Before embarking on his journey as a self-taught composer in 2020, Owens Huang had just two years of formal piano lessons. However, his love for music blossomed during his college years, prompting him to gather an impressive collection of over a thousand music CDs. A graduate of National Taiwan University with a degree in chemistry, Huang later earned an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. He started his career in hedge funds on Wall Street, eventually becoming a fund manager in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he managed investments worth hundreds of millions.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, Huang rediscovered his passion for music and began composing. Drawing inspiration from international politics and the financial markets, he quickly established himself in the music scene. In just four years, he successfully held concerts and received positive feedback from audiences in Europe and America on platforms like Spotify, with one of his music videos exceeding 500,000 views on YouTube.

As the pandemic kept people indoors, Huang redirected his focus back to practicing piano. He soon realized that this passion required a deeper understanding of music theory and improved sight-reading skills. After weighing his options, he chose to dedicate his time to learning music theory. “You can think of musical notation as a kind of programming too,” he mused.

To enhance his knowledge, Huang turned to the online learning platform Coursera, taking music theory classes. After just two months, he felt ready to start composing, completing a 30-second arrangement assignment. He then sought a music teacher for one-on-one lessons to deepen his understanding of the craft.

Much of Huang’s compositional inspiration comes from his investment market experiences. “I believe the financial market reflects human emotions regarding optimism or pessimism about the future. These emotional experiences provide me with musical ideas,” he explained.

A pivotal moment arose when flutist Ann Kuo visited Huang and found his compositions compelling. This encounter sparked discussions about recording his music for streaming platforms. His works mainly focus on instrumental pieces without lyrics and target the European and American markets. Initially unsure of how to promote his music, he soon connected with Hsieh K’ai-Ting, chair of the North American Taiwan Technology Conference and Executive Director of the TaiwanNext Foundation. She admired his music and suggested refining his promotional strategies, prompting Huang to reach out to playlist curators in Europe and America to feature his tracks in classical or instrumental playlists.

Performing under the name “OHNomad” on Spotify and Apple Music, Huang symbolizes his nomadic exploration of diverse musical possibilities, paralleling his search for investment opportunities in the financial landscape. Currently, he enjoys over 10,000 monthly active listeners, placing him in the top four percent of artists on streaming platforms.

Amid the turbulence of the 2022 Russia-Ukraine war, global stock market crashes, and inflation crises, Huang navigated a challenging market. “I need to identify stocks that outperform expectations in a declining market,” he remarked. To uplift his own spirits amid the prevailing pessimism, he composed a piece titled “Stream Light in the Cave,” which symbolizes finding one’s way through darkness toward a glimmer of hope. He believed that just as the bleakness of 2022 would eventually pass, he would find success in Nvidia, which thrived amidst the rise of artificial intelligence in 2023.

This past August, Huang performed “The Silicon Island Quintet” in Taiwan, inspired by Nvidia’s founder, Jensen Huang. His music tells the stories of the people on this land over the past 400 years, reflecting optimism about Taiwan’s transformation into a significant global player with limitless potential.

His debut sonata, “Place of Origins,” premiered in Taiwan last year, won the first prize in the Adult Composition section of the California Music Teachers Association’s 2024 competition. Collaborating with fellow musicians, he performed at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, attracting over 600 attendees across two concerts.

On October 18, Huang will host a concert called “Universal Connection” in Silicon Valley, Northern California. He aims to use music as a bridge between different races, cultures, and languages in a fragmented world. “I apply the discipline of investment research to explore the melodies of diverse cultures and music,” he said.

The concert’s premiere piece, “Danielle,” was inspired by the tragic Hamas attack on the Israeli concert in October 2023. Huang’s Jewish friend, Eyal Waldman, founder of Mellanox, lost his daughter in the attack. Moved by the tragedy, Huang channeled his emotions into this composition as a tribute to his friend and his late daughter, using the clarinet to symbolize the father and the flute to represent the daughter, portraying their tender dialogue amidst chaos.