Michael Collins
is one of the most complete musicians of his generation. With a continuing, distinguished career as a soloist, he has in recent years also become highly regarded as a conductor. Orchestras with which he has appeared include the Philharmonia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Kyoto Symphony Orchestra. From 2010 until 2018 he was principal conductor of the City of London Sinfonia. Michael Collins has been committed to expanding the repertoire of the clarinet for many years. He has given premières of works by John Adams, Elliott Carter, Brett Dean and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Collins received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2017.

In great demand as a chamber musician, Collins performs regularly with the Borodin, Heath and Belcea quartets, András Schiff, Martha Argerich, Stephen Hough, Mikhail Pletnev, Lars Vogt, Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis. His ensemble, London Winds, celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2018 and the group maintains a busy diary with high calibre engagements such as the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh Festival, City of London Festival, Cheltenham International Festival and Bath Mozartfest. Michael Collins has recorded an extraordinarily wide range of solo repertoire. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2015, he was awarded an MBE for his services to music.