Alexander S. Kollias has performed across the world, as both a soloist and chamber musician, in venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Winter Garden in New York, the Yokosuka Arts Theatre in Japan, and Harpa in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Kollias can be heard playing on two previously released CD’s with the Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble (newmusicensemble.org), Music for 18 Musicians and In C Remixed, both receiving much critical acclaim. As a part of the GVSU New Music Ensemble, he performed at the 2007 Bang on a Can Marathon in New York. In 2009 he performed In C, at Carnegie Hall, in an ensemble organized and presented by the Kronos Quartet and Terry Riley.
As a soloist, Kollias made his New York City solo debut in 2011 at the National Association of Composers USA. Kollias was a winner of the Paranov Concerto Competition with his performance of Scott McAllister’s Black Dog. Kollias is a previous winner of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival concerto competition, and performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Sewanee Festival Orchestra. In 2007 he performed Mendelssohn’s Concert Piece No. 2, Op. 114 with Dr. Campbell, and won the university’s concerto competition in 2009. Kollias was also an invited competitor to the 2014 Jacques Lancelot International Clarinet Competition.
An active chamber musician, Kollias is the principal clarinetist for the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra (www.hicomusic.org). He also is the clarinetist in the Kalmia Ensemble and OptiKord Trio, a woodwind trio that was a 2016 quarterfinalist in The Fischoff competition. Kollias also performs with oboist Ling Chun Yeh, as a member of The R3EDS.
Kollias also enjoys performing and exploring the clarinet’s jazz character. A founding member of the Dixieland ensemble, French 75 (french75jazz.com), Kollias also enjoys performing and exploring the clarinet’s jazz character. French 75 performed in the New Haven Jazz Festival, and is quickly gaining recognition as a premiere ensemble in the greater northeast.
Along with performing, Kollias has a continuous commitment to pedagogy. His students range from young beginners to university students. As well as teaching at the collegiate level, he is on the clarinet faculty at The Hartt School Community Division and The Hotchkiss School. His young students are competitive at the district and state levels, and many continue their clarinet studies at the collegiate level.
Kollias holds both a Doctorate of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree from The Hartt School, where he studied with Ayako Oshima. A former student of Dr. Arthur Campbell, Kollias graduated with honors from Grand Valley State University, in Michigan, with a degree in music education and performance.
Kalmia Ensemble 