Hosts

Joseph Eller

Clarinetist, Joseph Eller, was appointed as a member of the University of South Carolina School of Music faculty in 2005. He has performed solo and chamber music recitals throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Mr. Eller was appointed principal clarinetist of the South Carolina Philharmonic in 2012 and has played extra with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Greenville Symphony and numerous other orchestras throughout the southeastern United States. Previously, he served as principal clarinetist of the Cobb Symphony Orchestra in Georgia from 1997-2005 and was the clarinet professor at Kennesaw State University from 1998-2005. Additionally, he was principal clarinetist of the 214th Army Band in Atlanta, GA from 1996-2000, where he was a featured soloist on many of their national tours. He has recorded on the Centaur, Mark, Vestige, Beauport Classical and Allgood record labels. A native of Ypsilanti, Michigan, Mr. Eller received performance degrees from Eastern Michigan University and Louisiana State University and began his doctoral studies at the Peabody Institute.  Mr. Eller was co-Host and co-Artistic Director of the 2006 International Clarinet Association convention, ClarinetFest® 2006, in Atlanta, GA. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the College Music Society and serves as the South Carolina State Chair of the International Clarinet Association. He plays on Buffet R13 clarinets, D'Addario Reserve mouthpieces and D'Addario Reserve Classic reeds and he is sponsored as a performing artist with the Buffet Crampon USA and D'Addario Woodwinds. His hobbies include playing ice hockey, racquetball, snow skiing, and reading. He, his wife Christie, and their four children live in Columbia, SC and are active members of First Presbyterian Church, Columbia.

Clifford Leaman

Professor of saxophone at the University of South Carolina, Clifford Leaman received the Bachelor of Science degree in music education from Lebanon Valley College, and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in performance from the University of Michigan where he was a student of Donald Sinta. He has taught at the collegiate level for over thirty years, and served on the faculties of Furman University, Eastern Michigan University, and The University of Michigan prior to his appointment at the University of South Carolina.  Leaman is in great demand as a soloist and clinician and has performed and taught throughout the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Slovenia, Sweden, Australia, Columbia, Croatia, Thailand, Tiawan, and in China where he was a featured guest artist nine times. He has performed as a concerto soloist with the ShenZhen Symphony Orchestra, at the XII and XV World Saxophone Congresses, and the North American Saxophone Alliance’s 2006 and 2014 Biennial Conferences. He was also a featured concerto soloist at the 2008 International Navy Band Symposium in Washington D.C.  Leaman has given masterclasses at major schools of music and conservatories world-wide, including Northwestern, Eastman, Michigan, Duquesne, Bowling Green, Georgia, North Texas, Florida State, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón, Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, Conservatoire de Boulogne-Billancourt, Conservatoire de Strasbourg, the Royal Academy of Music (Stockholm), Beijing Central Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, and the Sichuan Conservatory.
Leaman has performed concerts throughout the world and has released four critically acclaimed compact discs of works for saxophone and piano on the Equilibrium label. Leaman has also performed extensively with percussionist Scott Herring, giving concerts and masterclasses throughout the world since 2005 when they formed the RoseWind Duo. Their debut compact disc recording, Release, (EQ-92) features works for alto saxophone and marimba; and their subsequent recording Devils Garden/Angels Landing (EQ-161) features seven works written for and dedicated to the duo.  
An avid supporter of contemporary music, Dr. Leaman has commissioned and given the world premiere performances of numerous works, including concertos by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers, Leslie Bassett, William Bolcom, and Michael Colgrass. His recording of the Bassett with the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra is available through Equilibrium Records (EQ-63), and his recording of the Ingolf Dahl Concerto with the USC Wind Ensemble usnder the direction of Scott Weiss is available on the Summit label (DCD 702). Dr. Leaman is an artist-clinician for D’Addario and the Conn-Selmer Company, Inc. and performs exclusively on Selmer saxophones and D’Addario reeds.