BIOGRAPHY
"Eric Heidbreder's diverse experiences as a performer, educator, and songwriter tell the story of a remarkable musician who knows his role is not restricted to the concert stage. Through his innovative performances and arrangements, Eric is changing the game for what a contemporary bassoonist can be in today's connected world."
- Dan Visconti, Composer
"...this is borderline offensive to a real musician"
- Anonymous Reviewer
Eric Heidbreder's curious nature and humorous spirit produce a vibrant musical language that engages audiences of all ages. His bassoon career can be traced back to one moment, at the age of ten, when he and his dad were watching Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope together. After witnessing Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes in the iconic Cantina scene, Eric turned to his father and asked, "What is that instrument?" "A bassoon," his father said. From that point on, Eric was a bassoon player.
Genuine curiosity has guided Eric through his career. Beginning, most notably, at Ball State University, where he took interest in performing his peers' compositions, arranging pop songs, and writing comedy music simply for the joy that it brought. All those joyful endeavors remain key points in Eric's musical career.
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Eric was previously a bassoonist, presenter, and teaching artist with Fifth House Ensemble, and is an active freelance recording artist and audio editor/producer. Most recently, Eric has been working with horn player and videographer Mathew James to produce large-scale virtual ensemble recordings for schools and bands across Canada including the Saskatchewan Band Association, West Island College, and Calgary Public Schools, who were not able to play in person due to the Covid pandemic of 2020. Notable performances include collaborations with guitarist, Jason Vieaux; Mediterranean folk band, Baladino; and bluegrass band, Henhouse Prowlers as well as a live version of thatgamecompany's Journey complete with game players on stage that guide Fifth House Ensemble through Austin Wintory's enchanting score. Outside of performing, Eric has presented workshops on designing educational programs at the Cleveland Institute of Music, The Cleveland Orchestra, and at Fifth House Ensemble's Fresh Inc. Festival. The final area of Fifth House's work is in its educational programs, where Eric is responsible for designing and implementing an 8-session songwriting and entrepreneurship program at Ignite in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood and co-creating educational programs with Ravinia's Reach.Teach.Play program. Eric can be heard on Television and Netflix in Season 2 of Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories and Small Crimes.
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To balance the professional life of a classical musician, Eric has also released five albums of comedy music under the pseudonym Springbo. Springbo was named a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition in 3 separate years for his songs “Champagne for My Furby”, “Insurance Song”, and “Bidet”.
Eric’s experience and passion for teaching carries over into his work as a data and analytics consultant with Analytics8, where he assists clients spanning different business sectors and service areas to help them glean valuable insights from their data. This ranges from refining the underlying structure of the data all the way to data visualization and advanced analytics. Eric is a Certified Qlik Business Analyst, Certified LookML Developer, and a Delivery / Emerging Growth Verified Consulting Partner with Looker.
For fun, Eric enjoys skateboarding and can probably do a kickflip on command (if he has the right shoes on at the time).
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