Daniel Collins began training as a conductor alongside his busy professional singing career in 2015, under the tutelage of Paul Brough, professor of conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, and Peter Hanke at the Voces Conducting Academy. With an early focus on choral conducting, Daniel began deputising in London churches and for professional concert choirs in and around London, whilst honing his entrepreneurial talents by organising a two-month long concert series in Stroud Green, focusing on providing performance space for emerging artists.
In 2020, Dan Collins was appointed interim Director of Music at St. Barnabas Church, Dulwich, a role which began in-person and moved online during the Covid 19 Pandemic, where Daniel's main role was keeping the choir community active during lockdown. Dan developed his audio editing skills during this time, producing recordings on a weekly basis for professional choirs and his own church choir. In September 2020 Daniel was appointed full-time Director of Music at St. Mark’s, Hamilton Terrace, with the missive of growing the musical reputation of the church.
During lockdown, he focused again on keeping the community together with weekly rehearsals and recordings, and in person Daniel Collins began to develop the choir, with a focus on maintaining the extremely high level of performance on a weekly basis. Dan also formed a new concert series through the church Live@StMark's which ran successfully during his tenure at St Mark's Hamilton Terrace.
In September 2021 Daniel Collins began to showcase his entrepreneurial side, forming Peregrine focusing on showcasing emerging artists from London’s music colleges. Under the umbrella of Peregrine he formed a chamber series, featuring monthly recitals from soloists and ensembles, founded what is now one of London’s finest amateur orchestras, Peregrine Orchestra, and put them together in concert with his chamber choir, now Peregrine Voices, using student soloists and leaders where possible.
Dan Collins recent conducting highlights have included Mozart’s Requiem (2021), Verdi’s Messa da Requiem (2022), Beethoven Symphonies no. 5 and 6 (2022), Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no. 2 in E minor (2023), Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem (2023) and Elgar’s Enigma Variations (2024). He also directed Peregrine Voices and Queen’s Park Singers in a performance of Bach’s St. John Passion in 2023.
Daniel is also in demand in the UK and abroad as a freelance conductor. Recent highlights include directing the Marian Consort (2023) and The Sixteen (2023) in concert, and standing in to conduct Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony with Bloomsbury Chamber Orchestra (2023). He currently studies under Austrian conductor Achim Holub.