ERIK APLAND, piano. Erik is a graduate of South Dakota State University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, completing degrees in classical piano. Erik attained commercial music experience as a show-band and dance-orchestra leader on several ships in the cruise industry.

After a brief period as a music educator in his home state of South Dakota, Erik was the band leader aboard the legendary Delta Queen, a steamboat that sails the Mississippi and Ohio River systems. Erik joined "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in 1999 and became a sought-after free-lancer in the Baltimore-Washington area. Erik joined Peabody Ragtime Ensemble in 2005.