Vittorio Ghielmi (born 1968) is an Italian musician (viola da gamba), conductor, composer. Compared by critics to Jasha Heifetz (“Diapason”) for his virtuosity, and described as “An Alchemist of sound” (“Diario de Sevilla”) for the intensity and versatility of his musical interpretations, Vittorio Ghielmi attracted notice while still very young for his new approach to the viola da gamba and to the sound of early music repertoire. He was born in Milan, Italy, where as a child he began his study of music with the violin and later the viola da gamba. In 1995 he was the winner of the "Concorso Internazionale Romano Romanini per strumenti ad arco" (Brescia). His fieldwork within old musical traditions surviving in forgotten parts of the world and bringing new perspectives to the interpretation of European "early music" led to him being presented the “Erwin Bodky Award” (Cambridge, Massachusetts USA 1997). He studied the viol with Roberto Gini (Accademia Internazionale della Musica, Milano), Wieland Kuijken (Conservatoire Royale, Bruxelles) and Christophe Coin (Paris). Associations with instrument maker, engineer and humanist Luc Breton (CH) as well as with many musicians of non-European traditions (India, Afghanistan, Africa, Latin America) have been fundamental to his musical career.