Elizabeth Woolnough

Elizabeth grew up on the Central Coast and started playing the viola because her music school had too many violins and cellos, and her teacher thought her ‘long arms’ would suit the bigger instrument.

She studied viola at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with former Sydney Symphony Principal Violist Roger Benedict, where she was awarded High Distinction. During her time at the Conservatorium the string quartet she formed with three other students won the Westheimer Scholarship, which supported the group to travel across Europe to study under masters in Germany and France. Following her studies, Elizabeth was selected as a member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellowship program in 2015 and was an Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2016.

Prior to her appointment with the ACO, Elizabeth was a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and has performed regularly with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Ensemble, Australian World Orchestra and MSO Chamber Quartet.

Elizabeth is a member of the Chroma Quartet, which was formed during the 2020 Covid lockdown and has performed in venues including Angel Place, 5 Eliza, and Glebe Town Hall.

Elizabeth plays her own 1968 Parisian viola by Pierre M. Audinot. In between ACO tours, Elizabeth manages to find the time to be a devoted dog mother to her nutty Staghound, Gandalf.