Bruce Collings

About Bruce Collings

Bruce Collings was given his first trombone when he was 10 years old by his grandfather, a Baptist minister. The instrument was an extremely rare Olds Super built around 1930. After studying for two years at the University of Minnesota with Steven Zellmer and Henry Charles Smith, Collings completed his Bachelor of Music in 1980 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where his teacher was John Swallow. After coming to Germany, in 1987 Collings became Principal Trombone with the City Orchestra in Solingen and has held the same position with the Bergisch Symphony since 1995. In 1995, he also joined the Ensemble musikFabrik in Cologne where he has worked with numerous important composers and conductors, performed in countless premieres, and released a large number of recordings.