piece of music out of it.

Today, Allen resides in Fort Collins, Colorado where he continues to compose and work on Bang Box with his spare time. He is still employed as a software engineer.