Jo Cole

Jo Cole won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at 16, studying with Florence Hooton and David Strange. She went on to work with Ralph Kirshbaum, Pierre Fournier and William Pleeth, and was Principal Cello of the European Union Youth Orchestra before building a distinguished freelance career. For over twenty years she was a member of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Co-Principal Cello of both the City of London Sinfonia and the Orchestra of St John’s. She has also performed regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra and appeared as Guest Principal with the Royal Opera House, Opera North and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Alongside her orchestral work, Jo has recorded extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, premiering new works with the Goldberg Ensemble and Gemini, and releasing acclaimed recordings of English cello music and Roberto Gerhard’s chamber works.

She has held senior teaching posts at the Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, where she was Head of Strings from 2010–2022. She now combines international teaching and mentoring with a range of music and education projects.

• Orchestral and chamber performance at the highest professional level
• Orchestral training and career preparation for young string players
• International teaching, mentoring and conservatoire audition preparation

• Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music; Professor of Music, University of London
• Visiting Professor of Cello at Shanghai University for over a decade
• Jury member for the New Talent Festival since 2018; Jury Chair for the 2025 Cecil Aronowitz Viola Competition
• Trustee of the Tillett Trust and the Loan Fund for Musical Instruments; Board Member of the Pierre Fournier Award