Erin Craig, Solo Piano

Erin Craig, Piano

Erin Craig is a pianist, conductor, vocalist, and composer born and raised in Edmonton. She studied jazz piano at MacEwan and at Berklee College of Music, and released a jazz EP entitled “Breakfast” in 2010. Since then, she’s worked extensively as a collaborative pianist in Edmonton’s jazz, musical theatre, and choral communities. Her solo piano style takes influence from her childhood classical training, as well as her extensive experience accompanying singers and leading church music – where melody is prized above all else, over a framework of pulse.

Erin’s current musical pursuits are leading her in all different directions: before the pandemic, she was the artistic director of the Accord Ensemble, an auditioned chamber choir for young adults, as well as the choir director at Robertson-Wesley United Church. During the pandemic, she’s been participating in experimental ways to take choir online, and has helped to pioneer Robertson-Wesley’s online presence with a weekly hymn-sing-along that has been running since March. She’s also been teaching herself the pipe organ and
now counts herself among those who make music with their feet.

Erin is a proud advocate for gender equality and diversity in music. In her work as a choral conductor, her constant goal is to program repertoire from composers of diverse backgrounds at parity with, or over and above, music from the Western Classical canon. She believes that performers and audiences alike are enriched by learning music outside the choral norms, and is constantly searching for music by composers yet unknown to her.

Erin is also an avid composer and arranger. She specifically designs many of her pieces to fall outside typical genre categories, but if pressed, would describe her music as “”fun and functional””. She is well-versed in western classical styles as well as jazz, pop, rock, and other modern styles, and uses that knowledge to build bridges over genre boundaries.

Erin is excited to spend an hour making music at the Yardbird Suite, and she hopes it’s as fulfilling for you as she knows it will be for her.