Eric Shumsky's performances on both sides of the Atlantic have garnered him a large and enthusiastic following among both his audiences and his peers. The Seattle Weekly had this to say about a recent concert: "The rose petal lilt of the music bloomed under the precise but seemingly effortless bowing. The sound from Shumsky was stunning. The applause, when it came, was thunderous."

Shumsky has recorded the Mozart "Sinfonie Concertante" with his father and teacher, the great violinist Oscar Shumsky, on the EMI label, with Yan-Pascal Tortelier conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Also with his father, he has recorded other major works for violin and viola and has received praise from the American and European press. Fanfare Magazine, reviewing the "Virtuoso Duo" album in their 1983 issue, exclaimed: "Beautiful tone, clean intonation, a superb recording." Hi Fi Stereo (Germany 1983): "This recording leaves nothing to be desired." Eric Shumsky has appeared as a soloist in over 100 cities throughout the world and has performed with orchestras including the London Sinfonia, Salzburg Sinfonietta, Northwest Chamber Orchestra, and Montreal Chamber Orchestra. In 1986 Shumsky was a featured artist on BBC live in London, and has appeared and been broadcast over most of the important radio stations throughout Europe.

Eric Shumsky's career was launched upon graduating from the Juilliard School, where he studied viola with Lillian Fuchs. He received a grant from the Ford Foundation to perform chamber music in North America. Among the many highlights of his career in the United States are appearances at Lincoln Center, San Francisco's Mostly Mozart Festival, and the first televised performance of the Mahler Piano Quartet for CBS television. He moved to Europe in 1979, where Mr. Shumsky continued his illustrious career winning the Zurich Tonkunstler Prize in 1981 for his performance of the newly discovered "Grand Sonata for Viola" by Paganini.

Shumsky has been invited to perform and teach at institutions including the Royal Academy of Music in London, Les Arc (French Alps), Saarbrucken International Festival, Karlsrube Hochschule, Germany, 1987 Lionel Tertis Viola Competition and on the Isle of Man (Great Britain). In 1985 Shumsky moved to Paris and formed his own chamber orchestra, "International Chamber Soloists", conducting over 20 concerts in France and Spain. The press in Lyon hailed the group as "outstanding" in a recent concert.

Shumsky was one of the youngest tenured faculty at the University of Washington, where he was professor of viola and chamber music. The leader and founder of a chamber music series in Washington as well as a member of the Boston Players, he is heard frequently on both American coasts.

Most recently, Eric Shumsky was heard in concerts with the Emerson String Quartet at Lincoln Center New York and at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. In July of 1998 Mr. Shumsky was a featured guest artist performing with the St. Petersburg String Quartet of Russia at the Music Mountain in Falls Village Connecticut, which was broadcast by WQXR Radio.

Hailed as one of the finest teachers Mr. Shumsky has taught at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Ecole Normal de Musique in Paris, Karlsruhe Hochschule for music in Germany, Dartmouth University, Rutgers University, University of Michigan, University of Washington, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria B.C, Montreal Conservatory of Music, and many other institutes. In September 1998, Mr. Shumsky was invited to work in Mexico City with the string section of the Orchestra Sinfonica Carlos Chavez.

Eric Shumsky has, in recent years, focused more intently on recording and has formed Vestige Classics, a company for the distribution of recordings of string instruments. He continues to concertize and give masterclasses.