“…the Angels score was gripping on first impression.  It is eclectic, with a surprising set of bluesy variations on Iago’s Toast from Act 1 of Verdi’s Otello at the heart of a duet and a feeling of post-romantic regret breezing gently through the later scenes.”

Octavio Roca
San Francisco Chronicle

“Beve! Beve! Iago urges on Otello’s faithful but weak-stomached captain to drink up and create a credible plot for the rest of the opera.  Kurt Erickson, a young but already much-published San Francisco composer, is a great fan of Verdi’s drinking song, so when Lawrence Pech asked him to provide music for a ballet about tourists stranded in a Moroccan desert, Erickson took the melody, slowed it down and jazzed it up.  Whoa! It sounds great and perfect for dance.”

Janos Gereben
San Francisco Classical Voice

“The explosive Lang work was appropriately contrasted by the excellent, gentle and more subtle O Magnum Mysterium by Kurt Erickson. This world premiere was commissioned by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.  Here the “mystery” part of the thematic trinity came beautifully to the fore.  As resident composer at the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, Mr. Erickson, it is hoped, will not have his efforts thrown to the birds, as has happened to so many contemporary composers, but will instead continue to receive acclimation such as was bestowed on him by the evening’s audience.  Hands clapped enthusiastically; no feathers were ruffled.”

Jeff Dunn
21st Century Music Journal

“If you don’t know the work of Kurt Erickson, a San Francisco composer, chances are that you won’t be able to delay that discovery.  Through a convergence of old and new commissions, Erickson will be everywhere…”

Janos Gereben
San Francisco Classical Voice

“Like Kilstofte, Erickson employs his own particular brand of harmonic color as a primary expressive device.  Also like Kilstofte (and Paulus) is Erickson’s concept of the entire chorus as a single instrument.  He is less likely to pit sections against each other contrapuntally than Larsen or Barnett.  Erickson displays a certain talent for appealing harmonies and expressive dissonance, combined with a degree of thematic unity within his works that will certainly continue to develop.  This is a composer to watch for.  It will be most interesting to see what subtleties Erickson will weave into future choral compositions.”

Dr. Randall Speer
The American Composers Forum and its Impact on Choral Music in the United States

“Erickson's score takes a liturgical inspiration, with the Baroque Choral Guild and Ragazzi Boys Chorus singing, for instance, the "Gloria Patri." The Left Coast Chamber ensemble provided the engaging rhythms and intriguing orchestration, with especially ear-catching percussion.”

Rachel Howard
San Francisco Examiner

“Angels: Fallen and Otherwise arrives with an original score by Kurt Erickson and a performance by the six-member Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, the Baroque Choral Guild and Ragazzi Boys Chorus, all sounding wonderful under Sanford Dole's direction.”

Allan Ulrich
Voice of Dance

“Kurt Erickson’s Two Tennyson Settings thrived in contrasts, from a slow lament to a fast-stepping song of joy in five-beat patterns.” 

Paul Hertelendy
artsf.com

“Wonderful. I was astonished by the intricate elaborations on the simple, haunting themes and music of Let all mortal flesh keep silence.”

The Most Rev. William J. Levada
Archbishop of San Francisco

“For showstoppers, the Virtuose  scored with Erickson’s new I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”

Janos Gereben
San Francisco Classical Voice

“Widely awarded and even recorded, Erickson is clearly not only a major talent but a complete professional. I enjoyed his piece to the hilt.”

Heuwell Tircuit
San Francisco Classical Voice