Colin Maier is a Canadian

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

and multi-instrumentalist and also works as an actor, dancer, and acrobat, often blending these disciplines into one performance. 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 Quartetto Gelato is a Canadian classical crossover quartet with current members Colin Maier, Matti Pulkki, Kirk Starkey, and Tino Popovic, and based in Hamilton, Ontario. Their musical repertoire consists of a mix of classical masterworks with ...

, and the oboe and accordion duo ''JoyRide'' with pianist Mark Camilleri, formerly Charles Cozens.

Education

Born in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Maier started

Suzuki violin The Suzuki method is a mid-20th-century music curriculum and teaching method created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki. The method claims to create a reinforcing environment for learning music for young learners. Backgroun ...

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 theatre in college. Because of a missed deadline, he ended up pursuing the oboe, and classical music study. Maier graduated from the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in oboe performance studying with

Calgary Philharmonic The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The orchestra gives the majority of its performances in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons. It is also the resident orchestra for the Calgary Opera, A ...

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), ''Fire'' (CanStage), ''Forbidden Phoenix'' (LKTYP), ''KA'' (

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

), ''Amadeus'' (

Alberta Theatre Projects Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta Alber ...

), ''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 ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick ...

''. Maier joined

in 2009. This world-touring ensemble is known for their eclectic humorous performances, in which Maier plays the oboe and other instruments, as well as sings, dances, and performs acrobatics. As an oboist, he has performed with The Calgary Philharmonic, The Hamilton Philharmonic,

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

Orchestra, Symphony of the Kootenays, Soundstreams, Toronto Concert Orchestra, Scarborough Philharmonic, Niagara International Chamber Music Festival, The Jive Mommas,

The High Strung The High Strung is an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan, United States. The band is composed of lead singers and guitarists Josh Malerman and Mark Owen, guitarist Stephen Palmer, bassist Chad Stocker, and drummer Derek Berk. Malerman, Be ...

, The Fabulous Doo-Wop Boy and The Plaid Tongued Devils. In the 2002

International Double Reed Society The International Double Reed Society (IDRS), is an organization that promotes the interests of double reed players, instrument manufacturers and enthusiasts. Services provided by the IDRS include an international oboe and bassoon competition, an ...

conference, he performed in, and conducted, a jazz master class with jazz bassoonist Michael Rabinowitz. 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. His two solo recordings feature newly commissioned compositions by Canadian composers Rebecca Pellet,

Hilario Durán Hilario Durán (born 1953, Havana) is a Cuban-Canadian jazz pianist. Durán studied at ''Conservatorio "Amadeo Roldán"'' Amadeo Roldan Music Institute in Havana, studying tumbao with Evaristo Aparicio, composition and conducting from German ...

, Mark Camilleri, Vincent Ho, and Aura Pon in a variety of genres from classical to jazz and Celtic. Also performances by Canadian musicians, and Canadian comedian

Colin Mochrie Colin Andrew Mochrie (; born November 30, 1957) is a Scottish-born Canadian actor, writer, producer and improvisational comedian, best known for his appearances on the British and American versions of the improvisational TV show ''Whose Line ...

. Several of the compositions feature Maier playing as many as 13 different instruments. Maier was the oboe instructor at

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

from 2015–2018."Natalie confronts fears with concert in the woods"
. ''St. Catharines Standard'', By Cheryl Clock, September 2, 2016

Discography

* 2021 "JoyRide" with funding from Factor * 2021 "Quartetto Gelato - Tasty Tunes" with funding from Factor * 2015 "Quartetto Gelato - All Original, 100% Canadian" with funding from Factor * 2014 "The Fabulist – Oboe and Other Things" (solo) with funding from Factor * 2012 "Advice From a Misguided Man" (solo) with funding from the

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...

and Factor * 2010 "The Magic of Christmas-Quartetto Gelato"

References

External links

Personal Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maier, Colin 1976 births Canadian oboists Living people Male oboists Musicians from Calgary Canadian classical musicians