Jacob Heringman is a London-based lutenist in demand in many countries for performances of Renaissance and pre-Renaissance music. He has also been heard on the soundtracks of several hit films. Heringman was born on March 1, 1964, in the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Berea. He grew up partly in Germany. As a youth, he played guitar and other instruments, but he didn't take up the lute until his last year at Grinnell College in Iowa, where he majored in English and philosophy. After graduating, he went to London for studies with Jakob Lindberg at the Royal College of Music, returned to New York for further work with Pat O'Brien, and then settled in England in 1987. He quickly found work as a continuo player in Baroque ensembles. In 1990, he founded his own Renaissance and medieval ensemble, Virelai, and in the mid-'90s, he resolved to set continuo work aside and focus exclusively on Renaissance and pre-Renaissance music, believing that to advance in that field, he needed to devote himself to it full-time. Heringman has appeared widely across Europe and North America as a solo player and in collaboration with such groups as Fretwork, the English Baroque Soloists, and the Taverner Consort. He has also accompanied Michael Chance, Barbara Bonney, and Catherine King in lute song repertory. Heringman plays newly composed lute music as well, and in the 21st century, his work expanded into new areas: he has toured as far afield as China with the French dance company Système Castafiore, and played with Middle Eastern oud artists Khyam Allami (Iraq) and Adel Salameh (Palestine), exploring the relationship between the lute and its ancestor, the oud. Heringman has also performed with folk musicians Will Pound and Emily Askew, has performed as a duo with vihuelist Ariel Abramovic, and performed as Pellingmans' Saraband with his wife, viol player Susanna Pell. Heringman has a large catalog of recordings with various collaborators. As a solo artist, he has recorded for ASV, Naxos, Avie (where he made recordings based on several Renaissance lute books), and several other labels. In 2020, he moved to Inventa Records for the album Inviolata: Josquin des Prez.