B i o g r a p h y
Eric Starr is a multi-talented composer, drummer, and pianist. He is also a voting member at the Recording Academy/GRAMMYs®.
Working in a wide variety of musical genres, Starr has performed internationally at countless major venues and storied concert halls.
Starr’s chamber music tribute to authors Vera Brittain & Winifred Holtby, Between the Sandhills and the Sea, has garnered praise from around the world. In 2025, its European premiere was at the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, University of Oxford, followed by a second performance at the stunning Laidlaw Music Centre: McPherson Recital Room, University of St Andrews.
Celebrated conductor JoAnn Falletta wrote, "A fascinating melding of words and music: very alluring and quite haunting. An excellent work!" Golden Globe-nominated director James Kent called the project "Truly valuable in this volatile world," and biographers Elaine and English Showalter hailed Starr's work as "evocative and moving," adding "One senses the same powerful themes that animated their [Brittain and Holtby's] lives and their writing."
In 2018, Starr's Twelve Pieces for Solo Piano was performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and premiered earlier that year at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY. Legendary jazz pianist and composer Andy LaVerne called Twelve Pieces, "a great and valuable addition to the piano literature." And The Buffalo News called these works, "An epic musical journey...deeply moving, thoroughly modern music."
In 2007, Starr's The Stones of Carnac for tenor saxophone and strings premiered at The Lighthouse: Poole's Centre for the Arts (UK) and featured world-renowned saxophonist Iain Ballamy. Composer Steve Reich wrote, "I’m impressed with the directness of Eric’s music and the craft with which he has written it. His music would appeal to a wide variety of listeners."
The Eric Starr Group has released two critically acclaimed jazz albums and was featured at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse (Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts) as well as other famous jazz clubs in New York City. ESG's two albums have received international radio play and rave reviews in Downbeat Magazine and The Jazz Journal (UK). Iconic drummer Bill Bruford dubbed Starr "an extremely welcome new addition to the club [of percussionist composers]."
As an author and educator, Starr has written five books about music for Adams Media, Inc. (See Educational Publications.) Starr has also appeared as a guest artist and lecturer at many schools. This list includes the University of Iowa (Center for New Music), State University of New York at Fredonia, Loyola University New Orleans (Biever Guest Lecture Series), and The Purcell School (UK).
Upcoming: The Blank Page: The Creative Mind and Music Composition lecture at the 2026 NYSSMA Winter Conference (Rochester, NY).
Starr has received four Meet the Composer grants, a Utah Arts Council grant, and NEA Foundation grants. Additionally, Starr is a member of The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA).
Introducing my music on stage at the JdP Music Building, St Hilda's College, University of Oxford
Compositional Philosophy
"To me, the role of music is to communicate the struggles and triumphs of our lives. Every piece I write has a story connected to it and can be interpreted on many levels, depending on the listener. My work is not focused on style or genre. I’m also not interested in popular music vs. art music. I think all music contains the same DNA. I write tonal music, but incorporate elements of free atonality, minimalism, and other atmospherics for effect. I am committed to melody in my work, which, I think, is often lacking in contemporary music. You will also hear modal excursions, use of dissonant colors, and parallel harmonic movements in my writing. Conceptually, much of my work focuses on perceptions of reality through an exploration of liminal spaces, memories, dreams, and even the ghostly and the supernatural. Overall, I seek to probe the unanswerable questions of love, loss, life, and death with curiosity, a bit of mischief, and a deep sense of wonder."