Geoffrey Collins - Flutist
Geoffrey was born in Adelaide, and studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Nancy Salas (piano) and Victor McMahon, James Pellerite and Margaret Crawford (flute). In 1982, whilst Lecturer in Flute at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study in Europe with William Bennett, Michel Debost and Peter Lukas-Graf. His winning of the First National Flute Competition in 1975 established Collins as one of the foremost instrumentalists of his generation. Geoffrey currently holds two positions - his long standing appointment as flautist with the Australia Ensemble (resident at the University of N.S.W.) and as of 2001 as Principal Flute with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Geoffrey has held a number of the country's most coveted flute positions, as Associate Principal Flute in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and for many years appeared as Principal Flute in the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He has been a concerto soloist with most of Australia's leading orchestras and in 1993 undertook his first major tour as a soloist for the ABC. In 2002 he gave the Australian premiere of the Christopher Rouse Flute Concerto with the Adelaide Symphony orchestra. He has played with many of Australia's leading contemporary music groups such as AZ Music, ACME, the Seymour Group, Flederman and the Sydney Alpha Ensemble.
During 1995 he toured Europe as Guest Principal Flute with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as well as releasing his third solo compact disc, Spinning, featuring contemporary Australian works, many of them commissioned especially for him. Other recordings include the complete Mozart flute quartets with the Australia Ensemble (awarded 'recommended recording' by the British 'Good CD Guide') and a duo recital with leading Australian harpist Alice Giles, 'Enchanted Dreams... Exotic Dances'. During 2005-6 Geoffrey is a guest artist at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne.
