Alice Neary

Alice enjoys a varied performing career as a chamber musician and principal cellist of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Familiar to listeners of BBC Radio 3, she has performed at major festivals including BBC Proms chamber series, Malboro (USA), Bath International, Santa Fe (USA) and Lofoten and played concertos with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, Liverpool Philharmonic and Israel Symphony. Her discography includes the Mendelssohn cello sonatas and concertos by Howells, Patterson and Tovey.

Alice was a member of the Gould Piano Trio from 2001 to 2018 - career highlights include the complete piano trios of Beethoven, Schubert and Dvorak at the Wigmore Hall, the commissioning of new works from Sir James MacMillan and Mark Simpson, regular tours and over 25 CD releases.

Alice collaborates with pianists Viv McLean, Benjamin Frith, Robin Green and Daniel Tong and has appeared as guest cellist with the Nash Ensemble, Ensemble 360 and the Endellion quartet. Regular visits to International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove provide ongoing inspiration.

Alice has been a tutor in cello at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal College of Music and is now based in her hometown of Cardiff at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama 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 of 1710.

Alice studied with Ralph Kirshbaum at the Royal Northern College of Music and, as a Fulbright scholar, with Timothy Eddy at Stonybrook, USA. As winner of the 1998 Pierre Fournier Award, Alice made her début at the Wigmore Hall in 1999.