benjamin damann is a composer, percussionist, music technologist, and educator currently residing in denton, texas. among others, he has been performed by the eastern illinois university percussion ensemble, apply triangle, the plauger-klauss duo, and more. his works, performed and recorded throughout the united states and europe at such events as nycemf, emm, and the seamus national conference, are inspired by probability, indeterminacy, improvisation, and the timbral manipulation of acoustic instruments through both physical preparation and electroacoustic augmentation.

benjamin’s recent works have focused on idiomatic harmonic gestures of jazz as applied to post-tonal harmony, the maximization of contemporary techniques and timbral possibilities, and the application of twentieth-century poetic forms in musical contexts. his research interests include xenharmonic tuning systems and the complex applications of both rhythm and meter in the music of unsuk chin and gerard grisey.

as a performer, he is devoted to realizing experimental works for solo snare drum and multi-percussion as well as programming software interfaces to aid in the performance of such works. His background in percussion has also led him to teaching opportunities from fifth-grade beginning band to university marching bands. benjamin holds a bm in percussion performance with a concentration in music composition from eastern illinois university, where he studied with dr. brad decker and professor jamie ryan, an mm in music composition from bowling green state university, where he studied with dr. elainie lillios, dr. mikel kuehn, and michael laurello, and is currently pursuing his phd at the university of north texas.