A Singular Evening with Eric Sinclair

After nearly forty years of instructing and performing at the Academy, Guitar Instructor Eric Sinclair continues to entertain audiences with original songs and stories. This past Tuesday evening, Sinclair hosted PEA’s first solo faculty concert in The Bowld. His performance, titled “Six Strings, Ten Fingers, and One Voice with Words (Vol. 5),” showcased Sinclair’s skills as a acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter. As always, Sinclair’s stage presence and interaction with the listeners made for an invigorating evening, garnering glowing reviews from audience members.

"As always, Sinclair’s stage presence and interaction with the listeners made for an invigorating evening, garnering glowing reviews from audience members."

Though the performance was officially his first in The Bowld, Sinclair is no stranger to performing in front of an audience at PEA. He began performing his “Six Strings” recitals in 2003 as a way to share his love of music. The inspiration for this performance, the fifth volume, arose from the fact that Sinclar had not done a faculty recital since 2011. Having written several new songs, including some new ideas for sing-alongs, he decided it was time “to put them before a live audience.”

Sinclair realized his passion for music at a young age. After learning to play the drums, he taught himself to play guitar “because it was a much better instrument to write songs and sing with.”

Shortly after his graduation from the University of New Hampshire in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in music education, Sinclair became a classroom music teacher and fifth grade choral director at Lincoln Street Elementary School in Exeter before joining the PEA Music Department four years later.

Approaching his fortieth year at PEA, Sinclair has taught guitar lessons to well over a thousand Exonians during his tenure. In addition to being a musician and teacher, Sinclair has authored his own musical method book called “Exercises and Tunes” to help his students enhance their musical abilities. His teaching technique involves familiarizing students with the historical context of each piece they choose to learn, placing students in the shoes of the composer.

Students recognize Sinclair for his pleasant disposition, passion for music and unconventional method of teaching. Prep Audrey Yin learned about Sinclair when he was the subject of two projects created by fellow students from her filmmaking class. Intrigued by Sinclair’s passion for music, Yin attended “Six Strings,” and was struck by how personal the performance was. “He made the audience part of the performance,” Yin said. “What surprised me were the stories in his songs. As he was performing, I could picture all the memories he was singing about.”

Students look forward to Sinclair’s lessons and learn much from each session. “[I] learned everything I know about guitar from him,” said senior Nader Baber. He appreciated “just how close to [Sinclair’s] heart” the performance was. “It was really true to Mr. Sinclair as a person and how much emotion goes into guitar from him.”

Baber also enjoyed the mix of new and old music. “The last piece [“There are Songs to Be Sung”] was my personal favorite as a classic from holiday assembly and something Mr. Sinclair has taught me how to play,” he said.

Over the years, Sinclair’s sing-alongs have been particularly popular, including his famous “Pothole!” piece, among others. “I came to the concert because I was familiar with Sinclair from his performances at the Holiday Assemblies and from my choir performance with him this year at Climate Action Day,” said lower Jack Liu.

Though she is not one of Sinclair’s students, Liu attended the performance and was impressed by Sinclair’s talent and originality. “The lyrics were fun and witty, and I liked the jazzy chord progression he had going on… He is a great lyricist with a knack for both language and storytelling.”

After so many years of teaching and performing, Sinclair has learned “that good music doesn’t get old.” While a certain song or artist may be around for many years, music is “brand new” to a student who hears it for the first time. “That discovery—be it in a music lesson or in a concert—can open doors for the student to a whole new world of music and artists,” Sinclair said.