Prize-winning Percussionist to Perform at NMU

Percussionist Britton-René Collins, Grand Prize winner of the 2022 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition and the 2021 Chicago International Music Competition, will perform at Northern Michigan University as part of the Siril Concert Series at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6. She will also present two additional free events earlier in the day: a music appreciation talk at 11 a.m. and a percussion masterclass at 1 p.m. All will take place in Reynolds Recital Hall.

Tickets for her NMU concert are $12 for the general public and free for youth 18 and under and NMU students. They are available at nmu.universitytickets.com.

Collins also won the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, receiving the Ambassador Prize for exceptional musicianship and demonstrating an active passion for creating social change through her music. She has dedicated her artistry to shaping an equitable community in which all musicians can thrive.

In addition to performing as a soloist in the U.S., Canada and Europe, Collins has made several concerto appearances with ensembles including the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Valdosta Symphony and the Meridian Symphony.

She also enjoys life as a chamber musician with New York City-based Excelsis Percussion Quartet, and is also the co-founder of Vision Duo alongside violinist Ariel Horowitz. As an advocate for new music, Britton-René's current projects involve premiering new compositions and commissions for multi-percussion and marimba.

Recent highlights include attending the soundSCAPE new music composition and performance exchange in Italy, making her Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) artist debut, and participating in the Banff Centre's Evolution: Classical program.

Collins began playing piano at age five, and discovered percussion at eight years old when she became intrigued by the drum set. She quickly fell in love with playing rock, jazz and pop music on the drums, which ignited her enthusiasm to explore various percussion instruments and styles of music.

She received her bachelor's degree in music at the University of Toronto, where she won the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. She received her master's degree at the University of Michigan in 2023.