John Ericson

One of the most visible hornists today, John Ericson has wide-ranging experience as an orchestral player, soloist, and teacher. Co-founder of the online magazine Horn Matters, Ericson began his professional career with serving for six seasons as Third Horn in the Nashville Symphony. From there, he turned to full time teaching; first at the Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam) where he launched one of the first large horn websites Horn Articles Online. Since 2001 he has served on the faculty at Arizona State University. He has also performed as an extra on horn and Wagner tuba with groups including the Indianapolis Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony, and the Rochester Philharmonic. His three solo CDs on the Summit label received critical acclaim: The Horn Call hailed Les Adeiux for “Fantastic playing…. The level of musicality, nuance and artistry is not to be missed” and called Canto a “Terrific collaboration between horn and piano.” Table for Three, also on the Summit label, a collection of trios for horn, bass trombone, and tuba with colleagues Douglas Yeo and Deanna Swoboda, was released in 2015. Excerpts from all three of these CDs may be found on this YouTube Channel. His most recent recording project is Rescued!, a collection of forgotten solo works performed on the 19th-century F horn. In addition, Ericson has made recordings with The Potsdam Brass Quintet and The Nashville Symphony, performed on the Grammy Award nominated Fourth World of Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai, and was a frequent recording artist in the studios in Nashville. Besides teaching at Arizona State University, Ericson has served on the summer faculties of the Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Brevard Music Center, where he has worked with hundreds of talented horn students from around the world. His publications are a reflection of his teaching. With his additional strong interest in all instruments of the middle brass, Ericson has print and online publications on topics as diverse as the mellophone and the Wagner tuba.