Guitarist Colin Davin
enjoys a wide-ranging international career as a recital and concerto
soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, new music
multi-instrumentalist, and educator. He has been praised as “the real
thing, a player with a virtuoso’s technique, a deeply expressive
musicianship, and a probing imagination” (American Record Guide) who
“has the distinct ability to wring the depths of expressiveness from all
that he plays” (Classical Guitar Magazine).
Recent highlights
include performances with Sharon Isbin at the Shenandoah Guitar
Festival, a teaching residency at the Atlas Music Academy in Tunisia
with the cultural diplomacy non-profit Cultures in Harmony, a solo tour
of Australia and New Zealand, and concerto and solo recital performances
across the United States. He has performed and taught at wide-ranging
venues including Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Late Show with
David Letterman, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, and the
Fridge Fringe in Dubai, and has collaborated with such artists as Jessye
Norman, Estelí Gomez, Emily Levin, Edward Arron, and Tessa Lark.
Davin’s
solo recording, “The Infinite Fabric of Dreams” has been praised as
“some of the finest interpretations I’ve heard...achingly beautiful...a
thoughtful, perceptive interpretation, filled with details often missed”
(American Record Guide) and "a first-rate disc...Davin knows the pieces
deeply and delivers virtuosic and exciting performances…" (Soundboard
Magazine).
An
active player in the American contemporary music scene, he has performed
with Contemporaneous, Talea Ensemble, Nu Deco Ensemble, 21st Century
Consort, Present Music, Axiom, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble,
ensemblenewSRQ, and Mimesis Ensemble. Davin has premiered dozens of new
works and continues to promote new repertoire for the guitar through
commissioning, performance, and recording. He serves on the board for
the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project (CUSP), an organization dedicated
to strengthening the artistic engagement of Northeast Ohio by
championing the creation and performance of new music.
Colin
Davin is the Director of Guitar Studio and Associate Professor of Guitar
at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia. In addition to his
teaching role, he serves to further the innovative and collaborative
mission of Shenandoah through his work on the ShenCoLAB Taskforce and
regular contributions with the conservatory’s EDGE Ensemble.
Previously,
he served as Co-Head of the guitar department at the Cleveland
Institute of Music, and on the faculty of the Baldwin Wallace
Conservatory. In demand for his insights in master classes and lectures,
he has been invited to teach in a guest capacity at institutions
including The Juilliard School, Peabody Institute, Oberlin Conservatory,
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, University of
Western Australia, New Zealand School of Music-Te Koki, Arizona State
University, Aspen Music Festival and School, and more. He has won
numerous prizes in international competitions, and was a two-time
finalist in the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert
Artist Competition. He holds a Master of Music from The Juilliard
School, where he studied with Sharon Isbin; a Bachelor of Music from the
University of Southern California with William Kanengiser; and
underwent preparatory studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with
Jason Vieaux.
Colin Davin performs on guitars by Joshia de Jonge and Andrea Tacchi, and is an Augustine Strings artist.
Artist's Website: colindavin.com