Colin Touchin - Artistic Director

Colin Touchin was Director of Music at the University of Warwick for over 14 years. During this time he inspired a growth in campus music-making from 6 regular ensembles to 20, and from 10 performances per year to over 50

Ensembles from the University have won many International awards, been seen on TV as semi-finalists in the Sainsbury's Choir of the Year competition and performed with the Royal Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, Vernon Handley and Matthias Bamert.

Previously as Head of Composition at Chetham's School of Music, he founded the Symphonic Wind Orchestra, conducted the Classical Orchestra, taught clarinet, recorder, electronic music, conducting, chamber music, and jazz.

As conductor, he established Warwick Orchestral Winds (originally Midlands Wind Orchestra) and conducted the National Youth Wind Orchestras of Great Britain and of Luxembourg; at the Birmingham Conservatoire he has conducted the Junior Orchestra, Wind Band and Sinfonia; for some years recently, he conducted the Heart of England Recorder Orchestra (HERO); he has taught, conducted, and given workshops for students and teachers in 20 countries in the last 7 years. Colin is increasingly in demand for coaching peripatetic staff in conducting and ensemble-training skills.

A composer and international adjudicator, Colin sometimes still finds time to play recorder and clarinet. He gained the LTCL Performer's Diploma on the recorder at aged 16, persuaded and taught by Dennis Bamforth. He was a clarinet pupil of Graham Turner of the Hallé Orchestra, and performed in recorder masterclasses with Ferdinand Conrad, Jeanette van Wingerden and Konrad Huenteler.

He was invited to be a tutor on the Northern Recorder Course when only 20, writing Prelude, Chorale and Fugue for the first NRC Recorder Orchestra which was formed that year, 1973. He has taught on several subsequent courses, and also at the Dolmetsch Summer School. For several years he was a regular conductor at the Dartington International Summer School; his compositions have been broadcast on Radio 3 and local TV and radio.