Festival Artists

Thomas Gerlinger studied viola in Stuttgart with Enrique Santiago, in Salzburg with Jürgen Geise, and in Saarbrücken with Diemut Poppen after completing high school, civil service, and several semesters of physics. Since 2000, he has been working as a freelance soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician.

He has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Münchner KlangVerwaltung under Enoch zu Guttenberg and Kent Nagano, the Heidelberger Sinfoniker under Thomas Fey, Reinhard Goebel, Giuliano Carmignola, and Johannes Klumpp, and the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck under Wolfgang Heinzel and Ben Palmer. Additionally, he has been a valued substitute musician for orchestras like the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, and others.

Since 1998, he has performed with his wife, Iris Gerlinger, as the ‘Duo Tomaris,’ playing original literature and arrangements for two violas or violin and viola. Starting in 2022, the duo began touring one to two times a year with a tandem bike and trailer, initially supported by government funding and eventually independently. Remembering Holocaust victims and advocating for peace and environmental conservation are the duo’s heartfelt missions through their music.