John Van Houten holds a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree in tuba performance from the University of Southern California. He has performed with a wide variety of music ensembles, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Opera, the Long Beach Opera, the New West Symphony, the Pacific Symphony, the Long Beach Symphony, the American Winds Concert Band, the California Wind Orchestra, the Long Beach Municipal Band, and the Joffrey Ballet.

His performing experience also includes phonograph recording with such diverse artists as Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, and Alice Cooper, in addition to television, records, jingles and a wide variety of motion pictures, such as Mission Impossible, Crimson Tide, Dracula, Species, Virtuosity, Copycat, Mars Attacks, Murder at 1600, The Thin Red Line, Men in Black, Titan A.E., X-Men, Mod Squad, Twin Dragons, Ready to Rumble, Dude, Where's My Car, Pearl Harbor, Swordfish, and Planet of the Apes.

Mr. Van Houten has also served as music contractor/orchestra manager on numerous film, commercial and live orchestral productions. He also currently teaches at several universities and colleges in Southern California area, including Biola University, Azusa Pacific University, and Cerritos College.