Dr. Eric Wachmann: Educator and Performer

By Hannah Dutcher

Dr. Eric Wachmann is a Professor of Music at Wartburg College and principal clarinet with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony. Along with being a vital musician to the local community, he has performed extensively with professional orchestral, chamber and jazz ensembles in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Wachmann holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Ottawa, a Master of Music from the University of Michigan, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Throughout his career, he has performed with various ensembles: Yo Yo Ma, Nadia Solerno-Sonnenberg, Midori, Peter Schickele as well as with Orchestra Iowa, the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Greensboro Symphony, Windsor Symphony, and Toledo Symphony. In addition, he has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Ozone Jazz Festival, and the North Sea Jazz Festival.
His chamber performances include being the first North American musician invited to perform at the renowned Sophia Concert Hall in Polatsk, Belarus.

In 2013, Dr. Wachmann toured China and Japan with the Wartburg Wind Ensemble where he gave numerous performances of Scott McAllister’s “Black Dog.” Recent performances have included performances on the Castle Chamber Series in Waverly and the deBlasiis Chamber Series in Glens Falls, NY.

Among his other achievements, Dr. Wachmann has recorded two critically acclaimed CD’s with pianist Ted Reuter. The first was released in 2002 and the second was released in 2006, both featuring clarinet music from world-renowned composers.

​Besides his work on clarinet, Dr. Wachmann is also an accomplished shakuhachi performer and is a member of the Ki-Sui-An shakuhachi dojo. He has given numerous shakuhachi performances regionally as both a soloist and as part of a mixed-media performance group. Wachmann is currently working toward his Jun-Shihan level on the shakuhachi.

Eric Wachmann’s mastery of the clarinet will be featured alongside pianist Sean Botkin during a virtual event hosted by Waverly Chamber Music Series on April 11.

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