Colin Riley(1963)

Colin Riley's music draws on a range of elements including new technologies, improvisation, song-writing and large-scale classical form. His work is difficult to categorize. His recently-released portrait disc Shenanigan's (NMC) was described as «Wry, fond, understated and slightly bonkers» (Guardian).

His latest compositions include Warp and Weft a concerto for 2 cellos (for Gabriella Swallow and Guy Johnston) and In Place (for singer Melanie Pappenheim) collaborating with 7 contemporary writers. Made 2 Resonate (2017), is a set of solo multi-sensory pieces with resonating environments, and Roads Like River Shining Up Hill After Rain (2017) for cello and choir marked the centenary of the death of poet Edward Thomas.

Colin regularly creates work for his own two groups, the Homemade Orchestra and MooV, where he is composer and performer/director. Moov's latest album Here was recently described as «utterly unclassifiable» (London Jazz Blog), and «criminally underexposed» (Jazz UK).

Colin's work has been performed by many of the leading music performers and groups including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Smith Quartet, Piano Circus amongst others. He has collaborated with diverse artists in the last few years including an album with drummer Bill Bruford, Skin and Wire and two theatre projects Nonsense and Centrally Heated Knickers with the poet Michael Rosen.

He is a Senior Lecturer at Brunel University, and has been a mentor for the Making Music's Adopt A Composer Scheme since 2001. He runs his own label Squeaky Kate and writes a regular blog about composing called Riley Notes.

«Beautiful, clever and direct» Classical Music Magazine
«Tantalising new territory» The Times
«Has the hairs rising on the back of your neck.» Birmingham Post
«Something extraordinarily strange and beautiful.» BBC Radio 1
«Riley is that rarest of birds, a genuine original.» London Jazz Blog