BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Welcome to Con Fuoco, our interview series with emerging artists in Australia.
Molly Collier O’Boyle is the Australian World Orchestra Academy Musician. The Queensland-raised violinist and violist completed her Bachelor of Music in Advanced Performance (classical violin) in 2015 at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. The following year, she finished her Graduate Diploma in Music Performance at the University of Queensland. She studies viola at the Australian National Academy of Music.
Molly has performed in leading roles with the Australian Youth Orchestra, Australian International Opera Company, Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Canberra International Music Festival, and curating Brisbane’s successful arts event series Paint it Red. She freelances professionally on violin and viola with organisations including the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
Your all-time favourite piece of music?
Barber’s Violin Concerto will always pull at my heartstrings, although I also love the music of
Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Elgar, Stravinsky and Bartok.
Biggest fear when performing?
Sometimes I become worried that I’ll drop my bow and it will fly off into the stratosphere, always
leaving me with the question: What would I actually do in that moment if it happened?
Apart from that, just the usual unconscious stream of crippling doubt and self-talk most musicians experience that could take over if I’m not absorbed in what I’m doing, and thinking too technically.
Most memorable concert experience?
I would have to say there are two, and both involved tears. In 2014, playing with the Australian
Youth Orchestra in Brisbane under Simone Young; in the final beautiful movement of Tchaikovsky’s sixth symphony, many of us became very emotional and started tearing up or crying whilst playing in the string section.
The next time that happened for me was at 2017 National Music Camp, playing Fantasia on a
Theme by Thomas Tallis (Vaughan Williams) under the direction of Belinda McFarlane. We
hummed the main tune before starting the piece together, and during the piece the solo quartet
moved around and we played our parts by memory. At the end of the piece, many of us were in
tears as it was an extremely heartfelt performance; I was especially a blubbering mess. A special
way to end my time as a student at camp!
How do you psych yourself up for practice on a lazy day?
If I’m feeling unmotivated, I’ll approach my musical activities in a different way for the day. That
could be anything from watching some concerts, composing some little tunes, listening to new
pieces or rediscovering old ones, or just going through a score mentally. Usually, if I do some non-
music activities as well, I feel rejuvenated to get cracking again. I think it’s very healthy to take the
time to do other things and come back to playing if you aren’t feeling it.
Most embarrassing moment on stage?
I remember performing in high school for a concert called Music Under the Stars. I was concertmaster and leading the Pirates of the Caribbean orchestral medley that we all know and
love. On this ‘chilly’ night in the Brisbane outdoors, my strings wound down just as I was about to
play a solo. I remember being bright red and not knowing what to do!
Best piece of musical advice you’ve received?
My teacher last year exclaimed to me fervently whilst playing a Brahms Sonata for her: ‘You are not
a viola operator, you are a musician! Make music’! I guess when trying to master the technical
mechanics of an instrument, we can forget to emote in our music-making, so I now try to always be
in the zone and to enjoy relaying an emotional message across when in performance mode.
Favourite post-gig ritual?
There’s nothing quite like tucking into a frothy or a fine red wine at the local watering hole with
colleagues after a stupendous evening of performing together.
What are you most proud of in your musical career so far?
I’m proud at how far I’ve pushed myself on viola over the last year and a bit since switching to it as
my main instrument. From this, I’ve really learnt that it doesn’t feel like work when you’re doing
something you love, and I completely love discovering new things on the viola and working
towards new goals.
What do you love most about making music?
Playing as part of a team, big or small, is so important to me as well as being able to change
somebody’s mood or brighten their day. People from all walks of life going through their own
different challenges can come into a concert or a gig; but music can completely take them away
from their troubles and transport them for a while into just being in the moment, not thinking of the past or future. That’s what it’s all about.
What’s your ultimate goal?
To never stop doing these three things:
- Connecting with new like-minded musicians and humans;
- Creating and participating in projects that will benefit the well-being of many;
- And to always keep being passionate about learning and bettering myself and skills.
See Molly perform in the AWO this May under the baton of Riccardo Muti, and alongside 86 Australian musicians flying in from leading orchestras across the world. Events across 2, 4, and 5 May in Sydney and Melbourne.
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