Erin Rogers (b. 1980) is a composer, performer, teacher and advocate of new music, dedicated to the compositional process while specializing in the interpretation of significant 20th century literature for the concert saxophone.
Her works have been performed in North America, Europe and Asia and have been broadcast on CBC radio and Radio Nacional d’Espana, with recent performances by violinist/concertmaster Jessica Mathaes, the Lost Dog Ensemble, IKTUS Percussion Quartet, Ursula’s End and the Warszynski Trio. In 2005, her chamber work, The Dionysian, was awarded a world premier performance at the Circulo des Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain, following its selection from an international rostrum of young composers. Upcoming projects include a collaboration with the Anubis Quartet in May 2010 and a commission for AI Ensemble in the spring of 2011.
As soloist or orchestral musician, Erin has appeared with the Toledo Symphony, the Astoria Symphony, the New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia, the Bowling Green State University Philharmonia, and the University of Alberta Symphonic Wind Ensemble. Erin is also a founding member of thingNY <www.thingNY.com>, an exciting new music collective comprised of composers, instrumentalists and singers. The New Yorker’s Alex Ross called new music uber-group, thingNY, part of the city’s burgeoning avant-garde classical music scene “striking an attitude of resistance to mainstream culture,” oscillating between the “sweeter sounds” and the “punishingly loud”. Debuting in October 2006, at Jersey City’s landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre, thingNY has gone on to produce three seasons of experimental music including a radio play by Beckett, a collaborative opera and dozens of premieres. Erin has performed with chamber groups such as the Lost Dog Ensemble, Fireworks Ensemble and the CanTai Duo, and has given solo and chamber recitals in the U.S., Canada, France, Taiwan and South Korea.
Based in New York City, Erin is artistic director of Random Access Music (RAM) a composers’ consortium committed to bringing new music to audiences throughout the five boroughs. Since its inception in 2006, RAM has premiered over 40 new works by living American composers, and has conducted two international calls-for-scores. For more information on the collective, please visit <www.RAM-NYC.org>.
Born and raised in Western Canada, Erin completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Alberta and, in 2005, received master’s degrees in composition and performance from Bowling Green State University. From 2002-2004, Erin was a teaching fellow for Distinguished Artist/Research Professor, John Sampen. Erin has been invited to give lectures, music clinics and masterclasses worldwide. She has directed private music studios in Canada and the US since 1995 and, in July of 2004, was the first female featured guest artist and instructor at the annual Taiwan Saxophone Camp in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2006, Erin joined the publishing team at Peermusic Classical, located in midtown Manhattan.