2018
“Playing alongside the Australian World Orchestra was an absolute dream come true. The amazing unity and power of the sound created within this ensemble was something I had not witnessed before, and to be a part of that sound was incredible. I learnt so much from playing alongside Australia’s finest musicians and it is an experience I will never forget.”

Molly Collier-O’Boyle

Viola

Acting Associate Principal Viola – Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; Rathdowne Quartet; Former Principal Viola – Australian Youth Orchestra; 2018 AWO Academy Player

Australian Hometown(s): Brisbane & Melbourne
Education: Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Australian National Academy of Music

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Molly Collier-O’Boyle (also known as Molly Cob) is a musician currently living and working in Naarm/Melbourne. She spends most of her time plucking, picking, and sawing away on the viola, cursing all the while. When not screaming profanities at wooden boxes, she attempts to balance her life as a performer, educator, and curator.

Molly is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, the University of Queensland, and more recently, of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), where she ditched the violin to complete her inaugural years of study as a violist with Caroline Henbest. She recently finished her Master of Music research facilitated by ANAM and Griffith University, which explored curatorial processes based on collaboration in the creation and development of new works for the viola.

Currently, Molly is the Acting Associate Principal Viola with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO). In 2021, she pivoted between the role of Acting Assistant Principal Viola with the MSO, middle fiddle player in the Rathdowne Quartet, and was a finalist in the Freedman Classical Fellowship. Previous highlights have included being an emerging artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, an academist with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Australian World Orchestra, a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival, and Principal Viola of the Australian Youth Orchestra. Prior to the pandemic, she was in residence for four weeks with duo partner Liam Wooding at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada. 

Last updated 2022