Eric Walton grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to a family of musicians. He began playing piano when he was four. In fact, that first piano lesson is the first thing he can positively remember. He studied very seriously with a top-notch teacher, learning the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Chopin, and Debussy, among others. Meanwhile, he began acting in musicals. While a fan of more recent shows like Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables, he was enthralled with George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Rodger Hammerstein, and Stephen Sondheim. Many practice sessions ended on a theatrical note, as he played and sang from the volumes of musical theatre that were always near.
By the time he entered high school, Eric was also a serious composer. Having written music for chamber groups, solo piano, and full orchestra, he was in the process of writing a musical. Eric was admitted to the University of Michigan School of Music Composition Department, one of the top such programs in the United States. In the end, however, Eric found music composition a poor fit and switched his major to the more popular-oriented jazz program.
As a student of arranging, Eric was instructed privately by Dennis Wilson, the Grammy-nominated arranger for such stars as Sarah Vaughn, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and others. Eric placed special emphasis on working with vocalists, spending much of his time developing ideas with various singers. In fact, he put on two senior recitals: one of a 10-piece band playing his arrangements, the other featuring duos with several vocalists at the school.
After college, Eric spent a year working on various cruise ships, playing in the main theatre. As a member of the flagship band on the ship, Eric accompanied headline acts, played dance music, and played in full theatrical production shows every night of the week.
Tiring of ship life, Eric moved back to his hometown of Ann Arbor and started a free-lance career. He worked as a classical accompanist for the University of Michigan, playing on Doctoral recitals and concerts, while at night he was conductor, pianist, and music director for several ambitious community theatre projects. As he became better established in Ann Arbor, Eric soon began working at the professional theatre in town, the Performance Network. But it became clear that Ann Arbor, Michigan, despite its charms, had a low ceiling. So, in January 2007, Eric moved to New York City with nothing but what he could lug onto a plane and a few phone numbers.
Eric Walton soon began meeting and impressing some of the top professionals in New York City. He played for Mary Poppins and Legally Blonde on Broadway, and Forbidden Broadway and I Love You You're Perfect, Now Change off-Broadway. He wrote many arrangements, including some that are played by orchestras around the country. His clients have used his vocal coaching to land jobs in the city and around the country. He has served as musical director for readings, small shows, and several full-scale productions. New York City is still new to him, but he is proud to call it home.
