Edward Walters, a versatile woodwind player who spent decades as musical contractor — the person who formed the bands — at the National Theatre and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, died March 11 at a skilled-nursing center in Rockville, Md. He was 77.
Mr. Walters played clarinet, saxophone, flute, piccolo, oboe and English horn in pit orchestras at prominent regional venues such as the Kennedy Center and Arena Stage in Washington and the Hippodrome and Lyric theaters in Baltimore. He performed in operas, ballets, stage musicals and pop concerts and never retired. His last show was the musical “Chicago” at the National, at which he played at least three instruments eight shows a week.
In addition, Mr. Walters contracted musicians for the inaugural ceremonies of every president from 1981 to 2017, his family said, as well as for events including the long-running TV special “Christmas in Washington."
Edward Henry Walters was born in Philadelphia on March 8, 1946, and grew up in Baltimore. His father was a taxi driver, and his mother taught elementary school and was a church pianist.
He graduated in 1968 from the Peabody Conservatory (now part of Johns Hopkins University) in Baltimore and, while serving in the U.S. Navy Band’s Port Authority popular music ensemble, he received a master’s degree in music from Catholic University in 1972.
He was a board member of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and also served on the University of Maryland music school’s board of visitors (he also taught music at the university from 1980 to 2011). He was also a member of the Montgomery County Road Runners and participated in Marine Corps Marathons.
He was a member of the Clinton AME Zion Church in Rockville and volunteer docent for the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He lived in Bethesda, Md.
His first marriage, to Helen Bishop, ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 47 years, the former Wanda Butler, of Bethesda; two children from his second marriage, Kathryn Walters-Conte of Kensington, Md., and Ryan Walters of Bethesda; four brothers; and two grandchildren. A sister, noted soprano Jeannette Walters, died in 1994.
