Nicola Bell

Cor Anglais

Nicola Bell has worked with the Opera Australia Orchestra since 2017, commencing as Principal Cor Anglais in 2026.

After receiving a first-class honours degree from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Nicola spent close to a decade in Europe. She studied in Sweden and France before completing a Master of Music in Munich under Professor François Leleux. In 2015, she was appointed Principal Oboe of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra with chief conductor Neeme Järvi and later served as Alternating Principal Oboe for the Finnish National Opera.

Her career includes guest principal oboe roles with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Munich Symphony, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Finnish Radio Orchestra and Tampere Philharmonic. Her regular work with the Georgian Chamber Orchestra in Germany led to invitations to Georgia to perform with the Georgian Sinfonietta and National Philharmonic, and she was featured at the 2014 Telavi International Music Festival.

Back in Australia, Nicola has performed widely with symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles across the country, including the 2022 Australian World Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. She has returned to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as a faculty member.

Nicola’s first instrument was actually the violin which she learned from the then concertmaster of the Opera Australia Orchestra, and as a child her dream was to be an electric violinist like Vanessa Mae!