Erica vonKleist
Alto 1

A native of West Hartford Connecticut, Erica began her musical career early at the age of 4 when she took up the piano. She soon took an interest in the flute and switched to saxophone in middle school. As her love for music grew, Erica began to seriously hone her skills while attending Hall High School and participating in the internationally renowned Concert Jazz Band. Between 1996 and 2000 the band was invited to perform and compete at a number of high school jazz festivals including Essentially Ellington and the Berklee Jazz Band Competition where she was awarded Best Soloist. She also achieved recognition in Down Beat Magazine for Best Arrangement and Best Composition from the Student Music Awards Competition several years in a row.

In 2000 Erica continued her education at the Manhattan School of Music, under the direction of Justin DiCioccio. While there she auditioned for the Juilliard Jazz Studies program and was accepted into the first class of 18 students with a full scholarship. During her senior year she was invited to participate in the Scholastic Distinction Program, and graduated in 2004 with the first Bachelor's Degree in Jazz in the history of the Juilliard School.

Along with DIVA, Erica is a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Arturo O'Farrill, touring jazz festivals and venues in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and China. In May of 2005 she was invited to be the flautist in Chris Potter's Tentet and is expected to record with the group in 2006. She was also recently awarded with the Young Jazz Composer award from the ASCAP Foundation.

Erica has also taken on the role as bandleader for her trio and her quintet, Project E. In September the Erica vonKleist trio performed at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola during the Diet Coke Women in Jazz Festival which also featured Marian McPartland, Bertha Hope and Ann Hampton Callaway. Project E has performed at several underground jazz venues in New York, including the Cornelia Street Café, the C-Note, Kenny's Castaways, and the Sidewalk Café. Project E's first CD is available at CDBaby.

Visit Erica's website.

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