Name Frank Erickson Role Composer | Died October 21, 1996 | |
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Similar People Clare Grundman, W Francis McBeth, David Holsinger, Frank Ticheli, James Swearingen | ||
Frank William Erickson (1 September 1923 – 21 October 1996) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, writer, and trumpet player.
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Growing up
The son of Frank O. and Myrtle Erickson, Frank Erickson was born and raised in Spokane, Washington. He began his instrumental career at the age of eight, playing piano, and at age ten, playing trumpet. In high school, he wrote his first composition for band, The Fall of Evening.
At age nineteen, World War II began. He then served with the United States Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1946. He worked as a weather forecaster and also arranged music for several army bands.
After the war, Erickson worked as a jazz arranger, namely for Earle Spencer and His Orchestra (1946); and he played trumpet. He also studied composition with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco during this time period.
As he wrote music and studied composition, Frank Erickson developed an interest in getting a degree and eventually enrolled at University of Southern California to further his studies in composition. While there, he began arranging half-time shows for the USC marching band. By the time he graduated, he had many published band compositions. His very first was called Little Suite for Band. He graduated from USC with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1950. The next year he went back to USC, and graduated again with a Master of Music degree in 1951. His master thesis was about his own music.
In 1953, Erickon married Mary Theresa McGrorty. They had three sons: William Erickson, Richard Erickson, Christian Erickson. Mary Theresa McGrorty died in 1975 at the age of 53 years. On August 15, 1981 he married Mary Ann Smith.
Erickson lectured at University of California, Los Angeles, in 1958. He then became a professor of music at San Jose State University. The 1950s were prolific years for Erickson. His publications of works such as Balladair, Air for Band, Fantasy for Band, and Toccata for Band were quickly popular and led to wide notability in the concert band world. He is also widely known for his book Arranging for the Concert Band, namely by college music majors.
At the time many pieces for band were extremely difficult or not great pieces. Erickson loved his students so much he wrote a collection of pieces including Air for Band to expand the band repertoire.
For a number of years, Erickson worked in a publishing company, but years later he became an entrepreneur. He began his own publishing business called Frank Erickson Publications in 1995.
Erickson was a longtime member of the National Band Association, was elected to the Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts in 1986, was a member of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, was a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the Pi Kappa Lambda, the Phi Beta Mu, and the American Bandmasters Association.
In 2000, Erickson's widow, Mary Ann Smith, donated all of his compositions to Old Dominion University, which included over 400 works, 200 of which are originals.