MOLLY KADARAUCH

is one of Australia’s preeminent and versatile cellists who has performed at many leading venues across the world as well as within Australia as a chamber musician, orchestral player and soloist. She is a highly respected and experienced teacher, mentor and director who has worked with all levels of students from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Queensland Conservatorium (Griffith University), Monash University, Australian National Academy of Music, the Melbourne and Australian Youth Orchestras as well as her private studio students.

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In 2010 she founded Sutherland Trio together with Elizabeth Sellars (violin) and Caroline Almonte (piano) who have regularly appeared at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, toured with Musica Viva, recorded for ABC Classics and 3MBS radio and most recently were invited to perform at the Governor’s Performance Series (Government House VIC, 2025).

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Originally from a musical family in California, Molly moved out to Australia in 1996 after completing tertiary studies in Boston followed by a Fulbright scholarship to Berlin where she was based for 5 years. She then joined the Australian Chamber Orchestra (director Richard Tognetti) as an associate principal cellist where she worked in close collaboration with many outstanding artists and enjoyed touring nationally and internationally in leading venues for eight years. Some of her most memorable concert tours were with internationally acclaimed cellists Steven Isserlis (performing Schubert 5tet) and Pieter Wispelwey.

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In 2004 Molly began her independent freelance and teaching career, debuting in Melbourne at Federation Square with pianist Benjamin Martin in "Classic on the Edge" recital. Other projects have included touring nationally with the Musica Viva/Victorian opera "pastiche" production of "Voyage to the Moon" (2016), the Australian World Orchestra tours in India and Australia (2018, 2019 and 2025) and as a soloist at the Melbourne International Cello festival (2017).  As a guest principal cellist within Australia, she has performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players. Other chamber music festivals and performances have included Port fairy, Huntington, Adelaide, Music by the Springs, Wilma and Friends, Peninsula, Yarragon, Mitchelton Winery (Renaissance tours), Transfigured Ensemble and Albury Festival.

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Prior to moving to Australia, she received her Bachelor of Music (1991) with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music (Boston) under Prof. Laurence Lesser and following that spent several years in Berlin, the first 2 years as a Fulbright scholar under the tuition of Wolfgang Boettcher at the UdK (formerly HdK). While based in Berlin she also freelanced throughout Germany and other parts of Europe as a soloist, chamber musician and principal player performing with various ensembles and chamber groups including the Berliner Kammer Oper, Berliner Kammer Orchester, Westfaelisches Kammerorchester and Ensemble Oriel. Her Berlin string quartet "Aarka" performed in the Philharmonie, Max Beckmannsaal, and for RIAS (Deutschland Radio Berlin) after winning the first prize of the Hochschule der Kuenste Chamber Music Competition in 1993.​​​​

​​She has performed recitals overseas in England, Germany, France and the USA and concertos with the ACO, Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, Freemont Symphony Orchestra, Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Musicians, Orchestra 21 and the Reading Youth Orchestra. Other solo concerts have included the Music Room series Palo Alto, Gualala Arts, Hellman Hall (CA), Glendale Springs, Jefferson Landing (NC), Ashland festival (OR), Chateau D'Orion (FR) and Burg Guttenberg (GE).

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​​​​​​Her earliest cello lessons were with Irene Sharp (CA), Joan Dickson (Purcell School of Music, London) and with her uncle, David Kadarauch (former principal cellist of the SF Opera/Ballet) and as a young performer she was a recipient of numerous competition prizes and awards and attended festivals at Blue Hill (ME) and Tanglewood (MA).

 

She is very grateful for much knowledge, inspiration and wisdom gained from many mentors and teachers over the years, and for a love of music instilled from an early age through listening and reading quartets and chamber music with her immediate family members.