Australian musician Simon Cobcroft enjoys a rich and varied musical life in Australia and further afield, as a solo and orchestral cellist, artistic director, chamber musician and educator. He is currently Associate Principal Cellist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and was, from 2014 until 2024, Principal Cellist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. He recently concluded a three year tenure as Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed Coriole Chamber Music Festival, and has also held principal positions with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. Simon is a founding member of the Lyrebird Trio, winner of the Piano Trio and Audience prizes at the 2013 Asia Pacific International Chamber Music Competition, and previously resident at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and the Centre for the Arts in Banff, Canada.

Simon studied at the Queensland Conservatorium and the Australian National Academy of Music, during which time he was principal cellist at the Britten Pears Orchestra in England, and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan. In the years following his graduation from ANAM in 2003, he performed regularly with London's Philharmonia Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony, Denmark's Esbjerg Ensemble and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In recent years he has appeared as a guest principal with the Tasmanian and Singapore Symphony Orchestras (with soloist Martha Argerich), and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2021, Simon performed as soloist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in Haydn's Cello Concerto in D Major. He made his first appearance as soloist with the ASO in 2015, and has since appeared in concertos by Saint-Saëns, Bruch and Elgar, receiving for the latter performance the Adelaide Critics Circle Prize in 2016. In previous years he performed a s soloist with the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Queensland, Sydney's Metropolitan Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria.

In July 2025, Simon toured nationally for Musica Viva with celebrated historical performers, clarinetist Nicola Boud and forte pianist Erin Helyard in Mozart’s Clarinet, to acclaim in the Australian music press. Other chamber music highlights include performances with Pinchas Zukerman and friends, the Australian String Quartet, the Tinalley Quartet and the Seraphim Trio.

A passionate educator, Simon has taught at the Elder Conservatorium, University of Adelaide, and at the Queensland Conservatorium, as well as tutoring for the Australian Youth Orchestra and National Music Camp. He studied with Matthew Farrell, Janis Laurs, Alexander Baillie, David Strange and Michael Goldschlager. He plays on a beautiful English cello made in 1840 by Thomas Kennedy. In his spare time, he loves to cook.