Biography

Daniel Collins (b. 1996) is a composer, conductor, and educator based in Baltimore, MD. A graduate of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), Daniel attended Boston University (BU), where he obtained bachelor’s degrees in Music Theory & Composition and Physics, graduating summa cum laude in both. While there, he studied composition with Ketty Nez, Rodney Lister, and Samuel Headrick and piano with Gila Goldstein and Victor Cayres. He is now working towards his master’s degree in Music Composition at The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University under the tutelage of Michael Hersch.

            Daniel’s compositions have been recognized at the state, national, and international levels, and his works have been recorded extensively. Moreover, he has the distinction of being the first freshman ever commissioned by the ALEA III Contemporary Music Ensemble and participating in the inaugural season of Connecticut Summerfest. Through various departmental concerts, readings, and masterclasses at BU, Daniel worked with the likes of the JACK Quartet, Ensemble Dal Niente, conductor Bramwell Tovey, and composers Samuel Adler, Beat Furrer, Philip Grange, Klaus Lang, and Nico Muhly.

            Beyond his work as a composer, Daniel is a budding educator who regularly co-teachers Intersession courses at IMSA on topics ranging from music composition to satire. An avid traveler, Daniel has spent two semesters abroad: one at the Royal College of Music in London and another at Technische Universität Dresden. His current projects include an operatic adaptation of Charlotte Perkin’s Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper and a string quartet begun last summer at Tanglewood.