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Erik Franklin

Music / Sound, Performance

About the Artist

Award-winning composer and clarinetist Erik Franklin balances a vibrant, varied career on and off the stage.  A consummate performer, his lyrical, expressive playing has garnered acclaim and earned him a coveted position in the U.S. Army Field Band of Washington, D.C. He has given concerts in nearly all fifty states and throughout Europe, performing for audiences large and small in venues from veterans’ homes to Carnegie Hall.  ​ His compositions delight audiences and performers alike.  Recent projects include an art song cycle entitled Verses for Children (2nd-place winner; 2021 NATS Composition Competition) and a chamber work for the Interlochen Arts Academy.  ​ In addition to his artistic output, Franklin is a passionate and experienced pedagogue. He holds the position of Instructor of Clarinet at Towson University and the Peabody Preparatory. Every summer, he directs the Indiana Clarinet Experience—a camp he co-founded in 2014.  ​ Franklin holds a B.M. in Clarinet from Furman University and an M.M. from the renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He is a South Carolina native and currently lives in Baltimore, MD with his husband. He is happily involved in his local arts community, where he enjoys hosting concerts in his home, drinking coffee, reading books, and nursing his ice cream addiction.

Erik Franklin website Song: Verses For Children (2nd Place, NATS 2021) Erik Franklin website Song: Weavers Erik Franklin website Song: The Trout

Featured Work

Music/Audio

  • Verses for Children (2020)

    See more information about Verses for Children (2020)
    2nd-place winner, NATS Art Song Composition Competition 2021
    Music by Erik Franklin (b. 1989)
    based on selected poems from
    Verses for Children by Amy Lowell (1874–1925)

    I. The Crescent Moon
    II. Wind
    III. Sea Shell
    IV. Climbing
    V. The Trout

    From nursery rhymes to lullabies, children’s songs are a universal part of our lives. The melodies and lyrics continue to play in our minds well into adulthood, serving to transport our grown selves directly to the realm of youthful imagination. In Verses for Children, we hear a child’s voice narrate with playfulness and wonderment as they observe the world around them. This interaction with nature is a crucial thread woven through each of the songs—each poem conveying the deep sense of connection we feel as children to the rest of the world, imbuing celestial and terrestrial objects alike with an essence of humanity by means of the imagination.

    In the songs, I try to capture the innocence of the child-speaker by composing melodies reminiscent of the children’s songs we know and love. A four-note pentatonic motive is present throughout each of the songs, representing the powerful imagination of the child.
    Medium: Art Song
    Year: 2020
    Details: 14'

  • Weavers: Mother // Spider (2020)

    See more information about Weavers: Mother // Spider (2020)
    This is a short art song composed in 2020, using two Haiku written by former Baltimore City Resident, Alma Wickenden. The first describes a mother sewing a garment with love; the second admires a spider weaving her web.
    Medium: Art Song
    Year: 2020
    Details: 3'

  • When All Falls Silent (2020)

    See more information about When All Falls Silent (2020)
    A work for clarinet choir that responds to feelings of isolation and loneliness exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Medium: Instrumental Music
    Year: 2020
    Details: 4'

Booking

for booking information, contact erikdfranklin@gmail.com