Douglas Knehans (b. 1957) is an internationally performed American-Australian composer whose orchestral, concerto, operatic, chamber, and electroacoustic works have been performed throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. His catalogue includes four symphonies, twelve concertos, an opera, major choral works, and an extensive body of chamber and solo music.

His compositions have been commissioned, performed, and supported by distinguished organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Opera Australia, the Australia Council, the National Symphony Orchestra, Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, and the MacDowell Colony. His music has been championed by leading soloists, conductors, ensembles, and orchestras, and has been praised for its dramatic power, richly colored orchestration, and expressive intensity.

Knehans' works are available on numerous commercial recordings, including releases on New World Records, Crystal Records, ERM Media, MOVE Records, and ABLAZE Records. As Founder and Executive Producer of ABLAZE Records, he has also overseen the production of more than 250 recordings devoted to the music of contemporary composers, collaborating with many of Europe's leading orchestras, conductors, soloists, and recording engineers.

He received his initial musical education at the Australian National University before earning a Master of Arts in Composition at Queens College, City University of New York, where he studied with Thea Musgrave and received the inaugural Luigi Dallapiccola Composition Award. He completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Yale University under Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jacob Druckman, graduating with the Woods Chandler Memorial Prize for outstanding achievement in composition.

Alongside his distinguished career as a composer, Knehans has served in senior academic leadership positions including Dean of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Director of the Conservatorium of Music at the University of Tasmania, and Chair of Composition, Theory, and Electronic Music at the University of Alabama. He is currently the Norman Dinerstein Professor of Composition Scholar at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.