Colin Belisle currently lives in San Francisco, performing regularly in the Bay Area and traveling frequently to Honolulu, where he is a tenured member of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and violist of Chamber Music Hawaii's Galliard String Quartet. He has previously been a member of the Honolulu Symphony. He has been on faculty private at the I‘olani School and Punahou School, and has been a chamber music coach with the Hawaii Youth Symphony and faculty member at The Pacific Music Institute in Honolulu. In addition to his teaching in Honolulu, Colin has served on the string faculty at The Manchester Community Music School in New Hampshire, The Brookline Music School in Boston, and The Lawrence Academy of Music in Wisconsin. 

Colin Belisle holds a Master of Music degree and Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Lawrence University. His principal teachers include Carol Rodland, Matthew Michelic, Kim Kashkashian, Ed Gazouleas and Simon Rowland-Jones at the Royal College of Music in London. Also a classically trained singer, Colin’s principal teachers include Joanne Bozeman at Lawrence University, and Matthew Hoch and Damien Francoeur-Krzyzek of New England Conservatory and The Boston Lyric Opera Company.

In addition to the Honolulu Symphony and Hawaii Symphony, Colin has performed regularly with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Atlantic Symphony, New World Symphony in Miami, Green Bay Symphony, and Portland Symphony. As a chamber musician he has performed in such esteemed venues as New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space, Boston’s Jordan Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Honolulu’s Blaisdell Hall, and has collaborated professionally with members of the Lincoln Center Chamber Players, Borromeo, Cassatt, New Hellenic, Pro Arte, Bryant Park, and Turtle Island string quartets. 

He has been a fellowship recipient at Aspen, Banff, Bowdoin, National Orchestral Institute, and artist-in-residence at UH Manoa, Bennington College, Denison University, and the University of New England. He’s performed in master classes for Roberto Diaz, James Dunham, Kim Kashkashian, Karen Tuttle, Robert Vernon, Mimi Zweig, and Jeffrey Irvine; and has been coached in chamber music by members of the Borromeo, Cassatt, Cleveland, Fine Arts, and Henschel string quartets. 

A passionate supporter of contemporary music, Colin has played in various contemporary ensembles in New York City, where he performed as soloist and chamber musician. He has had the privilege of performing the world-premiere of Augusta Read-Thomas’ Incantation for solo viola, as well as premiering works by Michael Gandolfi, Kenji Bunch, Martin Bresnick, Mohammed Fairouz, Pozzi Escot, Anthony DeRitis, Halim El-Dabh and Jennifer Higdon. He has recorded works of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer, Yehudi Wyner, on his album De Novo, which is available on Naxos and Albany labels. As a recording musician, he has worked with legendary artists in classical, jazz, and contemporary music, such as Billy Childs, Charlie Haden, Danny Elfman, and has recorded soundtracks to films and TV that have appeared at the Cannes and Vienna film festivals and NBC and Lifetime networks. 

Mr. Belisle a member of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), is on the Board of Directors and Treasurer of Hawaii Music Teachers Association (HMTA). He is also a member of the American Viola Society and a registered Violin/Viola teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA).

​Professional Training:
New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, MA
Graduate Diploma in Music Performance, 2005
Master's Degree in Music Performance, 2004

Royal College of Music, London, UK
Advanced Studies in Perf. and Chamber Music 2001 

Lawrence Conservatory of Music, Appleton, WI
Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance, 2002

​Principal Teachers
Carol Rodland
Simon Rowland-Jones
Matthew Michelic
Karen Tuttle
Kim Kashkashian

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​SAA Registered Suzuki Training:
ECC, Unit 1, Ellie LeRoux
Units 2, 3, 4, & 5, Ann Montzka Smelser 
Unit 4, Nancy Lokken 
Unit 6, Sherry Cadow 
Unit 7, Cathy Lee
Unit 8, Nancy Jackson
Supplemental Repertoire for Bks. 6-8: Allen Lieb ​

Teaching Experience Outside of the Private Studio
Iolani School, Director of Suzuki Program
Punahou Music School, ​Viola and Chamber Music
Pacific Music Institute, Solo, Orchestral, Chamber Music
Hawaii Youth Symphonies, Orchestral, Chamber Music
Brookline Music School, Violin, Viola
Manchester Music School, Viola, Chamber Music
Lawrence Academy of Music, Viola