Colin Hilliard believes that expression through art is life giving. Through innovating in how we develop skills, he hopes to give greater access for all people to express themselves. Colin is a freelance Bassoonist in the Dallas Fort Worth area, maintains a studio of around 20 students, and is also a Teaching Artist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestras Young Musicians program, modeled after El Sistema in Venezuela. A graduate of the University of North Texas, Colin was a bassoonist with the UNT Symphony Orchestra and collaborated in chamber music for many years where he premiered multiple new works. Colin also studied with the orchestral conducting faculty and is a composer with a focus on bridging genres and creating new frameworks for musical creation.

Colin has a passion for seeking out simple solutions to the problems we face along the way as developing musicians and shares these solutions with others through teaching and articles online. Colin believes open communication and collaboration between those developing on similar paths is a hugely untapped recourse and seeks to understand the unique ways his colleagues go about their craft.

Colin has served on the board of chamber music non-profit Mélange Musical and has acted as event manager for their concerts. Colin has also been an integral collaborator with Chef Cody Penton with his pop-up restaurant series Cicada. In his free time, Colin enjoys playing basketball, DMing Dungeons and Dragons, walking with his dog Zara, and doing collaborative painting with his girlfriend Lisa.