Jason Koczela was born in 1967 in Adams, Massachusetts. When he was young, he was fortunate to study piano with Emanuel Levenson. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Hartt School of Music, where he studied composition with Robert Carl and David Macbride. While a senior at Hartt, he won the John G. Martin Scholarship to study for two years at Hertford College, Oxford University. After receiving his Master's from Oxford, he went on to earn his Ph. D. from Harvard University. He is a co-founder of Public Works New Music in Boston.