Alison studied the violin at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and after graduating joined the BBC Training Orchestra in Bristol. On leaving the Training Orchestra she worked as a freelance musician and teacher in London and Scotland.

In 1980 Alison went to Japan to study with Dr. Suzuki where she graduated as a Suzuki violin teacher. This event changed her life as a teacher and she embraced Dr. Suzuki's method and philosophy wholeheartedly. On returning from Japan she assisted Felicity Lipman in running the National Suzuki Violin Teacher Training Course, and between 1989 and 2005 she was Course Director.

Alison joined the Lauderdale Suzuki Group as a teacher in the early 1990s. She has enjoyed and valued working with the teachers and students in the Group.