Alethea Coombe

Alethea Coombe grew up in Canberra, studying violin with Barbara-Jane Gilby, before moving to Brisbane to complete her Bachelor of Music (Honours) with Michele Walsh at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.

She completed her Masters in Music (Research) with Dr Susan Collins at the University of Tasmania, where she explored the performance practice of violin works by contemporary Hungarian composer György Kurtág. From 2021, she has undertaken independent study of the baroque violin with Julia Fredersdorff. 

Alethea has performed with internationally acclaimed ensembles ELISION, eighth blackbird and Ensemble Interface, and has performed at soundSCAPE (Italy), Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (Finland), the International Summer Course for New Music at Darmstadt (Germany) the Australian Festival of Chamber Music (Townsville), The Unconformity (Queenstown), Dark Mofo (Hobart) and MONA FOMA (Hobart and Launceston). 

A diverse musician, Alethea plays casually with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Van Diemen’s Band, has programmed multiple concerts at the Moonah Arts Centre (Hobart), and has featured as soloist with the Melbourne Metropolitan Sinfonietta premiering Michael Mathieson-Sandars’ violin concerto, Jongleur Histories, which was written for her.

She collaborates with a number of sound artists and visual artists, exploring technology and improvisation. Their collaborative work has been featured at a number of Hobarts galleries and museums.