Tanya Tomkins, cello

Tanya, cellist and co-founder/Director of the Valley of the Moon Music Festival, is equally at home on historical and modern instruments. Passionate about chamber music, Tanya has been featured in recitals and at chamber music festivals across the United States, Canada, and Europe, and is a member of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble. Tanya also recorded the complete Bach Cello Suites, performing them at venues including New York’s Le Poisson Rouge, Vancouver’s Early Music Society, Santa Fe’s Pro Musica, and the Library of Congress. For many years, Tanya was principal cellist and a frequent soloist for both San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the Portland Baroque Orchestra. Tanya is now devoting more time to mentoring the next generation of musicians. The experiences of musical friendship and mentoring from her years in Holland studying with cellist, Anner Bijlsma are what inspired Tanya, together with VMMF co-Director Eric Zivian, to create the Apprenticeship, Laureate and Emerging Artists Programs at the Valley of the Moon Music Festival. Tanya has mentored young musicians in master classes at Yale, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and through her frequent appearances as a guest teacher at Juilliard’s Historical Performance Department.