From Adelaide to LA: Elder Con alumna Anna shares career successes and advice

Anna is a jazz bassist and composer from Adelaide. She has been living, working and creating in Los Angeles since 2014.

鈥淎fter graduating from the Elder Conservatorium in 2012, I moved to the US with a scholarship to do a Master of Music in Jazz Studies at Indiana University,鈥� Anna said.

鈥淪ince then, I have been living in Los Angeles where I perform, record and tour with various artists including Phoebe Bridgers, Jenny Lewis, Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven and Aimee Mann.鈥�

Anna recalls many years of memories at Elder Hall, starting with her first concert there as a teenager with the Adelaide Youth Orchestra.

鈥淚 also remember seeing the Elder Conservatorium Big Band play - that got me really excited about studying at the Con.

鈥淭hroughout my undergraduate studies, I spent a lot of time in Elder Hall rehearsing and performing with the Con鈥檚 Symphony and Chamber orchestras, so it鈥檚 a place that holds a lot of formative memories for me.

Playing at Madison Square Garden with Jenny Lewis, opening for Harry Styles, was a major career highlight for Anna. 鈥淎nother bucket list moment was a show with Meshell Ndegeocello where we both played bass together.鈥�

Anna鈥檚 advice for budding musicians is to lean into the community aspect of being a musician.

鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to focus inward when we spend so much of our time practicing, but it鈥檚 a much more enriching experience to be connected to the wider musical community - going to shows, playing with other people, collaborating and supporting each other,鈥� said Anna.

Story written by Bianca Chaptini
Photo credit: Brian E Bixby