Brendan Collins M.C.A, B.Mus., DSCM, A.Mus.A, L.T.C.L. Brendan Collins is the Composer-in-residence at Barker College and the Chief Brass Examiner, AMEB NSW. For 11 years he was the Associate Principal Trombonist with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and in 2024 he was elected to the AMEB Board. He has served as the composer-in-residence with the Sydney Youth Orchestra and is a fully represented artist with the Australian Music Centre. He is the inaugural winner of the Open Brass Solo section of the Sydney eisteddfod and performed the Rimsky-Korsakov Trombone Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Civic Theatre in Newcastle while still a school student. He has performed internationally as a soloist and with the Australian Youth Orchestra. He has numerous works published by Wirripang Publications including the bestsellers, The Piano Collection and Great Southern Land Trumpet Collection His compositions are frequently performed throughout the world and his music is broadcast regularly on ABC ClassicFM. His band and solo works are regularly selected as test pieces for National and State competitions and in 2010 his composition for concert band, ‘William of Orange March’ won first prize in the NSW School Band Festival composition competition. He currently has 18 compositions on the AMEB syllabuses. His complete works for trumpet have been released on the CD ‘Great Southern Land’, recorded in the USA by soloist Phillip Chase Hawkins on the Navona Label. Other performers to record Collins’ works include Clement Saunier (France), Jose Chafer (Spain), Alex Wilson, Richard Stoelzel, Rex Richardson (USA) Michael Keiren Harvey, Susan Collins, Jeanell Carigan, Matthew Van Emmerik (Australia) and George Curran (Principal Bass Trombone with the NY Philharmonic). He has served as an adjudicator several times for the Sydney Eisteddfods, as well as eisteddfods in Orange, Dubbo, Bathurst, Taree and The Gold Coast.