Cellist and viol player Jonathan Manson was born in Edinburgh and received his formative training in the Scottish Borders, later going on to study at the Eastman School of Music in New York.

A growing fascination for early music led him to Holland, where he studied viola da gamba with Wieland Kuijken. Jonathan is co-principal cello of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and often appears in this role with other leading early music groups. He is a founding member of the viol consort Phantasm and the cellist of the London Haydn Quartet, both of which tour worldwide. A long-standing partnership with the harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock has led to critically acclaimed recordings of the Bach sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord, amongst many others.

Jonathan is a professor for baroque cello and viola da gamba at London’s Royal Academy of Music.