Eric Van der Veer Varner

"The epitome of a 'with-it' academic"

"Spine-chilling...he is a master!"

-Palm Beach Daily Post

Bassoonist Eric Van der Veer Varner has enjoyed a particularly rich and varied musical career. He was the principal bassoonist with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra from 2004 through 2015. He appeared as a soloist with the orchestra on numerous occasions, where his playing was critically hailed as that “of ineffable liquid beauty”. Previously, he held positions with the Ann Arbor Symphony, Michigan Opera Theater, and Sarasota Opera Orchestra. He performs in numerous summer festivals, including the Bellingham Festival of Music, the Michigan City Chamber Music Festival, and the Glickman-Popkin Bassoon Camp.    

Currently professor of bassoon and woodwind department chair at the Lynn Conservatory, Dr. Varner has previously held faculty appointments at Miami University (Ohio), Heidelberg University, and the University of Windsor. He also spent fourteen summers working at the Interlochen Arts Camp, where he was the Assistant Director of the High Schools Boys Division.

 Dr. Varner is the owner of TrevCo-Varner Music, “the world’s foremost purveyor of fine sheet music for double reeds”. TrevCo-Varner Music is the largest company in the world dedicated solely to double reed music, with over 12,000 titles in stock from publishers all over the world.

An active soloist and chamber musician, Dr. Varner has appeared throughout Europe, the United States, and Canada. He is a founding member of the PEN Trio, a trio d’anche that explores the both traditional repertoire for reed trio, as well as championing new music. In collaboration with TrevCo Music Publishing, the PEN Trio Collection was recently founded in order to publish and disseminate works commissioned by the trio. The 2015-16 PEN Trio season includes performances in China, Hong Kong, Trinidad, Panama, Guatemala, Coast Rica, and Cuba as well as tours in Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Utah and Texas. This season will also see the recording the PEN Trio’s debut album, “Found Objects” with Sound Mirror in New York City, scheduled for release in late 2017.