John Lamar Crowson (May 27, 1926 – August 25, 1998) was an American concert pianist and a chamber musician. Crowson was born in Tampa, Florida. His early education was in Portland, Oregon with noted pedagogue, Nellie Tholen, where he attended Reed College (1943–1948), majoring in art, history and literature. He later studied piano under Arthur Benjamin who invited him to study at the Royal College of Music in 1948 and was appointed to the staff in 1957. During the 1950s he won many major prizes, including the Chappell Gold Medal, the Dannreuther Prize and the Harriet Cohen International Medal. In 1952 he was laureate in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. This initiated his career as a concert pianist performing with such notable conductors as Sir John Barbirolli, Daniel Barenboim