Known for his beautiful and distinctive tone, American violist Kyle Collins is committed to exploring little-known repertoire, bringing fresh interpretations to standard works and collaborating with other accomplished musicians to bring an exciting, new perspective to the viola, its repertoire and classical music in general. He actively performs as an orchestral musician, chamber musician, recitalist and adventurous collaborator throughout France and Europe. Alongside his performing career, Mr. Collins dedicates himself to a new generation of violin and viola students through his enthusiastic teaching with the American Conservatory of Paris.

Mr. Collins studied in the United States at the University of Cincinnati: College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) with Masao Kawasaki and Dr. Catharine Carroll. He has played in masterclasses with many great musicians, such as Nokuthula Ngwenyama and the Cavani String Quartet and has performed under the baton ofsome of the world’s greatest conductors, such as Paavo Järvi, David Zinman and Xian Zhang. Mr. Collins has also attended many distinguished music festivals, including being a two-time fellowship recipient of the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Banff Music Festival and the Encore School for Strings. In Europe, he has served as violist at the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy and the Opéra des Landes in France.

A resident of France since 2009, Mr. Collins participates in an array of interesting musical endeavors throughout the Paris region, France and Europe. In recent years, he has collaborated with other musicians to present varied and interesting programs of classical repertoire, baroque music on period instruments, South American folk music and tango. Mr. Collins is a member of several orchestras in the Paris-region that perform throughout France. He is committed to high-quality performances of chamber music as well.

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Photos by Sarah Finley