About Me
A sought after pianist, vocal coach, composer, arranger, lecturer, and producer is a native of Augusta, Georgia. He attended Davidson Fine Arts School where he was very active in academic activities and performing arts ensembles. Damien is a graduate of Howard University with a Bachelor's Degree in Piano Performance. In May 2006, Mr. Sneed completed matriculation at New York University with a Master's Degree in Music Technology with a focus on Scoring for Film and Multimedia. He has currently been working on a second Master's Degree in the field of Vocal Accompanying & Conducting at the Manhattan School of Music. Damien is planning on matriculating into Columbia University in the Fall of 2008 as a PhD candidate in the field of Ethnomusicology.Damien is a full-time professor at The Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York in Bayside, New York and serves as Music Director at The Greater Allen AME Cathedral in Jamaica, New York where The Reverends Doctors Floyd and Elaine Flake are the pastors. He is also a staff accompanist at the Juilliard School - Lincoln Center, New York, NY.Recently Damien wrote, arranged, and performed music for a Ford Motor Company commercial and was also asked by NBC to arrange two songs for Fantasia Barrino (American Idol Winner) for the Today Show and NBC's "Fourth of July" TV Special. Damien has taught at the Baltimore School of the Arts, Peabody Preparatory of Peabody Conservatory, the Choir Academy of Harlem, the Harlem School of the Arts, and the Professional Performing Arts School of New York.Professor Sneed has the ability to shift between several different musical genres and styles; from classical to jazz to gospel to opera to secular and more. He has been afforded the opportunity to perform with musical legends and entertainment moguls such as Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Donnie McClurkin, Carlos Santana, the Clark Sisters, Karen Clark-Sheard, Twinkie Clark, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Kierra Sheard, Melonie Daniels, Hezekiah Walker, Dottie Peoples, Richard Smallwood, Kim Burrell, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Minneapolis Symphony, Soulful Symphony, Lorna Myers, Wycliffe Gordon, Eric Reed, the Boys Choir of Harlem and many many other notable world-class performers.His musical prowess has allowed him to be featured at the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the Juilliard School, London, England, Japan, the United States Virgin Islands, South America, as well as 41 states in the US. Damien's most recent recording projects include Karen Clark-Sheard's "It's Not Over" album on Word Records, a CD on the Nagel-Heyer international jazz label with Wycliffe Gordon and Eric Reed, and a compilation album on SONY by Twinkie Clark. Damien recently composed commercial music for the American Bible Society Presents nationally syndicated broadcast, the Soul Train Music Awards, and the 2005 BET Celebration of Gospel television special. Mr. Sneed is currently holds an artist endorsement from Yamaha.Damien lives by Proverbs 3:5-6, King James Version which states, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."
