Sahara sriraman, Spectrum editor

When Eric Wheeler is not teaching VCU music students as an assistant professor of double bass and electric bass, he is often on tour with various musicians, such as Grammy-nominated trumpeter Theo Croker, or conducts music workshops. international music.

Wheeler started teaching at VCU last year and teaches his students practically most of the time as he does not live in Richmond and often travels for various jazz shows he participates in.

Wheeler said he had been performing for almost 30 years, with his first concert being at a small hotel in Washington, DC.

“I have always had a deep passion and love for playing music,” Wheeler said. “I started when I was about nine years old.

He said that as a child he didn’t have much interest in music, but when he started attending Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, he started to develop a strong link with play and performance.

He said he currently teaches in a hybrid format in order to teach around his tour schedule. Often he teaches virtually from an international location, which he said he had never done before teaching at VCU.

“I’ve learned to be more effective as a teacher because, of course, when you’re not in person, you can’t demonstrate physically,” Wheeler said. “So you have to really be efficient and clearly articulate what you are trying to convey to your students. “

Wheeler said that although this is only his second year of teaching at VCU, he enjoys it very much, although it is often a challenge to guide his students while making sure they maintain their own musical style.

“Jazz has a lot of freedoms, there’s a lot of improvisation – improvisation is the basis of everything, so teaching someone to improvise or freestyle is the biggest challenge,” Wheeler said.

He said that although his schedule is very busy and he works constantly, whether it is playing music, giving lectures or teaching students, he enjoys it and will not give up. never.

“I always say if you love something and are passionate about it and work for it, there’s no reason you can’t be successful,” Wheeler said.

Adam Jones, a sophomore music student, said he’s thrilled to have Wheeler as a teacher this semester. He said that although he hasn’t had her as a teacher for a very long time, he already feels like he has learned a lot.

“He had a huge impact on my musicality and my playing,” Jones said. “What I have learned from him so far is the importance of strong, healthy technique.”

He said that Wheeler gave him a lot more confidence as a bass player with his encouragement and advice, especially because he hasn’t played for that long.

Jones has stated that he sees Wheeler as a role model and that as a musician he hopes to be like one day.

“Having someone with that kind of status as a private tutor has set a great example for the future, and it really shows me where I want to be,” Jones said.

Jones said that having Wheeler as a private tutor was very beneficial because of his insightful knowledge and positive energy. He also said it was good to have a black male mentor to guide him in his development as a bass player.

“I would like to keep that connection just because growing up I didn’t always have black male mentors very often. I mean, I had them but there weren’t a lot of them, ”Jones said. “And, so it’s really good to have this now in my life.”

Antonio García, director of jazz studies at VCU, said he was familiar with Wheeler’s work before he started working at VCU. He said he saw how well Wheeler worked with his students.

“His students find him to be a great communicator and very constructive for them,” García said.

García said he would describe Wheeler as a humble, but very accomplished musician.

“He’s playing at a very high level so we’re delighted and honored to have him here,” García said.

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