“True Colors was written for Eric Berlin, principal trumpet of the Albany Symphony, and he plays it vividly here.”
~Gramophone

“Trumpetist Eric Berlin enters with surety, dexterity and a full tone.”
~Classical-Modern Music Review

“Soloist Eric Berlin is equally adept at producing a bright gleaming tone for the first, and raw, brash power for the second.”
~Fanfare Magazine

Trumpeter Eric Berlin has made the music of our time the focus of his career. As a soloist, he has commissioned, premiered and recorded new works for trumpet from some of today’s most exciting composers, including George Tsontakis, Stephen Paulus, Joseph Turrin, Anthony Plog, Eric Ewazen, and James Stephenson. Much of this work has been documented on his solo releases on MSR Classics  End of the Matter, Calls and Echoes and Fantastique.

Fantastique documents works Berlin commissioned and premiered for trumpet and wind ensemble including Stephen Paulus’ Concerto for Two Trumpets which received a Grammy Nomination in 2014 for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.

In March 2012 Mr. Berlin premiered and recorded “True Colors for Trumpet and Orchestra” by George Tsontakis which was commissioned for him by the Albany Symphony Orchestra. This recording was released on NAXOS and was named one of the “Top Ten Classical Recordings of 2017” by National Public Radio.  In December of 2021, Professor Berlin recorded Christopher Rouse’s Heimdall’s Trumpet with the Albany Symphony Orchestra which is scheduled for release in early 2024.

His most recent release features Albany Symphony and UMass colleague Greg Spiridopoulos on trombone and pianist Ludmila Krasin. Along the Continuum documents their collaboration with a tour through music for trumpet, trombone and piano featuring works by Jeffrey Holmes, Eric Ewazen, Anthony Plog, Jacques Casterade and Herbert L Clarke.

He has has performed as a soloist with Hartford, Albany and Brooklyn Symphony Orchestras, the Helsinki University Orchestra in Finland, Orquestra Cidade de Recife and Orquestra Unisinos Anchieta in Brazil, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, and the New England Brass Band among others. Of his performance with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Boston Globe wrote, “Eric Berlin poured out dazzling, clarion brightness with elegant edges.”

Mr. Berlin has been a featured soloist at several recent International Trumpet Guild Conferences including a full recital of commissions in 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand, concerto performances in 2004, 2007, 2012 and 2013 and most recently a 2017 recital with trombone colleague Greg Spiridopoulos.

As Principal Trumpet of the Grammy Award winning Albany Symphony Orchestra since 1998, Eric Berlin can be heard on more than two dozen acclaimed recordings that include works by John Corigliano, Aaron Kernis, Morton Gould, Roy Harris, John Harbison, Christopher Rouse and William Schuman to name a few.  He held the same position with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra from 2005-2017 and is a member of the  Boston Modern Orchestra Project,where he can be heard on over 70 recordings by living American composers including Elliot Carter, David Del Tredici, Jacob Druckman, Robert Erickson, Lukas Foss, Charles Fussell, Steven Mackey, Gunther Schuller and Charles Wourinen. Since 2006, he has spent his summers performing as Assistant Principal Trumpet of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, CO. In addition to his regular positions, he has performed most notably with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and St. Louis Symphony.  He also founded the Majestic Brass Quintet in 1988.

Mr. Berlin enjoys international regard as a trumpet pedagogue as Professor of Trumpet at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He served two terms as a member of the Board of Directors of the International Trumpet Guild and hosted the 2007 ITG Annual Conference. He has given masterclasses worldwide, wrote a recurring column in Brass Herald, the world’s largest brass magazine, and is extraordinarily proud of more than a hundred alumni working as performers and teachers around the country and beyond. A testament to his stature in his field was his service as a finals judge in the 2018 ARD International Music Competition in Munch, the most prestigious solo competition in the world for trumpet.

A native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Mr. Berlin attended the New England Conservatory of Music, where he was a student of Charles Schlueter, former Principal Trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Robert Nagel of the New York Brass Quintet. He has also studied extensively with Vincent Penzarella of the New York Philharmonic, Tom Rolfs of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Frank Kaderabek, former Principal Trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

While not performing, teaching or playing daddy to his beloved daughter Stella, he can be found photographing the wonders of nature in the Rocky Mountains and Western Massachusetts where he lives with his canine companion Chestnut.

Eric Berlin is a Yamaha Performing Artist, performs on Schagerl rotary valve instruments and trusts his horns only in his Torpedo Bags Coyote case.

Eric and Reuben on Mountain of the Holy Cross, 7-3-15