Eric Roth is known as an original and expressive musical voice, recognized as a composer, performer and producer.
Eric maintains an active composing schedule with recent performances of his music in New York, London, Chicago, San Francisco, and the Czech Republic. Battery, a collection of definitive recordings of some of Eric’s most compelling and monumental percussion music, was released in April 2010. He has composed and produced original music for Apple iPhone/iPod Applications, including ScrollMotion’s Curious George’s Dictionary, a 2009 National Parenting Publication Award winner, Iceberg Kids Holiday Catalogue, and Chicago Tribune’s Mobile Zodiac.
His arrangements and orchestrations have been performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and other prominent orchestras and ensembles.
Eric’s arranged and orchestrated music for the Distant Worlds: Music from FINAL FANTASY international concert tour and 2010 release Distant Worlds II: More Music from FINAL FANTASY, the motion picture soundtrack of Barbie™ in “A Christmas Carol,” the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass, the Barbie at the Symphony concert production, KC and the Sunshine Band with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, David Foster/Charice, Il Divo and Paul Potts (for the Oprah Winfrey Show), The Fire Show, Chris Mills, the Irish Tenors, Resplendent, The National Trust, and other music for live performance and recordings.
Eric has conducted the Utah Symphony Orchestra, and for the artists Seal, Jewel and Stevie Nicks. He’s conducted the KMH Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm and Oslo, a program of historical Ella Fitzgerald and Benny Goodman music for the Children’s Health Council 50th Summer Symphony concert in Palo Alto, California, as well as for the live concert presentation PLAY! A Videogame Symphony, the Irish Tenors’ 2008 North American Summer Tour, and for a recording of music by Guggenheim Fellow Primous Fountain for Uji Films. He has worked on dozens of commercial recordings as a producer, composer, arranger/orchestrator and performer (conductor, percussion, voice, etc.) for record labels such as Thrill Jockey, Centaur, Mattel, Tzadik, Four Winds, Perishable, 482 Music, RosCo and AWR Music.
Commissioned compositions include Trick for solo performer—which Eric premiered at Nextbook’s May 2008 Chicago event, The Feel Variatious for solo viola—for New York violist Brian Thompson, The Clark Street Bridge Project for 80-plus percussionists—for the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Secret Cheese—for the Tate Modern, London and Bible Thumpin V—for the Music for People and Thingamajigs Festival in Oakland, California. His 2001 CD Anathema (RosCo Records) has attained an outsider/legend status for its soulful polemics and 2000’s Program 16 (RosCo Records) was recognized by JazzPortugal.net on its Best Albums list for that year.
Eric has taught at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music (New York), Boston University (Distance Education) and Mills College (Oakland, California). He completed exams and coursework for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in music composition at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He also holds a Master of Arts in music composition from Mills College and a Bachelor of Arts in both music and religious studies from the University of Michigan. His composition teachers include Tania Leon, Alvin Curran and Fred Frith.
Eric lives in Chicago and is Assistant Music Director at AWR Music.
