Alison Smith O’Connell studied cello in Brisbane, Melbourne and Bremen, Germany, before moving to Kuala Lumpur to become a member of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. During her 8 years there, Alison enjoyed travelling around Southeast Asia, eating street food and exploring the jungle. Now based in Brisbane, she performs regularly as an Artistic Associate with Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber orchestra, and as a casual member of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She is just as happy on the stage as she is in the orchestral pit, performing for ballets, operas and musicals.

Alison loves performing chamber music with friends and travelling around Regional Queensland on tour with Camerata. She enjoys working on interesting performance projects, such as the award-winning short film “Sex, Drugs and String Quartets”, and performing and recording with Muses Trio on their album “The Road Not Taken”, celebrating music written by women, performed by women.

Alison is very passionate about climate action, spending time with her 3 daughters, and transforming her suburban backyard into an edible oasis.