Collin Whitfield's compositions have been described by librettist Nicholas Giardini as "beautiful, rapturous and unabashedly romantic, without any of the failings that so often accompany these qualities." He was recently a recipient of the 2019 James Highsmith Award from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for his orchestral work, Eclipse. It received its world premiere by members of the Berkeley Symphony in January 2020. In 2018, his setting of Emily Dickinson’s Because I could not stop for Death for SATB accompanied chorus was selected as the winning piece for the annual ACDA Choral Composition Competition at Central Michigan University.

Since 2018, Collin has served as Director of Music Ministries at First Presbyterian Church of Saginaw. He holds a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from Central Michigan University, where he studied with Dr. Steven Egler. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with notable composers David Conte and Mason Bates. He frequently enjoys collaborating on recitals with his wife, soprano Erin Whitfield.

Recital will be streamed on our Facebook page, @MPCmidland, and on our website, mempres.org.