Eric Ericson is, for the great majority of choir conductors and choir singers throughout the world, the unsurpassed master in the field of choir conducting. His entire career has been devoted to choral music; his work has not only given him great acclaim to his own choirs but has significantly contributed to a breakthrough in establishing the status and merit of choral music making. Side by side with his work with the Chamber Choir, he has been conductor and artistic director of the Swedish Radio Choir (1951 - 1982) and Orphei Drängar (1951-1991).
For many years Eric Ericson was a legendary figure as professor in choir conducting at the Royal University College of Music in Stockholm. Over the years, his international commitments have become steadily more extensive. Not only has he appeared as guest conductor with all the world´s major choirs, but in a series of some ten master classes worldwide every year, he is appreciated as a particularly valued and stimulating teacher.
Originally trained as a church musician at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Eric
Ericson formed the Stockholm Chamber Choir in 1945 (renamed in 1988 to be called the Eric
Ericson Chamber Choir). This group has remained his main instrument for developing the art of
a capella singing ever since. In 1951 the Swedish Radio Choir was formed on his initiative, and
the post as its principal conductor and artistic leader was held by him until 1982. During the
years 1951 - 1991 he was also principal conductor and artistic leader of the male choir Orphei
Drängar, based in Uppsala Sweden. 
Since his retirement from his post as principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir in 1982, professor Ericson has been giving numerous master classes over the world. He has also guestconducted many leading vocal groups, such as the Netherlands Chamber Choir, Groupe Vocal de France, BBC Singers, RIAS Kammerchor, Vienna State Opera Choir. etc. He has also conducted numerous performances of larger works with leading orchestras and choirs in Europe, Australia, the USA Japan and Hongkong. He frequently collaborates with conductors like Riccardo Muti and Nicolaus Harnoncourt and their respective orchestras.
A couple of years ago an art exibition called "Nordic Light" created a lot of attention and
enthusiasm among art-lovers world-wide. In a similar fashion, choir music has its own "Nordic
Sound", and this sound can rightly be attributed to one man: Eric Ericson. Trying to describe a
musical sound by written words feels somewhat futile, but it is still worth an attempt. The Eric
Ericson sound is intimate and "airy", well defined but still very homogenuos.
When Eric Ericson started his first chamber choir in 1945, choir singing in scandinavia was
mainly performed outdoors (and without the help of any amplifying equipment) and consequently
high volume singing was normal. Eric Ericson wanted to break with this and a common desire
for him and his choir-singers was to sing quietly. This led to a choir sound that was very different
from what was normal in those days. A choir sound is of course much dependant on the
selection of singers to form the choir. The Eric Ericson sound must therefore also be attributed
to the way in which he performs his selection of singers, but perhaps also in the quality of the
"raw material" i.e. the natural tonal quality often found in voices in scandinavia which seems to
lend themselves so well to choir singing.
To Leif and Johan´s Vocal hall of fame