Background
Erb, James Bryan was born on January 25, 1926 in La Junta, Colorado, United States. Son of Tillman Harvey and Phebe Ann (King) Erb.
composer conductor musicologist choir director
Erb, James Bryan was born on January 25, 1926 in La Junta, Colorado, United States. Son of Tillman Harvey and Phebe Ann (King) Erb.
Bachelor, Colorado College, 1950. Staatszeugnis (Gesang), Staatsakademie Musik, Vienna, Austria, 1952. MM in Singing, Indiana University, 1954.
Master of Arts, Harvard University, 1964. Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard University, 1978.
The founding conductor of the Richmond Symphony Chorus, Erb led that chorus from 1971 to 2007 while also directing chorus activities at the University of Richmond, where he was for a while chair of the music department. Erb is most broadly known for his arrangement of the folk song "Shenandoah", and among musicologists of the Renaissance for his work on the magnificats of Orlando di Lasso published by Bärenreiter. He later earned a masters in voice at Indiana University and a doctorate from Harvard University.
He began teaching music at a junior high school in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Beginning in 1954 he taught music and conducted the choirs and glee clubs at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, where he taught until his retirement in 1994. lieutenant was during this period that he composed his arrangement of the folk tune "Shenandoah", for a tour of Europe by the University of Richmond Choir.
CAFUR"s final concert was in 1994 with the singing of Rachmaninoff"s Vespers. In 2014, he died at the age of 88 in Richmond.
With United States Army, 1944-1946. Member American Musicological Society, American Brahms Society, American Renaissance Society, Gesellschaft Für Bayerische Musikgeschichte. M C.
Married Ruth Hildegard Esther Urbancic, March 1, 1952. Children: Martin Georg, Paul David, Christina Elizabeth, Jonathan Tillman.