By Elizabeth Holland

Clipper Erickson made his breakthrough as a soloist in the Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra in Los Angeles at the age of 19. Completing his studies at The Juilliard School, Yale University and Indiana University, Clipper has been noted throughout the country for his interpretations of American music.

Erickson first performed “Una Carta de Buenos Aires” by Richard Brodhead at the University of Birmingham, UK. Clipper Erickson comes to Kutztown University with passion to inspire music through education and performance.

On Oct. 6 in Schaeffer Auditori um, Erickson paid tribute to the well-known American composer, George Gershwin, with the assistance of The Reading Pops Orchestra on behalf of KUPresents!

George Gershwin, known for his numerous classical compositions, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1898. Born Jacob Gershowitz, he became a professional pianist at 15. Composing in the early 1920s, “Rhapsody in Blue” became one of his best-known pieces. Among the many other songs composed are: “Concerto in F,” “An American in Paris,” and the suite from “Porgy and Bess.”

The Reading Pops Orchestra, founded in 1969, has a mission “to promote the musical arts in Reading and Berks County through the maintenance of a professional orchestra for the performance of public concerts.” They were led by Kutztown’s chair of the department of music and professor of music, Willis M. Rapp.