Colin Maier

Colin Michael Maier
Born (1976-01-15) January 15, 1976
Calgary, Alberta
Genres Classical, Celtic, Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician, Dancer, Acrobat with Quartetto Gelato
Instruments Oboe, English horn, clarinet, saxophone, flute, bassoon, violin, 5-string banjo, acoustic/electric bass, piano, guitar, mandolin and musical saw

Colin Maier (born January 15, 1976) is a Canadian oboist and multi-instrumentalist and also works as an actor, dancer, and acrobat, sometimes blending these disciplines. He has also worked as a stuntman and martial artist. He is currently a member of the award-winning Canadian new classical music ensemble Quartetto Gelato,[1] and the oboe and accordion duo Power Play with accordionist Charles Cozens.

Education

Born in Calgary, Alberta,[2] Maier started Suzuki violin at age three and oboe at age 12. In high school, he studied fiddling, singing, dance, acting, martial arts, and gymnastics, and had plans to pursue musical theater in college. Because of a missed deadline, he ended up pursuing the oboe, and classical music study. Maier graduated from the University of Calgary in 1997 with a Bachelor's degree in oboe performance studying with Calgary Philharmonic oboist David Sussman.

Career

Maier began his professional career with a variety of acting engagements, most notably as the devil fiddler in the flying blue canoe for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Opening Ceremonies. His other acting credits include work in the stage version of The Lord of the Rings (Mirvish),[3][4] Fire (CanStage), Forbidden Phoenix (LKTYP), KA (Cirque du Soleil), Amadeus (Alberta Theatre Projects), That Dance Show (Saltance Productions), Cats (Neptune Theatre), Joseph's Dreamcoat (StageWest/Drayton), A Chorus Line (StageWest), Sarah Brightman's World Tour, and TV's Honey I Shrunk the Kids! and Murdoch Mysteries.

Maier joined Quartetto Gelato in 2009. This world-touring ensemble is known for their eclectic humorous performances, in which Maier plays the oboe and other instruments,[5] as well as dances and performs acrobatics.[6][7][8]

As an oboist, he has played with The Calgary Philharmonic, The Hamilton Philharmonic, National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, Symphony of the Kootenays, Soundstreams, Toronto Concert Orchestra, Scarborough Philharmonic, Niagara International Chamber Music Festival, The Jive Mommas, The High Strung, The Fabulous Doo-Wop Boy and The Plaid Tongued Devils. In the 2002 International Double Reed Society Conference, he performed in, and conducted, a jazz master class with jazz bassoonist Michael Rabinowitz.[9]

In addition to oboe, Maier also plays professionally a variety of instruments including the English horn, clarinet, saxophone, flute, bassoon, violin, 5-string banjo, banyan, acoustic/electric bass, piano, guitar, mandolin and musical saw.[10][11]

His two solo recordings feature new compositions by Canadian composers (including several with Maier playing as many as 13 different instruments), Canadian musicians, and a variety of genres from classical to jazz and celtic.[12][13]

Maier was the oboe instructor at Brock University from 2015-2018.[14]

Discography

  • 2010 "The Magic of Christmas-Quartetto Gelato"
  • 2012 "Advice From a Misguided Man" (solo)
  • 2014 "The Fabulist – Oboe and Other Things" (solo)
  • 2015 "Quartetto Gelato - All Original, 100% Canadian"

References

  1. ↑ "An Interview of Colin Maier". Double Reed, Volume 36 No. 2. by Don Stolper.
  2. ↑ " Quartetto Gelato brimming with humour as well as fine musicianship". Waterloo Region Record, January 24, 2014, By Valerie Hill
  3. ↑ "Kevin Wallace’s Lordly Dream". The Gate, W. Andrew Powell. March 10, 2006
  4. ↑ "Genre-bending quartet treads the high wire". Toronto Star, John Terauds, Jan. 14, 2010
  5. ↑ "Quartetto Gelato", Alison Broverman. Odeum, December 2011.
  6. ↑ "MUSIC REVIEW: Quartetto Gelato serves up exotic flavors". Herald-Tribune, By Richard Storm, December 6, 2015
  7. ↑ "Nassau Music Society's Quartetto Gelato melts hearts". thenassauguardian.com. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Classical Notes: OSO and Quartetto Gelato show their gypsy colours". by Jim Elderton, Vernon Morning Star, Mar 8, 2015
  9. ↑ The Double Reed. International Double Reed Society. 2005. p. 20.
  10. ↑ "Oboist Colin Maier to Adjudicate Rotary Burlington Fall Music Festival". Hamilton Musician, By Sarah Anne Wolkowski
  11. ↑ "Entertaining & energetic evening with Quartetto Gelato". Jeff DeDekker, Regina Leader-Post, October 11, 2015
  12. ↑ Ages, Karen. "The Fabulist - Colin Maier - The WholeNote". thewholenote.com. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  13. ↑ John Sunier (January 23, 2015). "Colin Maier – The Fabulist – self". Audio Audition.
  14. ↑ "Natalie confronts fears with concert in the woods". St. Catharines Standard, By Cheryl Clock, September 2, 2016
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