Jason Britton is a native of Spokane, Washington and comes to Luther from the University of Oregon, where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in music theory. His dissertation, titled “Harmony, Voice Leading, and Motive in Beethoven’s Last String Quartet,” examines the intricate tonal language of Beethoven’s opus 135 from a Schenkerian perspective. Jason also enjoys addressing aspects of phrase rhythm and musical humor in his work, and he has presented papers on these topics at various music conferences, including the 2006 national joint meeting of the American Musicological Society and the Society for Music Theory.

As a performer, Jason is trained as a classical guitarist. He earned his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in guitar performance from the University of Arizona, and has taught applied guitar at Whitworth College.