Eric Nowlin began his time with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as Principal Violist with the 2016-17 season. He has performed extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Eric has been described by the Springfield (MO) News-Leader as “having a full, warm tone, expressive phrasing, and effortless technical command” and by the Santa Cruz Sentinel as “displaying the remarkable capabilities of the viola, with a rich tone and sensitive interpretive skills.”

Eric previously served as Associate Principal Viola in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and is a member of the New Orford String Quartet. Hailed by CBC as “Canada’s top string quartet,” the New Orford String Quartet has won several Opus awards, and was nominated for a Juno award in 2012. The quartet has recorded for Bridge records, Naxos Canada, and can be seen in a series of videos produced by CBC playing quartets by Beethoven, Brahms, and Haydn. The New Orford Quartet has recently had successful debuts in Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, and Dallas, and performs throughout Canada and the United States on a yearly basis.

Eric plays on a Neapolitan viola from 1910 made by Giovanni Pistucci.