Eric Mathis
Born in Wolfville and raised in Charlottetown, Eric Mathis returned to the Maritimes after fourteen years as Associate Principal Trombone of the Honolulu Symphony. He began his career performing with Symphony Nova Scotia, the Charlottetown Festival Orchestra, the Northumberland Brass and the PEI Trombone Mafia. An NSYO alum, Eric is proud to have returned to his roots, where he now performs regularly with Symphony Nova Scotia and is the orchestra’s Director of Operations.
While in Hawai ‘i, Eric was a member of the Honolulu Brass Quintet and was on faculty at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Prior to his appointment in Honolulu, Eric was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Millar Brass Ensemble. As a freelance musician, he has worked in the Chicago recording studios and performed with numerous ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has performed under the direction of such noted conductors as Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph Eschenbach and Pierre Boulez.
Throughout his career, Eric has been active as a soloist and chamber musician, giving regular recitals in Canada and the United States. He has performed concertos with the PEI Symphony, the O‘ahu Civic Orchestra and the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra. As a member of the Grammy-nominated Honolulu Symphony Pops, he particularly enjoyed his performances with Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Dianne Reeves, Lou Rawls and Toto. He is stoked to be a co-founder of the new Halifax Brass Project.
Eric has been an enthusiastic trombone teacher and chamber music coach since he was in high school. He enjoys focusing on refining overall skills and musicianship with university students and focusing on fun and fundamentals with younger players. Maintaining a balance between professionalism and foolishness is a constant struggle for Eric. He also enjoys working with adults to redevelop a talent they enjoyed in their youth that was set aside when life got in the way. Eric will be teaching the trombone studio at Dalhousie University beginning this fall.
Eric received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Prince Edward Island and his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. His primary private study was with Frank Crisafulli, Jay Friedman and Greg Irvine, although he cannot overstate the guidance and inspiration he received from Arnold Jacobs, Michael Mulcahy, Peter Sullivan, Murray Crewe and Greg Burton.
Eric likes food, black coffee and the colour green, and has a particular fondness for the Hawaiian green sea turtle. In his spare time, he can generally be found rediscovering the Maritime outdoors. He is happy to be back in Canada where he no longer takes criticism for saying “Leafs” instead of “Leaves”. His currently favourite quote: “Orchestral trombone playing is best described as oceans of boredom dotted with islands of sheer terror.”
