Geoffrey Wands is Principal Clarinet with the Erie Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Matthew Kraemer. He is a native of Buffalo (Tonawanda), New York, and comes from a musical family. Geoffrey relocated to Fort Myers, Florida when he was in the 8th grade. He has made Erie his home since 1993.

Geoffrey earned: an Associate of Arts in Music degree from Edison College in Fort Myers, Florida, where he studied clarinet with Dr. Dennis Hill and Dr. Lewis Hilton, on a full scholarship; a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Central Florida in Orlando, where he studied clarinet with Dr. W. Steven Owens, recipient of the Schuler scholarship, and was a Presser Scholar; and a Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance from Illinois State University, where he studied clarinet from Aristides Chavez, and was a graduate teaching assistant in Music Theory. Geoffrey has also studied clarinet with James Pyne, David Sublette, among others. He has also participated in a master class given by Gervase DePeyer. In 1979, Geoffrey went to Sewanee (Tennessee) Summer Music Center, played in the Cumberland Orchestra, and studied clarinet with David Harris.

Geoffrey was Second Clarinet, doubling on E-flat and Bass Clarinet, with the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, in Fort Myers, under the direction of Arlo Deibler, in the 1978 – 1982 seasons. He won the Concerto Competition, sponsored by SFSO in 1983, performing the first movement of the Clarinet Concerto by Eugene Bozza, and was a featured soloist in 1984, performing the first movement of the Clarinet Concerto by W. A. Mozart.

Geoffrey is a freelance musician and performs regularly on Clarinet, E-flat and Bass Clarinet, and has performed in solo recitals, in chamber music groups, and has performed with the Symphony Orchestras of: Erie, Youngstown, Akron, Canton, Wheeling, and with the Western New York and Central Illinois Chamber Orchestras. He has also performed under the baton of

Walter Hendl, Karel Husa, Lee Schaenen, Philip Morehead, Roque Cordero and Frank Collura, and has participated in many world premieres.

You will often see Geoffrey performing on saxophone in orchestras, jazz bands and rock bands. He is also an accomplished singer, singing many different styles, from Bach to Rock. Geoffrey has performed with many different church choirs, often as a Tenor Soloist, and has led “Praise and Worship”. Geoffrey was a treble soloist and chorister with the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys from Buffalo, New York, from age 8 to 13, and performed on two concert tours of England, in 1971 and 1974. He was directed by Dr. Frederick Burgomaster, Michael Tilson-Thomas and Christopher Keene. Geoffrey started playing piano and singing in church choirs from age 5, directed by his mother, Lois Wands. She studied piano, organ and voice at the Eastman School of Music for 2 years, and graduated with a B.F.A. degree from the University of

Buffalo. Geoffrey’s father,  George Wands, has since retired from singing in church choirs, and a Baritone-Bass soloist for over 50 years, mainly based in the Anglican choral practice. He sang for the late Calvin Hampton, composer, and organist-choirmaster at Calvary/St. Georges church in New York City.

Having a passion for teaching all ages, schoolchildren as well as adults, Geoffrey has a large private studio, and teaches clarinet and saxophone at Mercyhurst University’s Conservatory of Music (since 1994), the Ashtabula (Ohio) Arts Center (since 1996), and at the Conneaut (Ohio) Community Center for the Arts. Geoffrey has been the Primary or Assistant Clarinet Teacher at the Band Camp for Adult Musicians, for several years, put on for two weeks every summer at Allegheny College in Meadville. He formerly taught clarinet, saxophone and piano at Osiecki’s Music Center for several years until it closed. Geoffrey and his wife Jill recently celebrated their third anniversary.

Geoffrey WandsPrincipal Clarinet

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