Don Ehrlich received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory, his Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan.
After a year as Principal Viola in the Toledo Symphony, he came to the San Francisco Symphony in 1972, where he was promoted to Assistant Principal Viola. He retired from the Symphony in 2006 after 34 years.
He has been heard as violist in the Aurora and the Stanford String Quartets, and he appears frequently as chamber musician and as soloist. He has been on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory since 1972. He plays an ergonomically corrected viola, the Pellegrina model, designed and built by David Rivinus in Portland, Oregon.