Erik Arnesen

Erik Lawrence Arnesen

June 22, 1956 – November 22, 2025

Musician, Teacher, Composer, Comedian,

Midwesterner & New Yorker :

It was with a heavy heart that we learned that our sweet, beloved Erik passed away at his home in Manhattan on Saturday, November 22, 2025. Erik was known to many in the family as '' Cousin E '' and to his students in the neighborhood at PS – 18, he was known as '' Mr. A.'' Erik was a loyal and loving husband, brother, cousin, nephew, son and friend to all in the family, from New York to Michigan to California and beyond.

Erik Lawrence Arnesen was born in Akron, Ohio on June 22, 1956 to parents Richard Arnesen and Nancy Helmick. He lived in Ghent, Akron and Cleveland, Ohio in his youth, and spent many summers in Chicago and Leland, Michigan.

Erik seemed to know very early on that he wanted to be a musician. He started playing the flute as a young boy, and studied for several years with his mentor Maurice Sharp, first floutist of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. As a student of classical music, he was chosen to play with the orchestra at the Spoleto Music Festival, held in North Carolina and in Spoleto, Italy. When he won the competition, the family packed up the car and drove with sisters Gwen and Jan through Ohio and the Blue Ridge Mountains to drop him off at the festival.

Erik earned a B.A. in Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and shortly afterwards he moved to New York City. His musical interests shifted from classical to rock music, and he experimented with all genres from reggae to rap, hip–hop, African beats and jazz while learning to mix tracks at his home studio in the early years before digital technology was widely used to create sound recordings. In the "gritty years" in New York, he drove a taxi, worked nights as a proofreader, and tried his hand at stand–up comedy, performing sketches at "improv" sessions around the city. His many crazy encounters as a cab driver were "red meat" for his comedy routine which he rehearsed in front of a captive audience of "the cousins" over the years. Some of those quick-witted quips were inspired by his father and wordsmith Rich. But through it all, Erik never stopped playing and making music in his free time.

In the 2000s, he turned his focus back to his first love, the flute, and to music, becoming a dedicated music teacher in his neighborhood of Inwood in uptown Manhattan. At PS–18, he taught hundreds of children from Kindergarten to Middle School for 25 years. Erik earn ed a Masters in Music Education at Lehman College in the Bronx, where he formed a bond with a group of Latin Jazz musicians, and also learned to play the saxophone. They performed an annual concert in the traditional big band style, and in recent years Erik was creating the arrangements for the band, and was planning to perform in their upcoming concert. He retired from teaching full–time at the end of June this summer, but was asked to come back on Tuesdays create the Christmas concert with the school's band. Since July, he devoted every spare hour to writing and recording his "master album" in which he was incorporating Brazilian sounds as a major component. He wanted to travel to Norway to see where the ancestors lived, and he was planning to visit Rio with his wife Margareth in December, but he was intent on finishing that album first before getting on a plane.

Erik loved his neighborhood of Inwood, and always said it was the greatest place to live. He was known around the neighborhood as "Erik, the guy on the bike" which he rode everywhere. He often biked up to Van Cortlandt Park, and made many long rides on the Old Croton Aqueduct Historic Trail hugging the Hudson River from Ossining to Yonkers.

Erik had a deep love for his family far and wide. In the 2000s, he stepped up to the plate and donated a kidney to his cousin Ragnar Arnesen of California. Erik helped his sister Gwen when she was ill with cancer, and kept our mother Nancy smiling in her elder years.

Erik leaves behind his wife Margaret Campo and stepdaughter Alice Campo of Brazil, his sister Jan Arnesen, brother–in–law Ousmane Gueye, and beloved aunts, uncles, nieces and many cousins from the Arnesen, Helmick and Graham families. Erik is pre–deceased by his father Richard H. Arnesen, mother Nancy Helmick Arnesen, and sister Gwen Ann Arnesen.

If anyone wishes to make a contribution as a tribute to Erik, please make a donation to your favorite charity for music education in any form.