‘Music for me has been so important!’
By Julie Parent
Karen Sue Erickson of Alexandria speaks from experience when she says making music is “a lifelong activity which you can do at a high level all of your life.” In addition to playing piano, organ, recorders, and handbells, Erickson plays four different types of flutes.
The standard concert flute, which is the flute people are most familiar with, plays in the key of C. The piccolo plays an octave higher, and the bass flute plays an octave lower than the standard concert flute. The alto flute plays in the key of G, so when Erickson plays that, she needs to transpose the music. Her favorite flute to play is the alto flute, because it has a deep, rich sound and is an instrument that is unique to most people.
Flutes come in a standard size, but can be made out of different materials.
“Most flutes are made of metal. Student flutes are often nickel plated, but intermediate and professional flutes are solid silver or rose gold.”
Erickson grew up in a musical family. She played the flute in her junior high school band from seventh to ninth grade. Because of her advanced class schedule, Erickson was not able to play the flute during high school, but she picked it up again seriously as a young adult. Decades later, she still plays the flute and has a massive collection of flute music.
Throughout her lifetime, Erickson has traveled extensively.
“I usually try to find a concert to attend wherever I can on my travels and have heard some wonderful ones in a castle in Salzburg, Austria and a cathedral in Riga, Latvia,” she said.
Some of the pieces of music in her collection have been purchased at stores in Germany, Paris, and London. However, her favorite place to purchase music by Edvard Grieg was in Bergen, Norway, because that was where Grieg lived. Musicians in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area have rented music from Erickson’s collection, which is listed on the Upper Midwest Flute Association’s online library catalog. The types of music in her collection include classical, popular, sacred, folk, and experimental with extended techniques.
Erickson does not remember specifically why she wanted to start playing the flute, but she does remember receiving tickets when she was a child from a St. Paul neighbor to see the famous French flautist Jean Pierre Rampal. When asked about his amazing performance, she said, “I thought his playing was marvelous in the small theatre downtown and my mother was also impressed with the ruffles on his sleeve cuffs!”
Erickson’s resume is long and impressive. At one point, she had a small business with a harpist called Silver and Strings. They played at various community events and banquets.
“I provided the music, and my friend made all the financial arrangements,” she said. “She had a Celtic harp at first, so we were limited to just a few keys. Then she got a concert grand harp, and we could not drive in my little car anymore. We got good at moving the harp around with its cover and wheels and made sure to plan enough time for tuning.”
Erickson is currently the director of the Flute Escapades flute choir which has been in existence for close to 30 years. The choir performs almost everywhere they are invited to play. Once, they even dressed in costumes for a Scandinavian-themed performance. Many of the people who have been in the group have not had an opportunity to play their flutes publicly since being in high school or college. During the COVID pandemic, Erickson kept the flute choir going by holding practices on her patio.
“One afternoon, a mom and two kids came walking along the fence behind my house looking for the ice cream truck because they heard our music!” she said.
At that time, she also played with the Augsburg University Flute Ensemble. The ensemble held their rehearsals via Zoom. When it was time to record their performances, they kept their distance from each other by spreading out inside the chapel located on the Minneapolis campus.
For 24 years before the pandemic, Erickson played in the pit orchestra for the musicals at the AAAA Theatre, which is now called the Andria Theatre. One day before a performance began, she opened her case, and discovered her flute was not there. By the time she retrieved it from her home, she had missed the overture.
After her husband, who was a Pastor in Alexandria, died of brain cancer in 2009, she got a professional model flute and started her 16-year career playing with the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra. Erickson said it was “a wonderful thing for me to throw my energies into as a way of getting through that grief.” She has also played flute duets at Bethany Home where she carried a CD player with a recording of their accompaniment to each of the resident’s rooms.
Ekroth Music Store offered her a studio to teach flute and piano lessons in 2003. Now, she teaches students in her home. So far, her youngest flute students were elementary school-aged. Her oldest was a man in his 60s who just wanted to learn how to play the flute.
One of the reasons she thinks more women than men play the flute is because it is easy to carry. When her daughter played the piccolo in a marching band, “She thought it was great to put the piccolo in her pocket while the tuba players were wearing their instruments!”
Erickson has a lot of tips for new flute students. In addition to keeping their flute in good condition, she says to get “a good student model instrument and be ready to upgrade if it turns out to be a good match for you. Be sure to try out many flutes individually and pick the one that is best for you. Have someone listen to your playing to help choose the best one.” Continually taking private lessons and masterclasses like she has “is also helpful beyond the school band program just for more individual encouragement and challenge.”
According to Erickson, no matter what age you are, “making music is an activity that wakes up your whole brain. You are using so many of your senses together: sight to look at the notes, sound to listen to the music, touch as you play the keys, and your brain is coordinating all that effort to bring out music. You are also expressing emotions and communicating with others in such a special way.” You are not simply playing notes.
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