Eric Schultz is an American clarinetist acclaimed for his concerto performances, inventive chamber collaborations, and trailblazing interpretations of new music. He maintains an active concerto schedule performing with orchestras across the globe and can be seen and heard from Netflix to National Public Radio.

Through bold collaborations with today’s most innovative composers, Schultz is a driving force in shaping the future of the clarinet. He has premiered over 50 groundbreaking solo and chamber works, many written for and dedicated to him, dramatically expanding the instrument’s repertoire and expressive range. Dubbed a “superstar muse” by renowned composer Amanda Harberg and “a sensation” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Corigliano, Schultz is known for his liquid, soulful tone quality and singular abilities on the instrument including limitless technical facility, improvisations that span many dialects, and an impossible five-octave range through the stratosphere celebrated as “screaming clarinet.”

As an educator, Schultz encourages an individualized, project-based and passion-fueled creative approach to music learning while advocating for living composers and expanding repertoire lists toward a more intentionally inclusive and relevant future model. He is the creator of The [REP] Project, advocating for a broader diversity of composers in collegiate music study by intensely focusing on and commissioning one living American composer every year. Hailed a “mastermind” in the Myrtle Beach Herald and a “pathfinder” by iconic American composer Valerie Coleman, he is known for his transformational masterclasses with recent residencies at the Yale School of Music, Conservatorio de Música Piazzolla in Buenos Aires, Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, New York University, California State University Fullerton, The Juilliard School, and more.

Schultz serves as Associate Professor of Clarinet at Coastal Carolina University, where he is coordinator of the woodwind area and director of the Center for Collaborative Research. His debut solo album POLYGLOT, released by Navona Records, showcases a collection of virtuosic new works written for him. I Care If You Listen of the American Composers Forum praised the album, highlighting a “keen sense of lyricism” and “uncommon sensitivity and precision of expression.” Schultz completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in clarinet performance at Stony Brook University. As a Buffet Crampon performing artist, he performs exclusively on Buffet Crampon clarinets. @ericschultzclarinet