Ben Johnston studied with Darius Milhaud, Harry Partch, Burrill Phillips, Robert Palmer, and John Cage. He was a professor of theory and composition at the University of Illinois. Some of his selected works are Somewhere I Have Never Traveled (1949) for tenor and piano; Knocking Piece Collage (1969) for tape; In Memory, Harry Partch, 1975 (1975) for soprano, computer tape, tape, string quartet, eight percussionists, and slide show; Suite for Microtonal Piano (1977); and Twelve Partials (1980) for flute and microtonal piano.