Nicolas Collins

Who is Nicolas Collins?

Nicolas Collins is a composer of mostly electronic music and former student of Alvin Lucier. He received a B.A. and M.A. from Wesleyan University. Subsequently, he was a Watson Fellow.

Nicolas Collins was "a pioneer in the use of microcomputers in live performance, and has made extensive use of 'home-made' electronic circuitry, radio, found sound material, and transformed musical instruments." He has presented over 300 concerts and installations in Europe, Japan, and the United States as a solo artist and as a member of various ensembles. He is a member of The Impossible Music Group with David Weinstein, David Shea, Ted Greenwald, and Tim Spelios.

Collins is a prominent curator of performance and installation art, and has been a curator, policy adviser, and board member for numerous cultural organizations. For example, in the early 1990s he was both artistic Co-Director at STEIM, located in Amsterdam and a German Academic Exchange Service composer-in-residence in Berlin. Collins is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Leonardo Music Journal, a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the MIT Press.