When the Roseville Area School District needed a band director for its new high school in 1953, Charles N. Erickson was the man it wanted. Known for his dedication to students and for developing quality programs, Erickson was recruited from Cambridge, Minn.
It was hard for him to leave the Cambridge district, where he had taught for a decade and taken high school marching bands to the Minneapolis Aquatennial and numerous other parades, said his daughter Kris Carlson of Woodbury. But when the offer to take the job at Alexander Ramsey High School (now Roseville Area High School) came along, "I think he was excited with the prospect of going to a brand new school and a ground-floor program and building it up."
Erickson taught band at Alexander Ramsey until 1970, and then at Capitol View Junior High and three elementary schools in the Roseville district until he retired in 1978.
Erickson died Wednesday at the Villages of North Branch, a retirement community in North Branch, Minn. He was 94.
Erickson played the coronet and sang in the choir at Technical High School in St. Cloud. That's when he decided he wanted to teach and direct bands, Carlson said. He graduated from St. Cloud State Teachers College (now St. Cloud State University) in 1939 and took his first job as a music teacher in Kerkhoven, Minn. He left during World War II and went to Omaha, where he taught electronics to pilots. After the war, he returned to his home state.
At Alexander Ramsey High, Erickson got students involved in marching band, jazz and concert band and pep band, and to participate in contests for soloists and ensembles. He served as music department chair for the entire school district for many years.
"His goal was to provide leadership and get students to do their best," said Norm Herzog, a retired junior high band director in the Roseville district. "He was personable and got along with everybody."
Erickson started the band program at Bethel College in Arden Hills in the early 1950s. He also was frequently asked to judge solo and ensemble competitions for high school students. Numerous Boy Scouts seeking to earn their music merit badge came to his house to play for him, his daughter said.
"He was such an encourager," she said. "He loved doing the judging and giving positive advice. He loved to see students succeed."
Erickson was a 50-year member of the Minnesota Music Educators Association and past exhibit chairman of the associations's annual clinic. During the 1960s, he served as choir director at Calvary Baptist Church in Roseville. He was given a Distinguished Alumni Award in Music in 1986 from St. Cloud State.
Erickson was an avid ham radio operator and kept meticulous records of those he talked to. He also enjoyed spending time with his family, Carlson said.
In addition to his daughter Kris, Erickson is survived by his wife of 68 years, Muriel, of North Branch; two other daughters, Kathy Johnson of Cambridge, and Janet van Oosten of Mound, seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
Services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the chapel of the Villages of North Branch, 5379 383rd St., North Branch. Visitation will be held one hour before services.
