Michael Collins is one of the most complete musicians of his generation. With a continuing, distinguished career as a soloist, he has in recent years also become highly regarded as a conductor. Michael celebrated his 60th Birthday in 2022 and gave commemorative concerts at Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall with the London Mozart Players. He was also interviewed for a double page spread in Gramophone Magazine. In January 2021 Michael gave the debut performance of Wigmore Soloists, a new ensemble taking the name of one of the world’s most iconic concert halls (the first time an ensemble has been given this honour). The group gives regular concerts at Wigmore Hall and in other major venues around the world. Michael Collins has been committed to expanding the repertoire of the clarinet for many years. He received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2007 in recognition of his pivotal role in premièring repertoire by some of today’s most highly regarded composers. In great demand as a chamber musician, Collins performs regularly with the Borodin, Heath and Belcea quartets, András Schiff, Martha Argerich, Stephen Hough, Mikhail Pletnev, Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis. His ensemble, London Winds, celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2018 and the group maintains a busy diary with high calibre engagements such as the BBC Proms, Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh Festival, City of London Festival, and Cheltenham International Festival. Michael Collins records for BIS and in his prolific recording career he has covered an extraordinarily wide range of solo repertoire, which includes releases on Chandos, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, EMI and Sony. He is one of the world’s most recorded clarinettists, having made no fewer than twenty discs for Chandos alone. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2015, Michael Collins was awarded an MBE for his services to music. He plays on Yamaha clarinets.