Montreal native Eric Braley has served as principal clarinetist of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra since 2024. A well-traveled orchestral musician, he has performed for audiences across North America as an extra with the Canadian Opera Company, Cleveland Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, National Ballet of Canada, New World Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Victoria Symphony, among others.

An enthusiastic collaborator, Eric has been featured as a chamber musician on the University of Saskatchewan’s Amati Concert Series and Acadia University’s Sunday Music in the Garden Room series. Over the course of his career, he has participated in the premieres of dozens of new works, and, most notably, worked with LA-based composer Alex Mansour in the conception, development, and subsequent premiere of Kaleidoscope (2022) for solo clarinet and electronics.

A devoted educator, Eric is the Lecturer in Clarinet at the University of Saskatchewan. He maintains a private studio of pre-college students, and has enjoyed working with clarinet students of all different ages and abilities for the Aspen Music Festival and School’s Festival Lessons Program, the Music in Schools Initiative of the Yale School of Music and New Haven Public Schools, and Yale College.

Eric holds degrees and diplomas from the University of Southern California, Royal Conservatory of Music, Yale University and McGill University. He is grateful to have studied with master clarinet teachers Robert Crowley, Yehuda Gilad, Ricardo Morales, Michael Rusinek, David Shifrin, Joaquin Valdepeñas, and Zaven Zakarian.

Eric is happily married to Canadian violist Carolyn Farnand, his favourite chamber musician.