Damien Sneed

Damien Sneed is a rising star who is widely admired for his range of musical talents and his extraordinary achievements in his burgeoning career. Sneed is the 2014 recipient of the prestigious Sphinx Medal of Excellence, which is presented annually to emerging Black and Latino leaders in classical music. A pianist, organist, conductor, composer, producer, arranger, vocal coach, and lecturer, Sneed has worked with Wynton Marsalis, Jessye Norman, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Carlos Santana, Ashford & Simpson, David Sanborn, and Kenny Burrell. He has served as music director for GRAMMY® Award-winning gospel artists, including The Clark Sisters, Richard Smallwood, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Marvin Sapp, Karen Clark Sheard, Kim Burrell, and Kierra Sheard. Sneed’s other professional affiliations have included The Juilliard School, Jazz at Lincoln, the City University of New York, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University, The Boys Choir of Harlem, the Martina Arroyo Foundation, and Yamaha as an endorsed Influential Artist. An acclaimed artist with a global reach Sneed has performed in Europe, Japan, the U.S. Virgin Islands, South America, Africa, and over 42 states in the United States.

He is a graduate of John S. Davidson Fine Arts School, and he has studied at some of the finest conservatories and universities, including Howard University, where he earned a bachelor’s of music – piano performance; the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University; New York University, where he earned a master’s of music in music technology: scoring for film and multimedia; and the Manhattan School of Music. In 2010, he was presented with an honorary doctorate of sacred music from the Christian Bible Institute and Seminary.