Joseph Eller

Joseph Eller was appointed as the principal clarinetist of the South Carolina Philharmonic in 2012.

He has also been the clarinet professor at the University of South Carolina School of Music since 2005.

Mr. Eller has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia.

In addition, he currently plays extra with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra and numerous other symphonies throughout the region and country, and has previously played extra in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta Opera and Ballet orchestras.

He has recorded solo CDs and chamber music on the Centaur, Mark, Vestige, Beauport Classical and Allgood recording labels. His solo CD, Bach in Time on the Clarinet (Centaur), features his own arrangements of Bach for the clarinet, performed with harpsichord, organ and continuo. This CD, where clarinet is playing Bach with instruments from the Baroque period, is the first of its kind ever recorded. More information about his Baroque projects can be found at https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/music/faculty-staff/Eller.php.

A native of Ypsilanti, Michigan, Mr. Eller studied at Eastern Michigan University, Louisiana State University and the Peabody Institute.

Joe is an active member of the International Clarinet Association (ICA), serving as the South Carolina State Chair, and was co-Host and co-Artistic Director of the 2006 ICA convention, ClarinetFest® 2006, in Atlanta, GA. He plays on Buffet R13 clarinets, D'Addario Reserve mouthpieces and Legere reeds, and he is a sponsored performing artist with Buffet Crampon Clarinets and D'Addario Woodwinds.

His hobbies include playing ice hockey (he’s an avid Detroit Red Wings fan), racquetball, snow skiing, sitting around the firepit with the family, and reading espionage thrillers and cultural/theological books. He, his wife Christie, and their four children live in Columbia, SC and are active members of First Presbyterian Church, Columbia.