birth_place nationality article_title name occupation
deer lodge , montana american eric funk
 eric funk composer , conductor , teacher
eric funk

eric funk is an american contemporary classical composer and conductor .
originally from deer lodge , montana , he currently resides in bozeman , montana , where he teaches music courses at montana state university .
mr. funk 's considerable compositional output includes five symphonies , three operas , six ballet scores , three large works for chorus and orchestra , thirteen concertos , several orchestral tone poems , and numerous works for chamber ensembles , solo instruments , and vocal works .
among recent prominent premiers of his works include his one-act solo opera for contralto and ballet troupe , akhmatova , based on key texts from the russian poet 's life , his violin concerto , and the song cycles gongora -lrb- for baritone and chamber orchestra , on texts by the spanish baroque poet -rrb- and sequentia -lrb- contralto and 9-person chamber ensemble , on texts by paul celan -rrb- .
newly completed works include the massive mandelshtam : a valediction to the 20th century , a work in 5 movements for large chorus , two orchestras , and amplified string quartet , based on poems by the russian poet osip mandelshtam .
the latter was commissioned by the gallatin performing arts center for their upcoming grand opening .
past performance venues for his works include carnegie hall , the renda theater , and the gaudeamus international interpreters of contemporary music festival -lrb- rotterdam -rrb- ; as well as numerous theaters and concert halls in the u.s. and eastern europe .
his works have earned him numerous awards and commissions , including 13 ascap standard awards , the 2001 governor 's award for the arts -lrb- montana -rrb- , and three arts commission fellowships .
numerous compositions of mr. funk have been recorded commercially .
these include three releases on the mmc label , featuring three of his symphonies -lrb- nos. 1 , 3 , and 4 -rrb- , as well as two concertos and a string quartet .
his symphony no. 5 , `` dante ascending '' was recently released on the composer 's own label , and recorded by the latvian national symphony orchestra and opera chorus , conducted by terje mikkelsen .
mr. funk was featured on the charles osgood cbs sunday morning show in october of 1998 , which in turn followed on the heels of a front page story in the new york times `` arts & leisure '' section -lrb- april 14 , 1998 -rrb- .
more recently , mr. funk was featured on the nationally syndicated npr radio show , `` theme & variations '' -lrb- august 23-30 , 2002 -rrb- .
from 1994-2002 , eric was conductor of the helena symphony orchestra in helena , montana .
from 1994-1999 , he was also the conductor of the gallatin chamber orchestra in bozeman , montana .
eric has also served as artistic director for `` 11th & grant with eric funk '' , an emmy award winning show broadcast on montana pbs featuring local musicians .
