Percussion Score

MARC EVANSTEIN, PHD

Music Composition/TheoryPianoCreative Coding
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About Me

I'm a composer, pianist, and programmer with over a decade of private and college teaching experience. As a composer and pianist, my music has been featured in festivals and won awards both in the US and internationally. As a programmer, I have created numerous tools for composition, most notably the SCAMP libraries for computer-assisted composition in Python.

As a teacher, I am an ideal choice for students with wide-ranging curiosity: Perhaps a student not only wants to learn piano, but also wants to know how music is put together, maybe try their hand and writing some music of their own. Or perhaps a student is already a composer, but wants to connect their study of composition with the physics of sound, or with computer programming. If this sounds like you, this may be a good fit!

You can learn more about my work on my portfolio website, and view my CV here

Lessons

Composition

As a composer, I have presented my work at concerts and festivals both nationally and internationally, and have years of experience teaching composition both privately and at the college level. Although my work is rooted in the classical tradition, I have experience working with students interested in both acoustic and electronic music from a wide range of genres. You can check out some of my work (and experiments) on my online portfolio, or take a listen to this recent virtual concert of my music.

Theory/Musicianship

In addition to composition, I also have many years of experience teaching music theory and musicianship both privately and at the college level. This includes traditional harmony, counterpoint, and instrumentation, as well as musicianship skills like ear training, sight reading and sight singing. Whether you're interested in traditional tonal music or atonal music with complex rhythms, I have the experience needed to help you not only understand, but truly internalize the ways in which music is constructed.

Piano Performance

For me, the rigorous study of piano performance has always gone hand-in-hand with the study of composition. I perform in solo and ensemble settings, and cover a range of music, from standard repertoire to contemporary music to my own compositions. As a teacher, I have offered both individual and class instruction, and focus on the development of good weight transfer for a relaxed approach to the keyboard. Listen here for a sample of my playing.

Music Coding

As the developer of the SCAMP libraries for Computer-Assisted Music in Python, I can teach you not only how to code, but also how music and code interrelate. We can start with the absolute basics, or jump straight into more advanced topics, such as generating music using Markov chains or L-systems. Although I typically teach in Python, I'm comfortable with many other languages and frameworks, such as Java/Processing, SuperCollider, C/C++, JavaScript and Max/MSP.

Lesson Options

I offer both in-person lessons (I am located in Tualatin, Oregon) as well as virtual lessons. Lessons are typically weekly and an hour long, although I'm able to accomodate shorter or less frequent lessons on a case-by-case basis. Also, if cost is a factor, and you have a friend who is interested as well, I'm open to the possibility of group lessons!

Workshops and Online Courses

In addition to private teaching, I periodically offer online workshops in music programming, including a yearly summer workshop at Stanford Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA).

More recently, I teamed up with the website Kadenze.com to produce a beginner-friendly introduction to music programming in Python. This inexpensive online course is a great way to get started with Python, and with music programming in general.

Testimonials
Marc’s capability to teach music across genres is brilliant. I’ve watched him advise students who are writers of classical, jazz, electronic, experimental, and pop. He always encourages us to broaden our musical horizons and prepares us with the knowledge and the materials we need. His approach is always to address the different facets of music, from the creative process to the more scientific or technological aspects of sound. No matter what a student is working on, he can easily provide guidance.

Seryne Aryeh, former class composition student

Marc took each of the problems with the traditional structure [of a musicianship class] and systematically redesigned the course to benefit all students as much as possible while maintaining the intent of the course. On his own, he implemented one of best uses of differentiated teaching that I’ve ever seen... I can only say this for a handful of people: without Marc, I would not be anywhere close to where I am today.

Nick Mazuk, Composer and former musicianship student

[Marc] is indeed a rare person... His selflessness is only equaled by his impressive breadth of knowledge and his clear joy in sharing his love of learning with others... From the beginning, he consistently built relationships with even with the most reluctant students. His ability to find what makes people excited and use it to engage them in almost any topic impressed me from day one... Marc is a true educator, individualizing his approach for each student, checking to insure their understanding, adjusting his approach as needed, and circling back to past topics.

Lauren Gleason, M.Ed., Teacher at Alta Vista Alternative High School

Marc is really good at delivering the ideas and spirit of the knowledge, not only with detailed verbal explanation, but also with demonstrating just the right music examples along the way. Artistic thinking could sometimes be hard to deliver, especially when you have a totally different culture background and study scientific & technical majors. However, Marc was able to spend extra efforts to bridge the thoughts and ideas from various disciplines, also the cultural barrier in my mind.

Minquan Chen, former piano student

I learned a lot during the workshop, expanding both my Python knowledge and different ways of writing computer music... I love this way of composing music and I think I will continue using it in the future.

Ningxin Zhang, Python computer music workshop student

It was fantastic! I learned more useful Python during this class than I did during 10 yrs of using it on the job. My music theory is spotty and weak, and I managed to pick up quite a bit during the class.

— Python computer music workshop student

Contact Me
Composition
Theory / Musicianship
Piano
Programming