Ted Casher is a well known clarinet and saxophone player who is a "first call player" for ensembles throughout New England. Casher was born in 1937 in Waterbury CN and brought up in Skowhegan, Maine He currently resides in Mansfield, Massachusetts. He is from an ethnically grounded Jewish family, which Ted says "resulted in my parents expecting me to become a doctor or business man", but he was drawn to music from an early age. One of his first exposures to music, specifically jazz music, was during his early years listening to New York's WNEW nightly live jazz programs with his babysitter at the time. It was not until he was playing in his Junior High School band that Casher decided that music would be a large part of his future. Casher had mastered the clarinet and the saxophone by age thirteen and had started to play professional gigs for seven dollars a night. He studied under greats, such as Al Corey, and proved to be a worthy apprentice.
It was not until 1964 that Casher moved to Mansfield, Massachusetts with the goal of starting a family. Casher has a very impressive education in the musical arts. He graduated from Berklee School of Music / Boston Conservatory as magna cum laude and with a Bachelors Degree in Music Education. Casher also continued his musical education and graduated from Boston Conservatory with a Masters in Music Education. In addition, Ted Earned his M.A.T from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Casher is a well known music educator. He was the musical director of the Rhode Island All-Star High School Jazz Ensemble, has conducted All-State Jazz Ensembles in Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, is a Composer-in-Residence for the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and is the Jazz instructor for The Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Casher also holds positions as senior instrumental faculty at Foxboro Jazz Improvisation Camp, Maine Jazz Camp, and Rhode Island Music Educators Camp. On the collegiate level, Casher has held faculty positions at Berklee College of Music, the former Rhode Island School of Music, Roger Williams University, University of Rhode Island, Community College of Rhode Island, Dean College. While a professor at Berklee College of Music, Casher taught rock composition, more specifically jazz-influenced rock. He has also taught at Ponaganset High School.
Ted Casher has an impressive professional performance background and was always much in demand. He has played with the Harry James Orchestra, the Benny Goodman Tribute Orchestra, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Ray MacKinley All-Stars, the Duke Belaire Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Klezmer Conservatory Band, and in pit many orchestras. Casher has also had special performances with Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Michael LeGrand, Tony Orlando, Lou Rawls, Jerry Lewis, Sergio Franchi, and Al Martino. He went on tour with John Denver playing the clarinet and the flute, and has made several TV performances. He has played with some such seminal figures as Loius Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie. He also has had the honor of playing with former President Bill Clinton, as well as being invited to play at President Clinton's Presidential Inauguration! Ted Casher remains an active performer and is currently playing with The Swing Legacy, the Jazz Tuber Trio, the Bessarabian Breakdown, and the John Badessa Orchestra.
