Colin Currie

Described by Steve Reich as “one of the greatest musicians in the world today," and by Gramophone Magazine as “at the summit of percussion performance today”, Colin Currie is a solo and chamber artist who champions new music at the highest level. The soloist of choice for many of today’s foremost conductors, he performs regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and ensembles including the London Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and The Cleveland Orchestra. With a particular focus on contemporary compositions, Colin has developed a close working relationship with many of today's most renowned composers. He has premiered works by Steve Reich, Elliott Carter, Louis Andriessen, HK Gruber, Sir James MacMillan, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Helen Grime, Jennifer Higdon, Rolf Wallin, Julia Wolfe and Kalevi Aho.

In addition to his career as a soloist, Colin is the founder of the Colin Currie Group, the Colin Currie Quartet, and Colin Currie Records — three ventures that celebrate and preserve the recent extraordinary developments in percussion music. As the leader of the Colin Currie ensembles, he regularly conducts performances with the Colin Currie Group, and has begun to expand his work as a conductor to work with other ensembles as well. For example, he recently conducted ‘Reich/Richter’ with the Britten Sinfonia at the request of the composer.

Colin began his musical studies at age five, and went on to graduate from the Royal Academy of Music in 1998. He was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 1994, and received the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award in 2000, was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist between 2003 and 2005, received the Bortletti Buitoni Trust Award in 2005, and the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist Award in 2014. He is currently Visiting Professor of Modern Ensembles at the Royal Academy of Music, Associate Artist at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Ambassador of Chamber Music Scotland. Based in his native Scotland, he enjoys cycling and the theatre in his spare time