Charles Medlam studied the cello in London, Paris, Vienna and Salzburg before becoming interested in the bass viol and early performing styles. After a year lecturing and playing in the resident string quartet at the Chinese University of Hong Kong he returned to Europe and worked with Maurice Gendron at the Paris Conservatoire, Wolfgang Herzer in Vienna and subsequently performance practice with Nikolaus Harnoncourt in Salzburg as well as cello there with Heidi Litschauer. In addition he attended courses with Wieland Kuijken for the gamba. He founded London Baroque with Ingrid Seifert in 1978 and most of his work in the last three decades has been with them, playing some 2500 concerts worldwide in that time.