Erich Graf Press Kit:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
SCORE OF HUMANITY
A Lifetime of Learning Efficacy and Wisdom through Music
[Virginia Beach, VA - INSERT DATE HERE] Across the United States, music programs are
being cut from public schools, hampering childhood development of crucial skills. Studies prove
that studying music contributes to thinking skills, confidence and motivation, even improved
spatial and mathematical capacity. Pursuing music requires dedication and passion, something
that professional musician, Erich Graf, understands keenly. In his new memoir, Erich Graf Musician, Flutist, Advocate, he recounts his musical journey and how it helped him grow as a
human being.
Erich Graf - Musician, Flutist, Advocate, published through Friesen Press, is a chronicle of
Graf’s life as a flutist and musicians’ advocate. His career has comprised a combination of ten
years as a student and free-lance flutist in New York City, and thirty-five years as principal flutist
of the Utah Symphony, including seventeen years as President of Local 104, American
Federation of Musicians in Salt Lake City. His experiences taught him a great deal about the
world, and how to define himself within it. This exploration of his beliefs and communication
led to an active interest in human rights. He has devoted his life to embracing love for the Arts
and advocacy for his fellow man. He hopes that his memoir will inspire and educate others to
explore themselves through music so that they too can help make the world a better place.
Erich Graf - Musician, Flutist, Advocate is available for order from the Friesen Press bookstore,
Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, and from most online book retailers. Readers can also purchase
the eBook on Kindle, Nook, iTunes, Kobo and GooglePlay.
About the Author
Erich Graf is the former principal flutist of the Utah Symphony, with which he appeared many
times as a soloist. Prior to the Utah Symphony, Graf performed with the New York Philharmonic
and the New Jersey Symphony among others. He has performed at Avery Fischer Hall and
Carnegie Hall with Julius Baker and Jean Pierre Rampal and in Utah with James Galway. Graf
has coached and given master classes in Arkansas, California, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine,
Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma and Utah.
Contact Information;
Erich Graf
erich@erichgraf.com
(801) 556-8180
www.erichgraf.com
Photo:
Biography:
Erich Graf has been an active performer, recording artist and pedagogue for over 40 years. He received
his training at Juilliard under Julius Baker. While in New York, he was a member of the Aeolian Chamber
Players and for 2 ½ years served as an extra player in the New York Philharmonic. In 1976, he was
engaged by Maurice Abravanel as principal flutist of the Utah Symphony. During that time, he
collaborated as soloist with Julius Baker, Jean-Pierre Rampal and James Galway, among others. Graf
retired in 2011, after 35 years as principal flute and 17 years as President of Local 104, American
Federation of Musicians. He has recently published his memoirs: Erich Graf-Musician, Flutist, Advocate
(ISBN: 9781460262320; page count: 120) which is available in book or download format at
www.amazon.com. Additional information on Graf including his discography, pictures and live recording
videos is available on his website, www.erichgraf.com, Facebook and YouTube.
Currently, Graf lives on Chesapeake Bay in Virginia with his rat terrier, ABU. In addition to flute-related
activities, his interests include cooking, writing, crafting projects and physical fitness.
The memoir may be purchased in e-book, paperback and hard cover format from Amazon.com and
many other outlets.
Book Details:
 120 pages
 Black & White - Paperback
 6 x 9 inches
Available as:
 978-1-4602-6232-0 Hardcover
 978-1-4602-6233-7 Paperback
 978-1-4602-6234-4 eBook
Accolades and Reviews:
I very much enjoyed reading Erich Graf's memoirs. Besides being an outstanding musician, flutist, and
builder of miniature ships, Erich Graf is very articulate and an outstanding writer. There are rare people
we meet in life whom we know will be our friends, no matter the ups and downs. Erich and I have had
that rare sort of friendship going back to our days at Juilliard. Erich's memoirs give us a real glimpse of
musical life as an orchestral flutist. He takes the rose-colored glasses off to give the reader a true picturethe good, great, the bad and the ugly. A wonderful read--I highly recommend it!
Paul Fried—former Assistant Principal Flutist, Boston Symphony; Principal flutist, New West Symphony;
International recording artist and studio musician
Your book is a fascinating tour of the life that is of course yours and yours alone. However it is also a
glimpse into what could be the lives of many extraordinary artists in the late 20th Century, how they
developed and managed to find a way to express themselves during a difficult time in the history of music
in America. It is well written, touching, revealing and thankfully humorous.
Lewis Kaplan--violinist, Aeolian Chamber Players; violin faculty, Juilliard School; former director,
Bowdoin College International Music Festival
Erich Graf is a human being of utmost warmth and generosity, and his honest memoir reflects that. Older
flutists can enjoy his successes and empathize with his frustrations; younger ones can learn from both. All
of us can be grateful to him for sharing his story.
