Biography

Todd Collins performs mainly in the northeastern United States, with forays as far as New Mexico, Maine, Scotland, and England. He performs in a variety of settings ranging from traditional and progressive bluegrass (Tom Hanway’s Blue Horizon) to swing (Blueswing Trio), contemporary jazz, acoustic blues (The Booglerizers), rock (The Humphries), and classical. He has performed with some of the most gifted acoustic musicians on the planet, including legendary fiddlers Vassar Clements and Kenny Kosek, banjo guru Bill Keith, bluegrass legends Mac Wiseman and Peter Rowan, jazz pianist and composer Jose Bevia, virtuoso trumpeter Richard Gradone and Butch Baldassari’s Nashville Mandolin Trio. Todd collaborated with former David Grisman arranger and guitarist John Carlini in the ’90′s to form an eclectic acoustic band, Over the Edge. They covered the gamut of musical styles by fusing together traditional bluegrass with jazz, classical, and world music. Their CD received wide recognition and airplay across America. His current traditional bluegrass recording, “Blue Soul”, is also receiving national and international airplay. A CD recorded with John Skehan (Railroad Earth) of classical mandolin duets by Emanuele Barbella was released in the spring of 2009.

Collins’ recording credits include film and television, along with recording session work on many CD’s. He was the mandolinist for the Disney film soundtrack “Tom and Huck”. Collins is also a producer who is in demand mainly in acoustic music and jazz, with commercially released recordings by Over the Edge, The Lost Ramblers, banjoist Terry McGill, singer/songwriter Tom Nieman and his own “Blue Soul” and “Barbella Mandolin Duets” CD’s.

Todd has been teaching private lessons on mandolin, guitar and clawhammer banjo for over twenty years developing a comprehensive approach. Depending on the student, lessons can include fretboard study, solo construction, improvisational concepts, harmony, sight reading, solo analysis and developing repertoire.

Todd is associate professor and the coordinator of the Music Recording Program at County College of Morris (CCM) located in Randolph, New Jersey. At CCM he has assembled and conducted numerous workshops, seminars, and concerts that included the annual event in April for several years, “Day of Bluegrass”. A popular music history class he has developed and teaches is American Roots Music which covers various traditional styles including folk, blues, gospel, country and jazz. He also gives workshops for guitar and mandolin in the States and abroad. Todd was the mandolin instructor for the “Bluegrass Masters Workshops” at the popular Big Apple Bluegrass Festival in New York City. His first book of Bill Monroe transcriptions titled “Monroe Instrumentals”, is a “best seller” for Mel Bay Publishing and his second book, “Classic Bluegrass Solos (Bill Monroe)”, has also been released by Mel Bay Publishing. His third book, “Absolute Beginners Mandolin” has been released by Amsco Publishing.

Collins has been commissioned to compose works for modern dance companies in the New York/New Jersey area, including Beyond Dance, Inc., the Montclair State University Dance Department, and the County College of Morris Dance Department.

Todd Collins earned a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Music from Montclair State University.