Eric Banks (composer)

Eric Banks (born January 25, 1969) is a Seattle-based composer, choral conductor, and ethnomusicologist. Life Banks was born in Roscoe, New York, United States in 1969. He is the founding director of the vocal ensembles, The Esoterics and Ædonis. As a composer, Banks writes primarily for a cappella chorus. He is a polyglot and frequently sets texts in languages other than his native English, including dead languages such as Epic Greek and Avestan. Eric Banks earned his BA in composition (1990) at Yale University, and his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Music Theory and Choral Studies at the University of Washington. In 1997, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Stockholm; there he performed with several groups, including the Swedish Radio Choir and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir. In 1992, while still in graduate school, Banks founded the professional-caliber chamber chorus, The Esoterics, which performs rarely heard compositions of contemporary music for unaccompanied voices. The Esoterics has performed over 300 concerts throughout the Pacific Northwest, has commissioned and premiered over 150 new works for a cappella voices in dozen