Damen EASTON
Piano and Voice
Damen Easton has taught private music lessons for 18 years, including voice, piano, and composition/songwriting. He began as an adjunct music professor at Portland State University in 2016. He currently teaches Contemporary Music Theory at PSU. The student’s personal goals and interests are central to Damen’s approach, as music can be approached from many angles and there are many forms of mastery. Creativity also plays a key role. Damen’s default approach to piano education centers on applied theory, to enable a student to be able to improvise and/or write. This creates a stronger connection with the instrument than mere memorization of pieces (though learning pieces is a helpful and recommended option). The central goal of his approach is to make music education translate from an academic exercise to an artistic experience wherever possible, and as soon as possible. As a voice teacher, Damen can teach the foundations of classical singing, and also build pop and rock technique (including vocal distortion) on top of this foundation.
Damen Easton received his Masters of Music in Composition in 2015, from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There he studied composition under John Morrison and Jeremy Van Buskirk. This followed his Bachelors at Portland State University, where he studied under Renee Favand-See and Bonnie Miksch. Damen’s work takes influence from Romantic, Modernist, Jazz, Indian Classical, Post Minimal, and popular music. In 2013, his entry won the annual String Quartet composition competition, put on by Classical Revolution PDX. While completing his Masters, he raised money to record a more developed version of that String Quartet, as well as his first Alternative Pop album. After finishing school, he focused more on Alt-Pop music for a time, assembling a band in LA and releasing the album, The Dark Corners. More recently, he recorded a collaboration with Jimmie Herrod (of Pink Martini and America’s Got Talent) called The Stars. He currently works with the band Limit State, which he formed to perform his experimental rock music. Since 2016, music education has been a central part of Damen’s music career. He teaches music theory as an adjunct professor at Portland State University. He teaches voice (including rock vocals), keyboard, and composition/songwriting in private lessons. He also composes, and arranges on commission, and works as a musical editor. Damen’s music can be heard at dameneaston.bandcamp.com, limitstate.bandcamp.com, or on any major streaming platform.
