Native of Jacksonville Florida, Eric Gilfus is an active orchestral and chamber hornist in the Southeast. This past season, he was a recipient of the South Carolina Philharmonic 2023 Dr. Benjamin Wilson Woodruff, Jr. Musician’s Award for his exceptional service in music. Mr. Gilfus has performed with over 25 orchestras in his career; this past season's highlights included playing with the Jacksonville Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, and the Charleston Symphony. He is currently a member of the Aiken Symphony, Aiken Civic Orchestra, Carolina Philharmonic, and Florence Symphony. He regularly performs with South Carolina Philharmonic, Long Bay Symphony, Augusta Symphony, North Charleston Pops, Fayetteville Symphony, Hilton Head Symphony, and Rock Hill Symphony.
As a chamber musician, Mr. Gilfus enjoys performing with the South Carolina Philharmonic Brass Quintet, Palmetto Brass, and Category V Brass. Previous chamber performance highlights have been the European tours as a member of the Skylark Horn Quartet, performing with the Charleston Symphony Brass Quintet, and this past season’s performing the Brahms Horn Trio with international violinist Andrew Sords and pianist Winifred Goodwin in Augusta, GA.
Mr. Gilfus studied at Stetson University and Indiana University. His primary teachers were Ben Lieser, Jeff Nelson of Canadian Brass, Dale Clevenger of Chicago Symphony, and Myron Bloom of Cleveland Orchestra.
When not playing the horn, Mr. Gilfus enjoys fixing anything and everything as well as training for triathlons at home in Columbia, SC. In 2022 Eric Became an Ironman and completed the 144.6 mile journey in under 12 hours.