Eric Tinkerhess is a cellist, violist da gamba, musicologist, and composer who combines research and practice to create new interpretations of ancient and contemporary musical works.
His recordings with Ensemble Diderot have received critical acclaim, including a “Diapason d’or” from Diapason Magazine for The Paris Album, and “top ten classical releases of 2019” from The Guardian. As a cello teacher he has given master classes at Huddersfield University (UK) and the Shanghai Conservatory.
He has a bachelor’s in cello performance from the Oberlin Conservatory, a master’s in viola da gamba from the Paris Conservatory, and a Master of Interpretation of Early Music—Research and Practice from the Sorbonne. He is currently a PhD candidate in musicology at the University of Southern California, working on a dissertation about musical meaning in Marin Marais's character pieces as a recipient of a Chateaubriand Fellowship from the Embassy of France. In addition to teaching baroque viola and viola da gamba at USC, he has served on the music history faculties of the Colburn School Conservatory and Pepperdine University.