Alice Neary

Alice Neary enjoys a varied performing career as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestrally is much in demand as a guest principal cellist. She is delighted to have recently joined the London Haydn Quartet. Familiar to listeners of Radio 3, festival performances include BBC Proms chamber series, Marlboro (USA), Bath International, Santa Fe (USA), AWE New Zealand and Lofoten. Recent concerto performances include Strauss Don Quixote, Honegger and Cheryl Frances-Hoade concertos with BBC NOW.

Alice was a member of the Gould Piano Trio from 2001-2018 - highlights include the complete piano trios of Beethoven, Schubert and Dvorak at the Wigmore Hall, commissioning of new works from Sir James MacMillan and Mark Simpson, regular US tours and over 25 CD releases. Alice has appeared as guest cellist with numerous groups including the Nash Ensemble, Academy of St Martins Chamber Ensemble, Ensemble 360 and the Endellion, Elias, Sacconi and Heath quartets. She collaborates with pianists Viv McLean, Jâms Coleman and Benjamin Frith. Regular visits to IMS at Prussia Cove, Marlboro Festival USA and Wye Valley Chamber Music festival provide ongoing inspiration. From 2017-2024 she was principal cellist of BBC National Orchestra of Wales and has made recent appearances as guest principal cello with the Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Philharmonia, Halle, Academy of St Martin’s and BBC Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestras.

Alice studied with Ralph Kirshbaum at the RNCM and, as a Fulbright scholar, with Timothy Eddy at Stonybrook, USA. Alice has been tutor in cello at the RNCM and RCM and now teaches at RWCMD where she was awarded a Fellowship in 2015. She and her husband, David Adams founded the Penarth Chamber Music Festival in 2014. Alice plays a cello by Alessandro Gagliano cello of 1710.