Born in West Sussex in 1975,  Damian's professional career began in 1998 with his appointment as the first Associate Conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra at the age of only twenty-three.

A graduate of Manchester University, for two years he was conductor of the University Chamber Orchestra, and was invited to become conductor of the Todmorden Orchestra in Yorkshire. The distinguished conductor Kenneth Alwyn provided Damian with his  earliest conducting tuition,  and following his studies in Manchester, and as the recipient of the 1997 Barthel International Prize for Excellence from the Concordia Foundation, Damian studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with Ilya Musin and Leonid Korchmar.

His appointment as Associate Conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra followed a concert performance of the Bruch Violin Concerto without rehearsal. In addition to his scheduled concerts, he also had to stand in on a number of occasions, often at the shortest notice, for indisposed conductors. He conducted concerts in the ESO's subscription series, worked extensively with the ESO Children's and Youth Orchestras and regularly rehearsed and conducted in concert the ESO Choir. He was conductor for the ESO Choir's highly successful tour to Bavaria, their first appearances abroad, where concerts included the German premiere of a work by Geraint Lewis, and the first performances of a work written for the tour by the Spanish composer Pablo Dene.

In 2002, at very short notice, Damian was invited to work as assistant conductor at the Opera National du Rhin (Strasbourg) on a new production of Elektra and the French Premiere of The Prince of the Pagodas. Whilst in Strasbourg he was invited to rehearse the Strasbourg Philharmonic for a concert conducted by Rozhdestvensky. He returned to the Opera National du Rhin in the 2002/03 season as assistant conductor for a new production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and also worked with the orchestra of the Strasbourg Conservatoire. He has since been invited to return to the Opera National du Rhin on a number of occasions.

Damian has a great love of English and Russian music which led him to establish an orchestra to champion unfamiliar music from both countries. The debut London concert of the Ilian Orchestra included the UK premiere of Mieczyslav Weinberg's Chamber Symphony No.1 along with works by Elgar, Finzi and Tchaikovsky.

In May 2001 he conducted the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra as one of only two Britons selected for the Nicolai Malko International Competition for Young Conductors, and in September 2001 conducted the BBC Philharmonic in the BBC Conductors Workshop. In September 2002 he participated in the seventh Leeds Conducting Competition, and later conducted the  Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as a shortlisted candidate for Assistant Conductor. Selected by Esa Pekka Salonen, Damian took part in the third Sibelius International Conducting Competition in Helsinki in September 2005., and was particularly praised in the Helsingin Sanomat for his work on Beethoven Symphony No.1.

The Wyre Forest Symphony Orchestra invited Damian to conduct their December 2001 Concert, and on the strength of this appointed him principal conductor. Concerts with them included the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies of Tchaikovsky, and Walton's Cello Concerto. March 2002 saw Damian conducting the Malvern Schools orchestra for the first time in a highly successful concert that included Sibelius' Second Symphony. Later in 2002 he was asked to  work with the Orchestra Sinfonica Sicilia. In 2004 he made his debut with the Milton Keynes Chorale and Milton Keynes City Orchestra, and the following December he was invited to conduct the Nairobi Music Society and Orchestra in two sold out Christmas concerts. He returned to work with the Nairobi Music Society Choir and Orchestra in 2006, and in 2008 conducted the Nairobi Orchestra in its 60th Anniversary gala. He returned to Nairobi in 2009 to conduct Dvorak, Khachaturian and Brahms. Plans in 2011 include a return to Nairobi to direct a large-scale education project, and concerts with the Redhill Sinfonia where he will be working with Susan Gritton on a programme of Strauss' Four Last Songs, and Mahler's Fourth Symphony.