JAZZ MUSICIAN’S BEQUEST ESTABLISHES SCHOLARSHIPS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The soothing sound of a saxophone perhaps inspired Nina J. Erickson to make a $100,000 bequest to the University of Arkansas J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences so that students could benefit from her love of art and music.

One Nina J. Erickson Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a qualified student majoring in art and another in music.

UA Chancellor John White said, "We are so pleased that Nina Erickson chose to honor the University in her estate planning by making provisions for scholarship support in an area she held dear. The University of Arkansas cannot emerge as a nationally competitive student-centered research university without superlative programs in the arts, and this generous bequest will make our music and art programs significantly stronger."

An accomplished saxophone player and art aficionado herself, Erickson grew up in Detroit, Mich., and began her music career upon high school graduation. She traveled the United States with all-girl orchestras and studied art as often as possible. She played with notable performers such as Bob Hope and Steve Allen. Her musical travels eventually took her to Alaska on a three-week engagement, where she ended up staying for 16 years.

In Alaska, in addition to playing music, she began a career as a draftsperson, cartographer and illustrator with the Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Land Management.

Erickson moved to Arkansas from Anchorage, Alaska, with her husband Verne Erickson. Nina continued her art studies in several media including watercolor, acrylic and reverse glass painting and oils. The couple lived in Rogers until Verne’s death in 1985, when Nina moved to Bella Vista where she became a musician in the Bella Vista Big Band and the Nina Clock Quartet. Erickson loved to play music and paint. She had previously led an all-female band during the 1940s and 1950s. Erickson was a member of First United Methodist Church in Bella Vista, a life member of Elks Widow, the Detroit Musicians Union and a sustaining member of the North Arkansas Jazz Society prior to her death in 2001.

Melissa Garrett, Erickson’s friend and executor of her estate, said, "Nina Erickson was a loyal and unselfish woman who I was honored to be able to call a friend. I will always be thankful for knowing this talented and brave soul. She was woman who lived her life with gusto. Nina left home after graduating from Cooley High School in Detroit Mich., to pursue her dream of being a professional musician. Nina lived life to the fullest on her own terms during a time when most women were unable to reach their own personal professional goals. I greatly miss her guidance and friendship."