About
Eric Roth is known as an original and expressive musical voice, recognized internationally as a composer, performer, producer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor and educator.
Eric maintains an active composing schedule with recent performances of his music in New York, London, Chicago, San Francisco, and the Czech Republic. Lyceum for Percussion Ensemble with solo recitation, a commission for the historic Kaufman Theater in Marquette, Michigan, premiered in August 2011 under Roth’s direction. 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, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra (London), Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and other prominent orchestras and ensembles.
In 2011, Eric was the Orchestrator and Associate Producer for Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Seasonal Albums sales chart and #1 on the Billboard New Age chart. He’s arranged and orchestrated music for the Distant Worlds: Music from FINAL FANTASY international concert tour, the 2011 live in Tokyo DVD release Distant Worlds: Returning Home and the 2010 CD release Distant Worlds II: More Music from FINAL FANTASY, for the “Surprise, Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular,” Katy Perry, David Foster/Charice, Il Divo and Paul Potts (for the Oprah Winfrey Show), the motion picture soundtrack of Barbie™ in “A Christmas Carol,” the Barbie at the Symphony and Barbie in The Nutcracker concert productions, KC and the Sunshine Band with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass, The Fire Show, Chris Mills, the Irish Tenors, Resplendent, The National Trust, and other music for live performance and recordings.
Eric was the conductor of the orchestra for Music Director and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes at the monumental “Surprise, Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular,” taped lived before an audience of 15,000 at the United Center in Chicago 2011. Among the outstanding and legendary performers that ER and the orchestra accompanied were Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Usher, Kristin Chenoweth, Jamie Foxx and Josh Groban. He has been the conductor for performances by the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the KMH Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm and Oslo, as well as ensembles for the artists Seal, Jewel and Stevie Nicks, for the live concert presentation PLAY! A Videogame Symphony, the Irish Tenors’ 2008 North American Summer Tour, for a recording of music by Guggenheim Fellow Primous Fountain for Uji Films, and for the Chicago Clarinet Ensemble.
Eric was the music director and conductor for a program of historical Ella Fitzgerald and Benny Goodman music celebrating the Children’s Health Council 50thSummer Symphony concert in Palo Alto, California. And in 2011, he was the Guest Artist and Music Director for the Percussive Attack Camp, a rare and intensive percussion ensemble program, in Marquette, Michigan
Eric has worked on dozens of commercial recordings as a producer, composer, arranger/orchestrator and performer (conductor, percussion, voice, etc.) for record labels such as American Gramophone, Thrill Jockey, Centaur, Mattel, Tzadik, Four Winds, Perishable, 482 Music, RosCo and AWR Music.
Commissioned concert music includes Lyceum for Percussion Ensemble with solo recitation—for the Percussive Attack Camp in Marquette, Michigan 2011, 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), Mills College (Oakland, California), and has been named to the groundbreaking Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) Teaching Artist Roster for 2011-12. 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, 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 with his wife Allie and daughter Anouk, and has been Assistant Music Director at AWR Music since 2008.
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