[Note: I do not give out my birth year. See my FAQ for more information and suggested workarounds.]
“more serious” bio
Eris DeJarnett (e/they) is an interdisciplinary narrative artist working with music, text, and movement to examine power structures, community, and queerness within and beyond the performing arts and academia. Hailed as having “a keen affinity for vulnerability, in both eirself and others,” eir musical catalog explores sexual assault, trauma, recovery, gender, and neurodivergence, often centering the human voice amidst soundscapes of experimental and noise-based practices. Eris’ work also emphasizes the importance of personal development at the performer’s own pace—musically and otherwise—and they regularly work with student musicians and developing performers to craft pieces which suit their individual needs. Eir music has been presented across the United States and internationally, from the National Trumpet Competition and the International Trumpet Guild Conference to the Re:Sound Festival, Oh My Ears, and countless performances both formal and casual.
Eris’ work as an educator has included teaching trumpet, composition, popular music history, and technology-centered career strategies at the postsecondary level. E has given guest lectures for a range of audiences, including at SUNY Potsdam, Hendrix College, Arizona State University, and Brass Out Loud. Eris also engages in policy and structural analysis on their website via the written word and as a consultant for a variety of performing arts organizations.
Eris holds an MFA from the Performer-Composer program at CalArts and a BM in Theory and Composition from Arizona State University. Eir primary teachers include Mattie Barbier, Nicholas Deyoe, Tim Feeney, Kotoka Suzuki, and Jody Rockmaker. They currently call both the Pacific Northwest and the Detroit, Michigan metro area “home.” In eir spare time, you can find em advocating for trans kids and learning how to be a trans adult. To learn more about Eris’ work, please visit https://erisdejarnett.com.
“more fun” bio
Eris DeJarnett is a composer, performer, and theatermaker who arrived at music school having been fed a steady diet of musicals only to discover the only things the curriculum cared about were symphonies and operas. After a turbulent undergraduate education which led peers to describe their composing as “writing with the force of a blizzard,” constant belittling and tokenization by various performance faculty at ASU led Eris to pursue a Performer-Composer degree at CalArts out of spite. Along the way, e began writing music about sexual assault and rape culture, branching out from there into gendered power dynamics more broadly and generally making music about Things Not Traditionally Presented In Concert Halls(TM). Eris describes this musical practice succintly: “I enjoy making people cry.”
Hailed by their enemies as “a strong voice for social justice,” Eris’ positionality and musical endeavors necessarily inform their teaching and community management work. After deciding to focus first and foremost on projects that, in the words of Marie Kondo, “spark joy,” they have devoted much more time to the things that matter most: listening to more pop-punk and musical theater, moderating a number of Discord servers, enjoying the music of Rocket League and World of Warcraft (among other games), forgetting every other task thanks to their ADHD, writing more music, and spending time with eir partners and cats.
Eris’ writing has been featured by Brass Chicks and the Tuba-Euphonium Social Justice Initiative. They have been cited by I Care If You Listen and plagiarized by the Institute for Composer Diversity. In what is the most important accolade of eir career, eir work KENOCHORIC has been honored by the kenochoric community with the coining of a gender, kenoconsorentica. After a quarter century in California and Arizona, Eris now calls both the Pacific Northwest and the Detroit, Michigan metro area “home.” They are enjoying cooler temperatures and learning to tolerate the snow while continuing to create words and music alike.
Keep in touch!
Want to keep up with me? Join my mailing list to receive updates about performances, collaborations, and new works, and become a Patron if you like the work I do and want to help me keep doing it! You can also join my Discord server if you’d like to come to informal lectures and follow me on Twitch if games and social commentary are your thing. If you have a question or opportunity to share, contact me directly at: eris [at] erisdejarnett [dot] com. I look forward to hearing from you!
