Derek Barnes joined The Philadelphia Orchestra in February 1995. A native of Philadelphia, he previously held the post of co-principal cello of the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia (now the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia) and has been a member of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and the New York String Orchestra.
Mr. Barnes has appeared as soloist with the Curtis Symphony, the Tanglewood Music Center Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony, the Anderson Symphony, and the Muncie Symphony. He has also participated in the Tanglewood Fellowship program as a Bernstein Fellow and at the summer music festivals of the Taos School of Music, the Encore School for Strings, and Congress of Strings. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1991, his teachers have included Orlando Cole, David Soyer, and former Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Cello William Stokking.
Mr. Barnes has performed chamber music with Christoph Eschenbach, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Isaac Stern, and Sarah Chang. He has appeared on television in “Yo-Yo Ma at Tanglewood.” He performs regularly with his wife, Meichen Barnes, associate concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.