Suzie Collier

Last updated
Suzie Collier
Suzie Collier portrait.jpg
Background information
Born1964
Instrument(s)violin, conducting, teaching
Years active1967-present
Website https://www.suziecollier.com/

Susan "Suzie" Collier is a British conductor, violinist, and music educator. She has taught at several institutions in the United Kingdom and internationally. In 2021, she was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.

Contents

Collier has three children, musician Jacob Collier [1] as well as daughters Sophie and Ella Collier. [2]

Early life and education

Susan was born to violinists Derek Collier and Leila Wong. [3] [4] She gave her first public performance as a violinist at the age of three. [5] Collier studied at the Royal Academy of Music with a Sisselle Wray scholarship, [6] earning the ARCM, LRAM, and GRSM qualifications. [7]

Career

Teaching and mentorship

Collier began teaching in 1986 at the Junior Academy of the Royal Academy of Music. [8] She has also held teaching positions at The Latymer School, Mill Hill County High School, Westminster School, [9] and Haileybury. Her work has included ensemble coaching, directing orchestras, and classroom teaching. Her work at Mill Hill County High School included annual collaboration concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [10] . She has delivered several masterclasses at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, University of Cambridge, MIT [11] , Grace Farms [12] and others. [13]

Conductor

Collier began conducting in 1987 at The Latymer School [14] . From 1988 to 2024, she led the Senior Strings Chamber Orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department. [15]

She has collaborated with several ensembles, including conducting the recording sessions for Jacob Collier's Djesse Vol. 4 album in Amsterdam with the Metropole Orkest [16] and the ocherstral version of Stormzy's Firebabe at Abbey Road Studios [17] . In 2023, she was a guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Quincy Jones' 90th Birthday Celebration at the Hollywood Bowl [18] .

In January 2025, she conducted the Britten Sinfonia at the Bristol Beacon and the London Barbican. The programme featured soloists Jacob Collier, Chris Thile and Thomas Gould, as well as orchestral works including Anna Meredith’s Nautilus, Danzon no.2 by Arturo Marquez and the premiere of Jacob Collier’s first piece for orchestra - Hush Scuffle. [19]

Violinist

Collier has performed internationally as a violinist, appearing as a soloist at venues such as the Barbican Centre in Cecilia McDowall's The Girl from Aleppo [20] or collaborating with her son at the Hollywood Bowl [21] or the Royal Albert Hall. [22]

As a recording artist, she appears as a soloist on Once You from Djesse Vol. 1 and on Gareth Malone’s Notes for Our World (2022). [23]

Podcast and digital masterclass

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Collier launched Suzie Explores, a digital and in-person initiative focused on creativity and musical exploration. The project includes her podcast [24] , which has featured guests such as the late Quincy Jones, Yo-Yo Ma, Nicola Benedetti, and Steve Vai, and a digital masterclass series on Patreon.

Awards

Collier was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2001. [25] She was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM) in 2021. [26]

References

  1. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (28 January 2025). "Behind the Scenes of Jacob Collier's Wide Web of Collaborators". Billboard . Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  2. ↑ Benjamin (3 May 2022). Jacob Collier: In the Room Where It Happens . Retrieved 10 August 2025– via YouTube.
  3. ↑ King, Jason (11 July 2016). "With 'In My Room,' Jazz Phenom Jacob Collier is Bringing Jubilation Back". NPR.
  4. ↑ "Lunchtime concert at Frinton". Clacton and Frinton Gazette. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  5. ↑ "Suzie Collier is the Head of Haileybury's Strings department". Haileybury. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  6. ↑ 1983 July, List Of Prizes, Scholarships And Other Awards Royal Academy of Music. July 1983.
  7. ↑ 2001 Junior Academy Prospectus Royal Academy of Music. 2001.
  8. ↑ 1992 Junior Academy Prospectus Royal Academy of Music. 1992.
  9. ↑ "The Elizabethan 2019 - Westminster School Annual by Westminster School - Issuu". issuu.com. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "Mill Hill County High School Arts Education Partnership Will Go On Thanks To Poly UK". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  11. ↑ awilds (18 February 2022). "Freeing Yourself to Free the Music". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  12. ↑ "The Power of Music with Suzie Collier | A Conversation and Performance". Grace Farms. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Our Tutors". The Benedetti Foundation. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  14. ↑ "Finchley Community Magazine May/June 2021 Issue 7 by Finchley Community Magazine - Issuu". issuu.com. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "Jacob Collier's Technicolor World". downbeat.com. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  16. ↑ Sinfonia, Britten. "Suzie Collier". Britten Sinfonia. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  17. ↑ Stormzy (13 December 2022). STORMZY - FIREBABE - ORCHESTRAL VERSION (Amazon Original) [Behind The Scenes] . Retrieved 11 February 2025– via YouTube.
  18. ↑ Yanow, Scott (31 July 2023). "Music and Concert Review: QUINCY JONES' 90TH BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION (Hollywood Bowl)". Stage and Cinema. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  19. ↑ Scotney, Sebastian (25 January 2025). "Jacob Collier, Chris Thile, Britten Sinfonia/Suzie Collier - UK Jazz News" . Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  20. ↑ "Ein Deutsches Requiem and The Girl from Aleppo | Barbican". www.barbican.org.uk. 18 March 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  21. ↑ Mitchell, Gail (30 July 2023). "Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson & Samara Joy Celebrate Quincy Jones' 90th Birthday at the Hollywood Bowl". Billboard. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
  22. ↑ ljazzn (20 July 2018). "REVIEW: Prom 7: Jacob Collier and Friends". London Jazz News. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  23. ↑ Notes For Our World, 14 July 2022, retrieved 5 August 2025
  24. ↑ "Suzie Explores Podcast Transcripts". podcasts.musixmatch.com. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  25. ↑ 2003 Junior Academy Prospectus Royal Academy of Music. 2003.
  26. ↑ "Honours". Royal Academy of Music. Retrieved 23 May 2025.

Further reading

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