View source for Donald Erb

{{Short description|American composer}}
[[File:Donald Erb.jpg|thumb|Donald Erb]]
'''Donald Erb''' (January 17, 1927&nbsp;–&nbsp;August 12, 2008) was an American [[composer]] best known for large orchestral works such as Concerto for Brass and Orchestra and ''Ritual Observances''.

==Early years==
Erb was born in [[Youngstown, Ohio|Youngstown]], [[Ohio]], graduated from [[Lakewood High School (Lakewood, Ohio)|Lakewood High School]], a Cleveland suburb, and gained early recognition as a trumpet player for a local dance band.<ref name="new">{{cite web | url = http://www.newworldrecords.org | title = Donald Erb biography | publisher = New World Records | access-date = 2007-03-27 }} <!--May be only temporary, but the Internet Archive Wayback machine suggests otherwise.--></ref> Following a stint in the [[U.S. Navy|Navy]] during [[World War II]], he continued his career as a [[jazz]] trumpeter and enrolled at [[Kent State University]], where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in music in 1950.<ref name="new"/> Three years later, he earned a Master of Music degree from the [[Cleveland Institute of Music]].<ref name="new"/> In 1964, Erb earned a Doctorate in Music from [[Indiana University Bloomington]], where he studied with [[Bernhard Heiden]].<ref name="new"/><ref>
{{Cite news |author1=Slonimsky, Nicolas |author2=Kuhn, Laura |author3=McIntire, Dennis |title= Erb, Donald (James)|newspaper= [[Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians]]|via=[[HighBeam Research]] |access-date= December 3, 2014 |date= January 1, 2001 |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-3491803545.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160110143652/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-3491803545.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= January 10, 2016 }}</ref>

==Honors and awards==
In the course of his career, Erb earned considerable recognition. He received the 1992 [[Rome Prize]] and was composer-in-residence with the [[St. Louis Symphony Orchestra]]. He was Distinguished Professor of Composition, Emeritus, at the Cleveland Institute of Music in [[Cleveland, Ohio]].<ref name="new"/> He has received grants and fellowships from the [[Rockefeller Foundation|Rockefeller]], [[John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation|Guggenheim]], [[Ford Foundation|Ford]], Fromm, and Koussevitzky foundations.<ref name="new"/>

For a list of Erb's notable students, {{See LMST|Donald|Erb}}

He died at his home in [[Cleveland Heights, Ohio]], on August 12, 2008, at the age of 81.<ref>Richard M. Peery, "[http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2008/08/donald_erb_avantguard_composer.html Donald Erb: Avant-Guard [sic&#93; Composer, Conductor] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309151519/http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2008/08/donald_erb_avantguard_composer.html |date=2009-03-09 }}", ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'' (Tuesday August 12, 2008).</ref>

== Selected works ==

* 1966 Concerto for Solo Percussionist
* 1964 ''Symphony of Overtures''
* 1965 ''Phantasma'' for four musicians
* 1966 ''Diversion For Two (other than sex)'' for trumpet and percussion
* 1966 String Trio for violin, electric guitar and violoncello
* 1967 ''Reconnaissance'' for instruments and electronic sounds
* 1968 ''In No Strange Land'' for instruments and electronic sounds
* 1969 ''The Seventh Trumpet'' for orchestra
* 1983 "Prismatic Variations" for orchestra
* 1986 Concerto for Brass and Orchestra
* 1994 ''Changes'' 
* 1994 ''Remembrances'' 
* 1994 Sonata for Solo Violin
* 1995 ''Sunlit Peaks and Dark Valleys''
* 1995 Sonata for Solo Harp
*      "Autumn Music for Orchestra"
*      "Christmas Music for Orchestra"
*      "Harold's Trip to the Sky" for Viola, piano and percussion
*      "Klangfarbenfunk I & II" for jazz group and orchestra
*      "Percussion Concerto" for percussion and orchestra
*      "The Hawk" for jazz group
*      "The Treasures of the Snow" for electronics and orchestra
*      "Trombone Concerto"
*      "2 Milosci do Warszawy" for piano, clarinet, cello, trombone and electronic sounds
*String Quartet N. 1
*String Quartet N. 2
*String Quartet N. 3
*"Music for Mother Bear" for flute alone
*      "Evensong" for orchestra

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[https://www.presser.com/donald-erb?p=2 Donald Erb's page at Theodore Presser Company]
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/arts/music/16erb.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=donald%20erb&st=cse&oref=slogin Obituary from ''New York Times''], August 15, 2008
*[http://www.clevelandcomposers.org/members/member_profile.php?id=54 Donald Erb bio] {{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} as listed by the [http://www.clevelandcomposers.org Cleveland Composers Guild] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210121419/http://www.clevelandcomposers.org/ |date=2011-02-10 }}
*[http://www.bruceduffie.com/erb.html Interview with Donald Erb], February 28, 1985

{{PulitzerPrize Music Finalists 1991–2000}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erb, Donald}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:Cleveland Institute of Music alumni]]
[[Category:Kent State University alumni]]
[[Category:Indiana University Bloomington alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American classical composers]]
[[Category:21st-century American classical composers]]
[[Category:American male classical composers]]
[[Category:Nonesuch Records artists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Youngstown, Ohio]]
[[Category:Cleveland Institute of Music faculty]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Pupils of Bernhard Heiden]]
[[Category:Classical musicians from Ohio]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American male musicians]]