Eric Gustaf Ericson (26 October 1918 – 16 February 2013) was a Swedish

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

conductor and influential choral teacher.

Life and career

He graduated from the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including perform ...

(''Kungl. Musikhögskolan'') in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

in 1943 and went on to complete his studies abroad, at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Renowned for his innovative teaching methods and the wide-ranging nature of his repertoire, Ericson was the principal conductor of the Orphei Drängar choir at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

from 1951 until 1991, and choirmaster until 1982 of the

Swedish Radio Choir The Swedish Radio Choir is a professional choir. It is part of Sveriges Radio, the public radio broadcasting company of Sweden. The choir consists of 32 singers and their chorus master Marc Korovitch. Peter Dijkstra is the choir's most recent chief ...

which was established on his initiative in 1951. Also in 1951, he began his teaching career at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he became a legendary and inspirational figure, and he was appointed to the

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...

of choral conducting there in 1968. In 1983 Ericson received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from the Faculty of Humanities at

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. He won the

Nordic Council Music Prize The Nordic Council Music Prize is awarded annually by NOMUS, the Nordic Music Committee. Every two years it is awarded for a work by a living composer. In the intervening years it is awarded to a performing musician or ensemble. The Nordic ...

in 1995, and in 1997 Ericson shared the

Polar Music Prize The Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, best known as the manager of the Swedish band ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The award is annually given to one contemporar ...

with

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

: the citation was for "pioneering achievements as a conductor, teacher, artistic originator and inspirer in Swedish and international choral music". On the occasion of his 80th birthday in 1998,

Swedbank Swedbank AB () is a Nordic- Baltic banking group based in Stockholm, Sweden, offering retail banking, asset management, financial, and other services. In 2019 Swedbank had 900,000 private and 130,000 corporate clients and a 60% market share o ...

of Sweden endowed an "Eric Ericson Chair in Choral Directing" at Uppsala University. He founded the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, and worked as a guest conductor for many ensembles and choirs including

Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble Drottningholm, literally "Queen's Islet", is a locality situated in Ekerö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden, with 398 inhabitants in 2010. It is on the island Lovön in lake Mälaren on the outskirts of Stockholm. Drottningholm Palace ...

(Bach's Passions),

Netherlands Chamber Choir The Netherlands Chamber Choir (Dutch ''Nederlands Kamerkoor'') is a full-time and independent professional Dutch choir. It was founded in 1937 by a :nl:Felix de Nobel as the ''Chorus Pro Musica'' to perform Bach cantatas for the Dutch radio.

(Poulenc), Chœur de chambre Accentus, Paris (Finnish works). His conducting for the 1975 Bergman film ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'' was described as "impressive" in its balance of "levity and solemnity", and the reviewer noted that Ericson was "a Mozartian to be reckoned with".Evidon, Richard. Bergman and 'The Magic Flute'. ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...

'', Vol. 117, No. 1596 (February 1976), pp. 130-131.

Awards

Litteris et Artibus Litteris et Artibus is a Swedish royal medal established in 1853 by Charles XV of Sweden, who was then crown prince. It is awarded to people who have made important contributions to culture, especially music, dramatic art and literature. The ob ...

(1968) * Léonie Sonning Music Prize (1991;

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

) *

(1995, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland) *

(1997, Sweden) *

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') ( English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It"), is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King ...

(1988) * KTH Great Prize

Selected recordings

*Compositions by Ingvar Lidholm,

Sven-David Sandström Sven-David Sandström (30 October 1942, in Motala – 10 June 2019) was a Swedish classical composer of operas, oratorios, ballets, and choral works, as well as orchestral works. Life and career Sandström studied art history and musicology at ...

, Tomas Jennefelt, Jorgen Jersild - Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Caprice CAP21461 2002. * ''Skandinavien'' - Choir de Chambre Accentus, FCM (2000)

References

External links

Prizewinners of 1997
– Polar Music Prize

- Interview with Eric Ericson from 1997 in The Art Bin Magazine * Eric Ericsonat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

Life and career

Awards

Selected recordings

References

External links

See also