Email: colwilli@fiu.edu
Dr. Colin R. Williams is a percussionist, educator, and composer active in multiple avenues of music.
As a soloist, he has completed several recital tours, performing and providing masterclasses at various collegiate music programs throughout the United States and abroad. His solo work largely focuses on electro-acoustic percussion and unique styles of presentation.
Dr. Williams is a founding member of BANYAN Quartet, a percussion quartet based in Miami, FL. BANYAN regularly performs within the United States and internationally. Most recently, BANYAN was invited by the National University of Colombia in Bogotá to serve as artists in residence at their music festival—”Encuentro de Percusión RESONANCIAS: Contempo 30 años.” Dr. Williams also co-founded CoDa Percussion Duo along with percussionist Daniel Crisp. CoDa actively commissions and workshops pieces with composers such as Molly Joyce and Evan Chapman. In addition to his own projects, Dr. Williams regularly performs with other chamber music ensembles such as the Chipak-Kushnir Piano Duo and NODUS Ensemble.
As a section percussionist, Dr. Williams regularly performs with the Florida Grand Opera, Palm Beach Symphony, Symphony of the Americas, South Florida Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles. In the past, he also performed with the New World Symphony, Eastern Wind Symphony, as well as other professional orchestras and wind ensembles. He frequently performs in many non-classical contexts as well, such as performances with Miamibloco (Afro-Brazilian music) and marching groups such as Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (DCI) and the George Mason Indoor Drumline (WGI-World Class).
Prior to teaching at FIU, Dr. Williams instructed private lessons and group classes for the South Florida Center of the Percussive Arts (a non-profit for percussion education). Additionally, he served as the head drumline instructor at East Carolina University.
Colin Williams holds a D.M.A. from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, along with a doctoral cognate in music theory. He completed his M.M. in percussion performance from Rutgers University, as well as a B.M. in both music education and music composition/theory from East Carolina University. He has been fortunate to study under renowned percussionists including Svet Stoyanov, Joe Petrasek, Matt Strauss, Greg Zuber, Joe Tompkins, Dr. Mike Truesdell, Kyle Zerna, Dr. Javier Diaz, Dr. Jonathan Wacker, and Christopher Nappi.