Eric Butler

Eric Butler is a second-year Clarinet Fellow at the New World Symphony. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with the Syracuse Orchestra, Skaneateles Festival Orchestra and Finger Lakes Opera. He has also performed at the Round Top Festival Institute and the Texas Music Festival.

A devoted chamber musician, Eric has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Rochester, Eastman Virtuosi: Faculty Artist Series, Round Top Faculty Chamber Series, Eastman Harmonie, and the Summer @ Eastman series with members of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a winner of both the Round Top Festival Chamber Music Competition and the Texas Music Festival Chamber Competition, the latter resulting in a performance with members of the Houston Symphony. He has also performed in Havana, Cuba, through the Cuban American Youth Orchestra, and the Pacific Crest Music Festival in California, where he was the sole wind fellow and a soloist from 2021 to 2023.

Passionate about teaching as well as performing, Eric has served as a Teaching Assistant at the Eastman School of Music, where he taught clarinet methods, woodwind doubling and secondary clarinet lessons. He has also worked as a Clarinet Teaching Assistant at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Eric holds a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Michael Wayne, and was a master of music candidate there prior to joining the New World Symphony.

Outside of music, Eric enjoys tennis, golf, skiing, scuba diving and traveling, along with exploring art history and film.