Frank Erickson

From Wind Repertory Project
Frank Erickson

Biography

Frank William Erickson (1 September 1923, Spokane, Washington – 21 October 1996, Oceanside, Calif.) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, educator and author.

Erickson began studying piano at the age of eight, trumpet at ten, and wrote his first band composition when he was in high school. He received his Mus.B. in 1950 and his Mus.M. in 1951, both from the University of Southern California. Before entering college he studied privately with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and with Halsey Stevens and Clarence Sawhill after enrolling at USC.

He served with the United States Army Air Force from 1942-1946, and wrote arrangements for army bands during that time. After the war ended he worked in Los Angeles as a trumpet player and jazz arranger.

Erickson was a composer, conductor, arranger, and author of books on band method. He also lectured at the University of California at Los Angeles (1958) and was professor of music at San Jose State University. For a number of years he worked for a music publishing company, and later began his own company.

He was a life member of the National Band Association, elected to the Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts in 1986, and a member of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Beta Mu, and the American Bandmasters Association.


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