Rene Eaton
Rene Eaton (he/him) is a baritone singer and educator based in Indianapolis Indiana. He is passionate about uplifting queer voices in music education and performance. Rene is a performance major at Butler University, studying under Dr. Laura Storm. He performs with the Butler Opera Theater, and has portrayed roles including “Marco” in Puccini’s Gianni Schicci and Ching’s sequel opera Buoso’s Ghost, as well as “Harold Wood” in Britten’s Albert Herring.
Rene sings with the Butler Chorale and Butler Chamber Singers, and recently debuted as a soloist with Cincinnati’s Vox Veritatis Choir, performing the bass solo in Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb. Additionally, he has performed with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir in their production of Craig Hella-Johnson's Considering Matthew Shepard.
Outside of performance, Rene is active in co-ed professional music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon, serving as president of the Butler chapter since spring of 2024. He is a teaching artist at the Butler Community Arts School, where he works with voice students of various ages.
He is currently working on his project, Songs of Resistance: Pedagogical Approaches to The AIDS Quilt Songbook, aimed at expanding undergraduate repertoire for singers. This work has been presented at the Butler Summer Institute for Undergraduate Research. Rene plans to pursue graduate studies in vocal pedagogy and continue exploring the intersection of identity within voice pedagogy and literature.