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April 19, 2024
EPISODE 61
ERIC SALAZAR Eric Salazar, also known as The Clarinet Guy, is a performer, composer, and career coach known for blending classical music with jazz and ambient styles. As a career coach, he focuses on guiding non-traditional business professionals to succeed authentically in leadership. His latest album, "Sali," released in 2023, explores identity through soulful clarinet playing and live looping.
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GUEST ARTIST
Eric Salazar (The Clarinet Guy) is a performer, composer, and career coach. He performs recitals and concertos of classical music that he feels connected to. Sometimes what he plays isn't all-classical, but a merging of different genres, like jazz and ambient. As a career coach, he focuses on teaching people who don't consider themselves to be "business people" how to be effective managers or leaders in the business world, while still staying true to themselves.
Salazar performs as a soloist and as a chamber musician, mixing together classical music with spontaneous improvisation. He also composes music, both for the stage and for film. Through engaging in these different activities he has emerged as a leader of creative projects, creating spaces for effective collaboration that produce invigorating results for musicians and audiences.
When performing, he embraces being vulnerable on stage as he shares stories in a way that makes the listener feel like they can be vulnerable too. Sharing this experience together produces a magical effect where all come away with a better understanding of themselves. Salazar always jokingly says “I owe you an explanation for what you’re about to hear” when he presents music that he writes, but at the heart of it all, The Clarinet guy simply writes music that will tell you a story, so you can feel seen and feel connected to those around you. His music isn’t necessarily in the classical style, though it is cinematic and merges inventive electronic sounds with familiar instruments.
Salazar's number one career advice is to be yourself. A lot of people think that you have to be an aggressive extrovert to be successful in leadership positions, but he takes a different approach. It is entirely possible to run a business purely based on authentic connections and gentle sales tactics - and he’d love to show you how.
Salazara earned a B.M. in Clarinet Performance from Ball State University and an M.M. in Clarinet Performance from Bowling Green State University. For a while, he thought he would be an orchestral musician or a clarinet professor. After trying those things, though, Salazar realized there could be a different path to fulfillment. He ended up diving head first into arts administration, all while continuing to perform and compose. Eventually, the dam broke, and he had to choose between the safety of a full-time admin position, or chasing his dreams. Guess which one he chose?
Before going full-time as a musician, Salazar served as Director of Community Engagement and Artist Services for Classical Music Indy where he managed, booked, and promoted over a hundred performance events a year in Central Indiana. In this role, he produced albums, composed chamber music, performed, and managed projects alongside 40 independent classical musicians annually. With their combined efforts this group brought music to over 200,000 Indiana residents a year, with a focus on people who would not otherwise have access to live music performance. The Clarinet Guy learned a lot about leadership during that time, and had the distinct pleasure of learning that he absolutely loves helping people pursue their individualized goals. Now, he’s working for himself full time, and loving every minute of it!
His latest solo album, Sali, was released in 2023 and was made possible by the internationally recognized Escape to Create Residency. This intimate album fuses soulful clarinet playing with live looping and FX pedals as a way to explore identity.
Salazar is a tea drinker, plays soccer, and gets lost playing Dungeons and Dragons. Ask him to tell you a joke sometime. Eric Salazar is a Pereira 3D Artist. He plays on a Pereira 3D printed clarinet and ligature.
Salazar performs as a soloist and as a chamber musician, mixing together classical music with spontaneous improvisation. He also composes music, both for the stage and for film. Through engaging in these different activities he has emerged as a leader of creative projects, creating spaces for effective collaboration that produce invigorating results for musicians and audiences.
When performing, he embraces being vulnerable on stage as he shares stories in a way that makes the listener feel like they can be vulnerable too. Sharing this experience together produces a magical effect where all come away with a better understanding of themselves. Salazar always jokingly says “I owe you an explanation for what you’re about to hear” when he presents music that he writes, but at the heart of it all, The Clarinet guy simply writes music that will tell you a story, so you can feel seen and feel connected to those around you. His music isn’t necessarily in the classical style, though it is cinematic and merges inventive electronic sounds with familiar instruments.
Salazar's number one career advice is to be yourself. A lot of people think that you have to be an aggressive extrovert to be successful in leadership positions, but he takes a different approach. It is entirely possible to run a business purely based on authentic connections and gentle sales tactics - and he’d love to show you how.
Salazara earned a B.M. in Clarinet Performance from Ball State University and an M.M. in Clarinet Performance from Bowling Green State University. For a while, he thought he would be an orchestral musician or a clarinet professor. After trying those things, though, Salazar realized there could be a different path to fulfillment. He ended up diving head first into arts administration, all while continuing to perform and compose. Eventually, the dam broke, and he had to choose between the safety of a full-time admin position, or chasing his dreams. Guess which one he chose?
Before going full-time as a musician, Salazar served as Director of Community Engagement and Artist Services for Classical Music Indy where he managed, booked, and promoted over a hundred performance events a year in Central Indiana. In this role, he produced albums, composed chamber music, performed, and managed projects alongside 40 independent classical musicians annually. With their combined efforts this group brought music to over 200,000 Indiana residents a year, with a focus on people who would not otherwise have access to live music performance. The Clarinet Guy learned a lot about leadership during that time, and had the distinct pleasure of learning that he absolutely loves helping people pursue their individualized goals. Now, he’s working for himself full time, and loving every minute of it!
His latest solo album, Sali, was released in 2023 and was made possible by the internationally recognized Escape to Create Residency. This intimate album fuses soulful clarinet playing with live looping and FX pedals as a way to explore identity.
Salazar is a tea drinker, plays soccer, and gets lost playing Dungeons and Dragons. Ask him to tell you a joke sometime. Eric Salazar is a Pereira 3D Artist. He plays on a Pereira 3D printed clarinet and ligature.
Episode Description
Eric Salazar, a dynamic performer and composer, merges classical music with improvisation, crafting cinematic compositions that foster connection and vulnerability. Transitioning from arts administration to pursuing his dream full-time, Eric empowers others to lead authentically in the business world while staying true to themselves.
Takeaways
Social Media Links
Website | Facebook | Spotify
What’s Next?!
Thank you for supporting this show by listening and sharing with your friends. If you liked this podcast, please rate and write a review of how this show has helped you. This will help us be able to increase our visibility nationally and in being able to make an impact on the profession.
If you would like to hear more about any specific topics, please email us at [email protected]. I would love to help support your community in all artistic disciplines.
Kristine Dizon
The Modern Artist Project
Takeaways
- Eric Salazar's career journey and transition to becoming "The Clarinet Guy."
- Importance of branding and self-promotion for artists.
- Critique of traditional music education and the need for curriculum changes.
Social Media Links
Website | Facebook | Spotify
What’s Next?!
Thank you for supporting this show by listening and sharing with your friends. If you liked this podcast, please rate and write a review of how this show has helped you. This will help us be able to increase our visibility nationally and in being able to make an impact on the profession.
If you would like to hear more about any specific topics, please email us at [email protected]. I would love to help support your community in all artistic disciplines.
Kristine Dizon
The Modern Artist Project
