ERIC ANTOINE GILES

ERIC ANTOINE GILES

Sax

Video games drew Eric Giles to music as a child was. He wore headphones connected to the TV and that took him to a different place. After a while, he turned the games on, not to play them, but to listen to the music. “Once my parents began to separate, music was the sanctuary where life still made sense. I dove into teaching myself piano. Then, I dedicated myself to the saxophone once I heard Charlie Parker in High School. I knew that there was a truth that Parker had tapped into. I wanted to learn how to express myself that sincerely and expressively,” Eric insisted.

ERIC ANTOINE GILES

by Dr. Joan Cartwright

stage name, SalvationSax, comes from. He studied music theory with Dr. Nathan Street at Western Guilford High School and fell in love with it. “Music reminded me of math, another subject I love. So, everything made sense quickly,” Eric recounted.

A self-driven student, Eric practiced on his own the techniques he learned from great teachers like Dr. Nathan Street, and Dr. John Henry Jr. and Dr. Daniel Rice at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NCA&T). Also, Eric was mentored by tremendous players and educators Dr. Mondre Moffett at NCA&T; Dr. Ira Wiggins, Mr. Robert Trowers, Mr. Edmund Paolantonio, and the late Dr. Brian Horton. “I was blessed to have a few lessons with the great Branford Marsalis at NCCU. Currently, I am studying with Chad LefkowitzBrown, Andrew Gould, and Ryan Devlin,” Eric said.

Before the pandemic, Eric composed a few originals. In 2020, during the pandemic, Eric began the Simply Saxin’ Series in Seoul, South Korea. He created Hip-hop beats from samples of jazz music. Initially, he planned to release a song, every week for a year. But, after 26 weeks, he was performing more. So, he put the project on ice. “I have about 30 songs I’ve created but I haven’t published any, yet” Eric told us. To date, he does not have a music publishing company nor is he affiliated with a royalty collection service.

idea of the struggles women face in the music industry but, I’m always open to learning more and understanding better.”

His advice to a young person entering the world of literature or music performance is just to “Start and start now! Don’t wait until you’ve arrived at a certain point where you feel that you are good enough. Begin creating right away. Work on your craft, each day, and let the process be the reward. You’ve got to enjoy the hard work it takes to become great, so, focus on learning to love the part you’re going to spend the most time doing!”

www.salvationsax.com