Cellist, composer, electronic artist and educator Colin Stokes tours extensively as a member of the genre defying electro-classical project Symphoniacs, the contemporary classical ensemble Zohn Collective and the Bridge Arts Ensemble. He also performs as a solo artist, improviser, composer and electronic musician.
As a member of Symphoniacs, Colin Stokes has performed in many of the most important European classical venues including the Munich Philharmonie, Stuttgart’s Beethovensaal, Hamburg’s Laeiszhalle and Frankfurt’s Alte Oper. In November 2019 Symphoniacs released their 2nd album with Warner Music Japan and performed to a sold out crowd at Tokyo International Forum.
Highlights of the 2018-2019 Symphoniacs season include performances in Nairobi, Kenya, the Isle of Capri, Montenegro Sveti Stefan, London Grosvenor House Hotel for the Butterfly Ball Charity, Linz Brucknerhaus, Milan Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia “Leonardo da Vinci”, Vienna Life Ball Charity, Budapest’s Pesti Vigado, and Marbella Ocean Club.
At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Symphoniacs ushered in 2017 by performing for nearly 1 million people as the headline act for the largest New Year’s Eve party in Europe. YouTube videos of the group’s performances have been viewed over 10 million times and televised broadcasts of his performances reached over 45 million people in 2016 alone.
As a founding member of contemporary classical ensemble Zohn Collective, Colin has recently recorded several soon-to-be released albums of music by living composers. In 2018-2019 he toured with Zohn Collective and the Mexican puppet theater company La Coperacha in the US and Mexico, performing the Pulitzer Prize Finalist composition Comala by Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon as well as music by Daniel Pesca and John Liberatore.
As a teaching artist with Bridge Arts Ensemble, Colin Stokes performs interactive concerts and leads workshops for school age children in artistically underserved regions of New York State. Colin specializes in electronic music literacy, principles of sound, digital audio, MIDI, music production and composition.
At the collegiate level, Colin works as a private and group string instructor, chamber music coach and ensemble director. He also leads workshops on contemporary performance practice and electronic music literacy at colleges and universities in the US, including residencies at American University, Oberlin College, University of Chicago and University of Notre Dame.
Colin began his cello studies at the age of 7 in his native Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. At age 11 he began lessons at the Peabody Institute with the teacher, Troy Stuart, who would exert a profound influence on him. Mr. Stokes soon moved to Baltimore to study full time with Mr. Stuart at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he was first exposed to electronic composition.
Colin Stokes completed his Bachelor of Music degree and Performer’s Certificate in the studio of Steven Doane and Rosemary Elliott at the Eastman School of Music. In 2012 Stokes completed the Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School with Richard Aaron and in 2014, Colin continued his studies in cello and electronic music with Fred Sherry and Todd Reynolds in Manhattan School of Music’s Contemporary Performance Program.
Mr. Stokes is the recipient of The Manhattan School of Music Scholarship, Juilliard’s M. & E. Cohen, Irene Diamond and Stonzek Memorial Scholarships, Eastman School of Music’s Howard Hanson Scholarship and, during his study at Baltimore School for the Arts, Mr. Stokes received the Joan G. and Joseph Klein, Jr. Prize for the Most Promising Performing Artist.
Upcoming performances include appearances at Beijing Modern Music Festival with Zohn Collective, performances with SYML at The Anthem in Washington D.C. and Radio City Music Hall in New York, and performances with Symphoniacs at the Axica Center and Konzerthaus, both in Berlin, where Symphoniacs will debut music from their upcoming album.