“Dorian Stewart (they/them) is pursuing an M.A. in Music Theory at the University of North Texas, where they serve as a teaching assistant for undergraduate theory courses. Their main research area is popular music analysis with an emphasis on alternative rock, metal, and the trap music subgenre of hip-hop. Their overarching goal is to bring wider representation to the academic study of music theory by studying the music of marginalized groups to foster understanding, appreciation, and celebration for underexplored popular music genres from wide variety cultures beyond the classical music canon. Prior to attending UNT, Dorian received a B.M. in Music Composition and Theory with a minor in Songwriting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Outside of academia, Dorian is an active composer and independent rock musician in the Denton area.

In March 2022, Dorian will be delivering a presentation of their paper “Structured Chaos: Metric Instability and Transience in Metal at Texas Society for Music Theory's annual conference.”