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Updated 1/23/2025

Tim Eriksen

  • M

    MA

Institution/Business Type: Performing Group

Tim Eriksen is a musician, ethnomusicologist and songwriter in genres including hardcore punk and shapenote harmony, and is best known as a pioneer of postpunk American folksong. He received a PhD in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University in 2015 and has published related work on early New England music in connection to 19th century Abolitionism, apocalyptic religion, technology and the birth of science fiction. Since 1999 he has taught courses in songwriting, American and world music and film at Dartmouth, Amherst, Smith and Hampshire Colleges and the University of Minnesota. He is currently serving as musician in residence at Historic Deerfield. 

Known for extensive contributions to films including the Oscar winning “Cold Mountain” and 2023 cult horror phenomenon “The Outwaters,” his current projects include writing songs for Alison Krauss, performing with Bonnie “Prince” Billy and creating new works with pianist Omar Sosa for a follow-up to their twice GRAMMY nominated 2009 collaboration “Across the Divide.” Eriksen has long been at the forefront of an international Sacred Harp or “shape-note” singing revival, teaching workshops across North America, Europe and Singapore. With his late wife, Bosnian ethnomusicologist Mirjana Laušević, Eriksen conducted research in the US and eastern Europe, wrote a book on Balkan music in the United States and worked closely with Target CEO Bob Ulrich to launch the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix.

Eriksen’s undergraduate work centered on the South Indian veena, but he cut his teeth as a performer as a founding member of acclaimed bands Cordelia’s Dad (post-punk and folk), Žabe i Babe (Bosnian folk and rock) and Northampton Harmony (shape-note and early American choral music). In 2008 he made his Carnegie Hall debut as a solo vocalist in composer Evan Chambers’ symphonic song cycle The Old Burying Ground. Eriksen’s live media appearances have included Prairie Home Companion, BBC Radio and the Academy Awards. His shapenote compositions are sung regularly at gatherings around the world, and his song “I Wish the Wars Were All Over” was chosen by Joan Baez to be her final recorded musical statement.

Eriksen’s magic lantern musical “Pumpkintown,” with percussionist/sound designer Peter Irvine and painter Susan Brearey, has been staged at venues including Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Théâtre Thénardier (Paris), Konstepidemin (Gothenburg) and throughout the UK and US. He is a 2024 NEFA grant recipient.

 

Find Me

Tim Eriksen
Job Title: Musician
Phone: 6125997575
Address:
8 Clifton Avenue
Amherst, MA 01002

Social Media:

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

1988

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

1988

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Music - General

Additional Disciplines:

  • Music - Traditional

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Cultural Preservation
  • Public Art Projects (In Free, Public Spaces)
  • Cultural Education
  • Residency - In School
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
  • Consulting - Curatorial Services
  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Creation of a Work of Art (Including Commissions)
  • Residency - Production / Development
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 45

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Artists
  • Elders
  • Families
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • Nonprofits
  • School Groups
  • Teens
  • LGBTQ Populations

Languages Available:

  • English

Geographic Reach:

  • International

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Awards

Awards:

  • Jean Ritchie Musical Heritage Award, 2005
  • GRAMMY nominations for "Across the Divide" with Omar Sosa, 2009

Awards

Awards:

  • Jean Ritchie Musical Heritage Award, 2005
  • GRAMMY nominations for "Across the Divide" with Omar Sosa, 2009

Education

Education:

  • Ph.D. Ethnomusicology, Wesleyan University
  • B.A. Music/Ethnomusicology, Amherst College

Special Designations

Special Designations:

  • NEFA Grant Recipient

Artist Info

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Arts and Cultural Center / Venue
  • Community Site / Center
  • Corporate Business
  • Private Studio
  • School / University
  • Virtual / Remote

Ages Served:

  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults
  • Seniors

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Theater

Certifications and Training:

  • PhD Ethnomusicology

Fee range:

Public talk/lecture demonstration: $1-2K Shapenote singing school: $1-2k Private voice lesson: $75-250 Private instrumental lesson: $75-250 Group voice or instrumental lesson: $250-2000

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Arts and Cultural Center / Venue
  • Community Site / Center
  • Corporate Business
  • Private Studio
  • School / University
  • Virtual / Remote

Ages Served:

  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults
  • Seniors

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Theater

Certifications and Training:

  • PhD Ethnomusicology

Fee range:

Public talk/lecture demonstration: $1-2K Shapenote singing school: $1-2k Private voice lesson: $75-250 Private instrumental lesson: $75-250 Group voice or instrumental lesson: $250-2000

Touring Artist

NEST Eligible Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • A room with decent acoustics, a sound system for larger rooms.

Fee Range:

Solo: starting at $2000/day plus expenses Magic Lantern Trio: starting at $2500 plus expenses

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

1

Maximum Number of Performers:

75