Jeremy Lake began studying cello at the age of ten. In 1986, with a Royal College of Music scholarship, he studied with Joan Dickson in London. The Martin Musical Trust award allowed him to continue to attend the Royal College. He has been awarded several prizes, particularly in the fields of chamber music and contemporary music. He was chosen by the Royal College of Music to participate in a cello ensemble with the celebrated Mstislav Rostropovitch, playing music by Heitor Villa-Lobos. At the same time, he founded a piano trio with his father, the pianist Ian Lake, and violinist Frances Mason, both teachers at the Royal College of Music. In 1991, he was a finalist for the European Music for Youth competition, taking part in the final at London’s Purcell Room.

He has played with various orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has also played in concerts as a soloist and given solo recitals at various music festivals in Great Britain, Denmark and Portugal. He was a member of the Alba String Quartet and Delphos Music Group International, with whom he toured extensively throughout Europe.

In 1998, he joined the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa and was a teacher at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra. He began his association with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in 2001, and became a permanent member in 2005.