John Wion—former principal flutist, New York City Opera, former faculty member, Hartt College of
Music, author
I have known Erich Graf for many years. A most accomplished and experienced professional flutist, he
has an illustrious career spanning many decades as a distinguished artist of solo repertoire, chamber music
and in top US orchestras. But he also was and is a dedicated unionist, leading the American Federation of
Musicians' Salt Lake City Local #104 for 17 years. His dedication to his art and unionism is exemplary,
therefore incoming generation of musicians will benefit greatly from his experience and wisdom. I look
forward to reading these memoirs.
Nathan Kahn-Negotiator
AFM Symphonic Services Division
Thank you so much Erich!! What a thrill to finger thru your amazing life story. How inspiring this is for
me in my own struggle to figure a convincing way to tell mine - if at all.....I'm deeply admiring your
careful wording, your generosity (SL !!) {sic: Salt Lake) and wonderful informative style
throughout.....High 5!!!!
After finishing your texts I'm sitting in deep awe, profoundly touched by your so touching unfolding of
your background stories, your becoming a man, a mature musician, your parent's farewell, your strong,
steady service to mankind. I'm shaken - because now I'm encouraged by your masterful life-scenery to
finally begin to express the loss-experiences of my family-story thru the years....and may find a similar
humble and clear form and wording. Yes. we all are orphans having to say goodbye to our parents...and
struggle to overcome that unique, so very special grief in one’s life, and do carry it throughout until our
last day.... How simply deeply you're writing ! What an honor for me that you let me see it! Thank you for
that sharing! My best to you -Matthias
Maestro Matthias Kuntzsch
Internationally-known Music Director, Conductor and Scholar
It is with great pleasure and admiration that I have read Erich Graf’s memoir. I have known my fellow
flutist Erich for over 40 years. The years that we attended Juilliard overlapped, we both studied with
Julius Baker, and for two years we were neighbors at the Bradford “Hotel,” an apartment complex on
West 70th Street, conveniently only four blocks from Juilliard. He lived in the apartment directly above
mine, and we quickly became close friends. I must say, I have never since run into anyone else that
practiced so much!
This book is richly written, an insightful and probing account of his early life, his wonderful parents who
encouraged him and stood behind him, his education and continuing career. His characterful and
evocative use of metaphors throughout the book belies a poetic sensibility.
The fact that he held two extremely demanding fulltime positions which require such different skills and
mindsets concurrently strikes me as nothing short of amazing. He was the principal flutist of the Utah
Symphony for over 30 years. Beyond that, he was the president of the American Federation of Musicians
Local 104 from 1994 to 2011. It is a superhuman feat to have held these positions simultaneously – not
only rehearsing and performing with the orchestra but also administrating the musicians’ union. To put
this differently, he dealt with the politics of orchestral life beyond maintaining the highest artistic skills
and at the same time ran the union, an extremely delicate position which requires expert business acumen.
It is extremely rare that these abilities manifest themselves in one person. I would think that it would be
impossible, but Erich did it and put his integrity whole-heartedly into all of his responsibilities.
I believe that the key to his personality and life-view lies within his Conscientious Observer letter written
when he was in his early 20s.
In closing, I must say that I enjoy Erich’s droll sense of humor and generosity of spirit. He is indeed a
very wise and expansive man.
Alan Cox
Former principal flutist, San Francisco Opera, Author
Thoughts and experiences of a career professional
This book will be of interest to anyone who has attended a symphony orchestra concert, a chamber music
concert, a solo recital, or listened to professional recordings made by the previously mentioned groups.
What is it that makes up the lives of these musicians as they sit on the stage playing their instruments
which they have studied for decades?
It is also recommended reading for instrumental music students in junior and senior high school or even
those at the college level who may be contemplating a career with a symphony orchestra. What steps
should a young student take to get into the elite, close-knit community, of the global symphonic
orchestral environment? What lessons can be learned for anyone eyeing a professional career in any taskbased, skill-based occupation?
And those of us who have cherished moments with our parents will also find solace that others go through
the same grieving process no matter what their background.
Erich Graf has composed his memoires that are full of insight not just into the world of a 52-week
symphony musician, but into the critical infrastructure of the professional music world. Mr. Graf served
as president of his local musicians’ union in addition to giving weekly performances with a symphony
orchestra. He was wearing two hats a great deal of his career and discusses his concerns – intimate and
otherwise – in addition to public performance issues.
But let’s not forget that those musicians, including Mr. Graf, which we hear perform weekly (and
multiple nights of every week) are first and foremost, every-day humans, even as they are formally attired
in white tie and tails. Moreover, while the rarified air of a multiple-degreed Juilliard School of Music
graduate is exhilarating, getting there is extremely challenging both personally and educationally. Erich
reviews the highlights of his vast experiences as he navigates his way into and through this enlightening
performance world giving the reader a veiled insight into the personal motivations of his life and career.
It isn’t too often that a professional musician authors a book containing his recollections which is why
this book is so special. Mr. Graf states in his first sentences the reason for putting a portion of a flutist’s
private life down on paper for everyone one to read. It is meaningful and we should be honored that he
took the time to enlighten us. The book flows well and is a good read for any airline or train travel
adventure!
Anonymous