Richard Erickson

I LOVE teaching music! Over the past 25 years, I have taught students from 4 years old to 89 years old,
beginning to advanced. While my career as a musician and composer is important to me, teaching is just
as important. It is a fundamental part of my musical journey and a great privilege. It has taught me so much about music, people and life.

I trained as a classical musician, studying at the University of Minnesota and privately in London with teachers from the Royal Academy and Guildhall School of Music, but it was learning to improvise with the Blues when I was 16 that set the tone for my musical adventures.

I started working as an improvising dance accompanist in 1984, playing piano for Ballet and Modern
dance classes for many dance schools and companies in Minneapolis and London. I moved to London
with a backpack and a Saxophone in 1987 and ended up having so much fun I stayed there for 25 years.
While there I composed music for and ran a jazz band, and composed music for three Musicals, all staged in
London, and played many other gigs, mainly Pop and Jazz. I also created a form of group music therapy
and ran a company for 9 years in London which provided group music therapy sessions in care homes for
the mentally ill.

I returned to the U.S. in 2012. My feature-length Ballet “Carmen” premiered in Minneapolis in 2018 and will be revived in 2023. A new Ballet is in the works. My wife Jo and I moved to Denver in 2020. We
are loving it here!

I have recorded a lot of my work live and using Cubase production software. I create scores using Finalescoring software. If you want to hear some clips from past recordings and shows check out my website: richardericksonmusic.com