I began playing the cello at the age of five through my primary school in Brisbane, Australia. It didn’t take long for me to completely fall in love with music, and I became obsessed with the cello through my teacher, whom I studied with from the age of five until I left Australia at 23.

I wasn’t always sure I wanted to pursue the cello as a career. As a child, I didn’t actually enjoy orchestra at all and eventually gave it up because it clashed with Saturday morning soccer. However, when it came time to decide what to study at university, I couldn’t bring myself to choose anything other than music. I began studying at the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane, and it was there that I discovered my passion for contemporary, chamber, and orchestral playing (while still playing soccer on the weekends).

Performing in the 2022 and 2023 seasons of the Brisbane Music Festival (BMF) showed me that contemporary music was incredibly exciting; making music and performing chamber works with my friends showed me that chamber music was my favourite thing to do on the cello; and playing Mahler’s Fifth Symphony with the Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra showed me that orchestral playing could be one of the most fulfilling experiences as a classical musician.

When one of my closest friends decided to leave Brisbane for Manchester to pursue a master’s degree, I decided to follow. At the RNCM, I’ve had the opportunity to develop all of these passions further. The biggest change in my musical life came when I had the chance to play professionally with the BBC Philharmonic. I was blown away by the sound of being in a professional orchestra, and since then I’ve also had the opportunity to perform with the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra last summer, which combined my interests in a very exciting way.

Now I find myself in London, where I’m excited to perform a wide variety of concerts with friends and continue exploring my passions for contemporary, chamber, and orchestral playing. In my downtime, I’m usually spending time with friends in Manchester or riding my bike to and from the bouldering gym.