For historian, see Eric Stokes (historian)

Eric Stokes (1930–1999) was a composer, whose work spanned an eclectic range of influences and styles.

Stokes was born in Haddon Heights, New Jersey

Haddon Heights, New Jersey

Haddon Heights is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population is 7,473....

, about ten miles southeast of Philadelphia. His mother was a fine vocalist and the early artistic influence in his life. Stokes studied piano at an early age and began composing on his own in high school. He held degrees in music from Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin

Appleton, Wisconsin

Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...

, the New England Conservatory of Music

New England Conservatory of Music

The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...

 in Boston, and the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 in Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

, where he taught for 29 years.

While at the University of Minnesota, Stokes founded the school’s electronic music laboratory and championed the development of contemporary music by starting the First Minnesota Moving and Storage Warehouse Band. His early compositions were tonal and lyrical while his later compositions were more heavily influenced by Charles Ives

Charles Ives

Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...

, John Cage

John Cage

John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...

, and Henry Brant

Henry Brant

Henry Dreyfuss Brant was a Canadian-born American composer. An expert orchestrator with a flair for experimentation, many of Brant's works featured spatialization techniques.- Biography :...

 and used American music idioms and unconventional sounds in juxtaposed styles.

Stokes is best remembered for his seven operas, many of which premiered at the Minnesota Opera

Minnesota Opera

The Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Frankenstein by Libby Larsen...

. His first opera, Horspfal, is a collage of voices, instruments, and film requiring up to five different conductors. Stokes’ Rock & Roll (Phonic Paradigm I) calls for rocks to be hit together and rolled across the stage. His music was a reflection of his life and personality: eccentric and humorous with an ability to blur the lines between fantasy and reality.

Lengthy obituary in Star-Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=11597636