Bassist Erik Dyke, closest to camera, in performance with the North Carolina Symphony.
In Monday’s (3/24) News Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), Josh Shaffer writes, “To understand the joyful life that Erik Dyke led, consider his commute to work at the NC Symphony—a chore he performed by bicycle, zipping through downtown Raleigh with his beloved, 20-pound double bass strapped to his back. For almost 50 years, Dyke served as the symphony’s most enthusiastic ambassador, stepping into the lobby during intermissions with his big bass in tow, fielding questions about its age, its size and how much fun it provided on the low end of a Brahms sonata. He traveled to the state’s farthest corners … as the state’s official envoy for classical music … And when he died this month at 69, after a bike accident likely triggered by a stroke, he left a statewide audience … Dyke was constantly tinkering with a repertoire some might consider lowbrow for a classical bassist … He filmed a YouTube video raving about Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 5, an appreciation free from terms like triplet arpeggio or subdominant key…. Over the weekend, the symphony dedicated its ‘Mozart & Mahler’ concerts to Dyke, placing a rare bouquet of flowers on the stage where he should have been playing.” Dyke is survived by his wife, Anne Larson, and their son Thor.
