Eric P. Mandat

For more than 40 years, clarinetist/composer Eric Mandat has been on the leading edge of developments in multiphonic, microtonal, and timbral modulation possibilities for the clarinet. Through his explorations Eric has developed a deeply personal artistic expression as a performer and composer, and he is recognized worldwide as one of the foremost authorities on clarinet multiphonics.

Eric enjoys an extremely diverse performance career as a soloist and chamber musician. He tours regularly as a concert artist, premiering and performing his works throughout the world, and at international festivals in Europe, Asia, South America, and the United States. For 15 seasons he was a member of the Chicago Symphony's MusicNOW ensemble, performing under eminent composer/conductors Pierre Boulez, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and George Benjamin, among others. As an improviser, Eric was a member of Tone Road Ramblers, an eclectic sextet dedicated to free improvisation exploration, for more than 25 years. He continues to perform regularly in solo and small group improvisation contexts. Eric’s ongoing solo improvisation projects with live electronics have received wide acclaim at performances throughout the United States and in Europe. The MIT Computer Music Journal lauded Eric’s “ebullient curiosity…infused with decades of thoughtful improvisational practice, resulting in another unforgettable performance” in its review of Eric’s performance at the 2019 MOXsonic Experimental Arts Festival.

Eric has received numerous honors and awards for his work as a composer/performer, including a 2021 Artist Fellowship Award for Composition from the Illinois Arts Council. Eric has been awarded more than 25 artist residencies at the Ragdale Foundation and at Brush Creek Center for the Arts. His recent work Parallel Histories: an Excursion for two clarinetists and wind ensemble was premiered in June, 2016 by The President’s Own Marine Band at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., with two of his former students, Jay Niepoetter and Jihoon Chang, soloists.

Eric has taught at Southern Illinois University Carbondale since 1981, where he is currently Visiting Professor of Clarinet and Distinguished Scholar. Eric was the recipient of the 1999 Southern Illinois University Outstanding Scholar Award, the university’s highest honor for research/creative work. A dedicated and in-demand teacher, Eric has presented recitals, master classes, and lectures on extended performance techniques at more than 130 conservatories and universities around the world, and he regularly appears as guest artist at clarinet-specific events throughout the United States. Eric received his degrees from the University of North Texas, the Yale School of Music, and the Eastman School of Music.