One of Ireland's most successful musicians and significant musical ambassadors, Finghin Collins was born in Dublin in 1977 and, following initial lessons with his sister Mary, studied piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music with John O'Conor and at the Geneva Conservatoire with Dominique Merlet. His international career was launched by winning first prize at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland in 1999. He has performed in recital and with major orchestras throughout Europe and the United States, as well as in the Far East and Australia. In 2019 Finghin performed in the UK, Denmark, the USA, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey and undertook an extensive Irish recital tour marking 20 years since his Clara Haskil Prize. Engagements in 2020 include solo, chamber and concerto performances of Beethoven across Europe to mark the composer’s 250th anniversary, as well as his début with the Russian National Orchestra in Moscow. Over the past two decades Collins has maintained a close relationship with Claves Records in Switzerland, recording many award-winning CDs of music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Stanford. Finghin Collins also makes a significant contribution to the musical landscape of his native Ireland, where he resides. Since 2013, he has been Artistic Director of Music for Galway, which will present the major classical programme of Galway 2020, European Capital of Culture. He is also the founding Artistic Director of the New Ross Piano Festival, which celebrates its 15th edition in 2020, as well as the founding co-Artistic Director of the International Master Course at the National Concert Hall in Dublin.
In October 2017, the National University of Ireland conferred on him an honorary Degree of Doctor of Music.
Spoken language: English