Eric Gerhardt

Eric Gerhardt is the Instrumental Music Director at Westbrook High School where he conducts the Concert and Jazz Bands. Additionally, he teaches Acoustic Guitar, UCONN ECE Music Theory, Music Appreciation, and History of Jazz and Rock & Roll. He has served as Chairman for CMEA Southern Region and All-State Jazz Ensemble.

Eric earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Ithaca College, and his Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from Manhattan School of Music.

Eric began his teaching career as a private instructor at the Allen Stevenson School and the Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division. This led to the appointment as Band Director and Lessons Coordinator at the first annual NYC BOE Summer Music Camp hosted by Manhattan School of Music.

In 1999, Eric took over as the Band and Jazz Director at Elisabeth C. Adams Middle School in Guilford, CT, teaching 7th & 8th Grade Concert, Honors, and Jazz Bands. In 2003, he began at Great Bridge High School in his native town of Chesapeake, VA. As the Jazz Program Director and Assistant Band Director he led four jazz ensembles and Concert Band, assisted with the 9th Grade and Honors Bands, and the 200 member Marching Wildcats. Additionally, Eric initiated the Annual Great Bridge Jazz Festival, the District #4 Jazz Adjudication Festival, and created the Chesapeake Summer Jazz Clinic.

As a freelance musician, Eric has worked with members of the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, American Brass Quintet and more. He has played with Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Jupiter Symphony, Westchester Symphony, Riverside Symphony, Bronx Philharmonic, and the Virginia Symphony. He has recorded for TV and radio and also performed at Carnegie Hall & Lincoln Center. In Connecticut, he has performed with Orchestra New England, Bridgeport Symphony, Stamford Symphony, the Goodspeed Opera, the Mohegan Sun Casino Orchestra, and the Shoreline Jazz Collective.

Eric’s numerous honors and awards include the 1995 Yamaha Young Performing Artist Award, 1998 John C. Clark Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Brass Performance, repeat Finalist in the New York Brass Conference Quintet Competition, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the National Trumpet Competition, and twice named to Who’s Who in American Teachers.

Eric enjoys fishing (fly fishing best), barbecues with friends and family, pretending to be a golfer, and life as a frustrated Mets fan.