Erich Wächter studierte an der Staatlichen Hochschule für Musik in Berlin Dirigat, Klavier und Liedbegleitung. Engagements als Kapellmeister führten ihn nach Kaiserslautern, Saarbrücken, Karlsruhe und Darmstadt sowie ans Nationaltheater Mannheim. 1989-2001 war er Generalmusikdirektor und Operndirektor der Hansestadt Lübeck. Zudem führte ihn eine rege Gastiertätigkeit an bedeutende europäische Opernhäuser. Neben seiner künstlerischen Tätigkeit leitete er an den Hochschulen Karlsruhe und Lübeck Dirigierklassen und Hochschulorchester. 

Seit der Spielzeit 2002/2003 ist Erich Wächter Generalmusikdirektor am Landestheater Detmold. Zudem arbeitet er als 1. ständiger Gastdirigent am Theater Bonn.

Erich Wächter studied at the State Music Academy in Berlin (today "University of arts") the subjects conducting, piano and song-accompanying. While still a student he held the position of assistant to the Musical Director of the famous "Singakademie zu Berlin".

His professional career as a conductor began in 1969 at the opera house of Kaiserslautern. From 1974 to 1977 he worked at the Saarbrücken State Opera as "Kapellmeister der Oper" and musical director of the Saarbrücken city choir.
During this time he also worked as musical assistant in the "Richard Wagner Festspiele Bayreuth".
1977 he was offered an engagement to the Badische State Opera in Karlsruhe as "Kapellmeister der Oper". He was extensively engaged as a guest conductor at the Hessen State Opera in Wiesbaden, where he conducted operas including Meistersinger, Rosenkavalier, Carmen, La forza del destino and Magic Flute.
Besides these conducting activities he has held a lectureship in conducting at the State Music Academy in Karlsruhe.

From 1985 he worked as 1st Kapellmeister at the State Opera of Darmstadt. In this time he became a regular guest conductor at the Zürich Opera House and the Mannheim Nationaltheater.
From 1987 he held the position of 1st Kapellmeister at the Mannheim Nationaltheater until his appointment of "Generalmusikdirektor and Operndirektor" in Lübeck in 1989. Here he was also in charge of the conducting classes at the State Music Academy and was chief of the academy´s orchestra.

As guest conductor he worked in the opera houses of Berlin, Hamburg, München, Wien, Köln, Stockholm etc. His extensive concert activities led him to the orchestras of Wiesbaden, Kassel, Hamburg, Dortmund, Nürnberg, Freiburg, radio orchestras of Berlin, Munich, Köln etc. Erich Wächter now works as Generalmusikdirektor at the Detmold Opera House and as 1st guest conductor at the opera house in Bonn.