About Eric Erhardt

I blew my first notes into a saxophone with the mouthpiece upside down at age nine (I squeaked like crazy). In middle school, I fell in love with playing in the concert and jazz bands. I practiced three hours a night after school to get into the All-State Jazz Band at 16. Then came conservatory training (that I both loved and hated) leading to a career of wind playing with many ups and downs.

Since 2011 I’ve been teaching saxophone, clarinet, and flute at Music & Arts to students of all ages and levels. This experience has taught me as much as any gig.

Early in my life, I thought I chose music. Now I’ve learned that music chose me. Pro musicians tread a rough road. We get paid for gigs but not the countless hours to prepare for them. I accept the road I chose for myself, but that’s no road I would ever choose for my students at Music & Arts.

All I want for my students here is for them to feel the power of organized sound. That could be learning a wind instrument well enough to play in a band, play duets in a lesson, or jam with a melody that captures them.

My job isn’t to make you a professional musician (but I can prepare you for that, if you dare).

As your teacher, my job is to help you find out what music can actually do for you in your particular life — and that means something a bit different for every student.

Once you get the basics, learning a wind instrument stays with you as a solid companion, regardless of whatever else life brings.