A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

As one of the first specialists in baroque music, Jaap ter Linden’s career reads like a directory of the great names of period performance practice. He witnessed the very beginnings of many of the oldest and finest baroque ensembles as co-founder of Musica da Camera and principal cellist of Musica Antiqua Köln, The English Concert and The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. From these auspicious beginnings, he has moved further into the spotlight, either playing solo concerts and intimate ensemble repertoire with the world’s finest interpreters (pianists Ronald Brautigam and David Breitman, violinists Andrew Manze, Elizabeth Wallfisch and John Holloway and harpsichordists Richard Egarr and Lars Ulrik Mortensen) or at the helm of an orchestra as conductor. 

Founder and director of the Mozart Akademie (with which he has recorded the complete Mozart symphonies) and regular guest director and soloist of the Arion Ensemble (Canada), Jaap has led many period instrument orchestras—such as the San Francisco Philharmonia Baroque, Portland Baroque, Atlanta Baroque and Amsterdam Bach Soloists,—and has lent his expertise to modern ensembles such as the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and the Arnhem Symphony Orchestra. 

His extensive discography as player and conductor boasts  highly acclaimed recordings of the Bach cello suites (Harmonia Mundi and Brilliant Classics), award-winning recordings of the Bach Gamba Sonatas (Editor’s Choice, Gramophone) and the Violin Sonatas of Rebel and Bach with Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik), and a recording as conductor of the Oboe concertos of J.S. Bach and sons with Pauline Oostenrijk and Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam nominated for the Edison Prize.

With the Bach cello suites Ter Linden toured the world with performances in The United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and China.



Jaap ter Linden was also an invaluable teacher and orchestral leader at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and the Amsterdam Conservatory. He now serves as teacher of baroque cello and viola da gamba, as well as coach of baroque chamber music and baroque orchestra, at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Cellist Erin Ellis leads a versatile career as a performer and teacher. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across the United States as well as in Canada, Germany, Chile, Italy, and Holland. Her recording of J. Dall'Abaco's 11 Capricci for solo cello was recently released on Albany Records. As a baroque cellist, Erin has performed with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Indy Baroque Orchestra, and with members of Chatham Baroque. A dedicated music educator, she maintains an active private studio and is the cello professor at West Virginia University, where she teaches cello, coaches WVU’s graduate string quartet (Montani Quartet), and coordinates an active string chamber music program. Erin has conducted masterclasses and workshops at many nationally-recognized institutions and regularly presents at state, regional, and national conferences.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Erin began her cello studies as a Suzuki student at the age of 4. She earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She went on to receive the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree with a minor in Early Music from the Eastman School of Music, where she was recognized with the Graue Award for Excellence in Musicology. She completed Suzuki teacher training with Tanya Carey and Andrea Yun.  She studied the cello with Richard Aaron, David Ying, Alison Wells, Phoebe Carrai, and Martha Gerschefski.