Erica Ambrose

Erica Ambrose may be from Syracuse, but this Upstate New York native certainly knows how to hang with the musical talent of metro Atlanta. Growing up, Erica’s musical influences ranged from Disney movies such as Oliver and Company and Beauty and the Beast to Sister Act II where the seed of appreciation for gospel was planted in her musical soul. Her early training ranged from playing the French horn to learning the piano, and eventually to participating in the 8th grade honor choir in middle school after moving from New York to Florida.
From her early years through high school, Erica’s musical experiences have included participating in the University of Miami Choral Camp as a featured vocalist, a leading role in the musical “Godspell” at a local church, and receiving an opera scholarship from the Pinellas Opera League near Tampa, Florida. In 2000, Erica was accepted to the Florida State University School of Music as a vocal performance major. However, it wasn’t until 2002 that the musical seed planted as an adolescent blossomed when she joined the FSU Gospel Choir under the direction of Michael Figgers. During the next three semesters, the soulful genre began to influence Erica’s musical palate as her appreciation for its rich vocals and spiritual overtones grew. During this time, Erica also served on her church worship team where she was able to explore her inclination for songwriting by using the worship song structure as a model for her own music.
In 2004, Erica graduated from FSU and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she began vocal lessons with Heidi Higgins at Jan Smith Vocal Studio. With Heidi’s encouragement and Jan’s prodding, Erica began to develop her own musical fingerprint, a mixture of pop, soul, jazz, gospel, blues and a touch of funk. Listeners often compare Erica to a hybrid of Norah Jones and Alicia Keys, though she has also been aligned with the likes of Patsy Cline, Sara Bareilles, and Corinne Bailey Rae. “I like it that most listeners can’t put my music in just one musical category,” says Erica, “and I hope it stays that way.”
During the summer of 2008, Erica teamed up with artist and producer Big Snow to produce her debut original single “Place In My Mind” which received 31,000 hits in just one month on her myspace page. From August through October, with the help of Big Snow and recording engineer Aaron Thompson of Absolute Recording, Erica recorded her debut album entitled “Dreaming With the Windows Open.” In February 2009, Erica formally released her debut album to a sold-out crowd at the Hard Rock Cafe in Atlanta, Georgia.
Erica’s goal as an artist is not only to tell a story and connect with her fans, but also to provide encouragement and a soundtrack to the stories of her listeners’ lives. “I want to inspire people to pursue their dreams and to give hope to those who think it impossible to achieve the desires of their hearts. Ultimately the glory goes to God, because I know the music is about so much more than me.”
To see Erica’s up to date performance schedule or to purchase a CD go to: www.myspace.com/ericaambrose .