Associate Professor Denis Collins
Associate Professor

Denis Collins

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+61 7 336 53512

Background

Denis Collins is a world authority on the history of compositional techniques, especially counterpoint, in Western art music from the late Middle Ages to the time of J.S. Bach. He is also an expert on the history of music theory, including the legacy of the Russian composer and theorist Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev. Denis's research draws upon digital applications to music, musical iconography, and music perception and cognition. He has been Lead Chief Investigator on two Discovery Projects awarded by the Australian Research Council: "Canonic techniques and musical change from c.1330 to c.1530" (2015-17) and "The art and science of canon in the music of early 17th-century Rome" (2018-20). He was an Associate Investigator at the ARC's Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions in Europe, 1100-1800. He has published extensively in Australian and international music journals and edited volumes and he presents the results of his research regularly at international conferences and symposia. He is Editor-in-Chief of Musicology Australia, the official journal of the Musicological Society of Australia.

Availability

Associate Professor Denis Collins is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts, University College Dublin
  • Bachelor of Music, University College Dublin
  • Masters (Coursework), Stanford University
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Stanford University

Research interests

  • Musicology

  • Music Theory

  • Counterpoint in Medieval and Early Modern music

  • Music of J.S. Bach

  • Digital applications to music research

  • Music and visual culture

  • Music and the history of emotions

Research impacts

Denis is deeply committed to the success of musicological research in Australia and to highlighting its many positive contributions to the cultural life of the nation. Through collaboration with scholars and music organisations nationally and internationally, he positions the results of his research for the broader community. Activities include workshops and performances by choral and instrumental groups of historical repertoire studied as part of his projects. Denis is the co-founder of the Canons Database (www.canons.org.au) which serves as the foremost online resource for musical canons and is aimed at a very broad community of music enthusiasts from scholars and performers to general audiences worldwide.

Search Professor Denis Collins’s works on UQ eSpace

66 works between 1993 and 2024
All (66) Journal Article (35) Book Chapter (18) Conference Publication (6) Book (4) Other Outputs (3)

61 - 66 of 66 works

1995

Journal Article

The Martini-Redi polemic on the solution of a canon by Giovanni Animuccia

Collins, Denis (1995). The Martini-Redi polemic on the solution of a canon by Giovanni Animuccia. Indiana Theory Review, 16 (Spring-Fall), 61-81.

The Martini-Redi polemic on the solution of a canon by Giovanni Animuccia

1995

Journal Article

Thomas Tomkins's canonic additions to Thomas Morley's 'A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke'

Collins, Denis (1995). Thomas Tomkins's canonic additions to Thomas Morley's 'A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke'. Music and Letters, 76 (3), 345-355. doi: 10.1093/ml/76.3.345

Thomas Tomkins's canonic additions to Thomas Morley's 'A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke'

1994

Journal Article

Canon and music pedagogy 1500-1800

Collins, Denis (1994). Canon and music pedagogy 1500-1800. Theoria: Historical Aspects of Music Theory, 8, 53-72.

Canon and music pedagogy 1500-1800

1993

Journal Article

Historical precedents for Bach's Evolutio Canon BWV 1087-10

Collins, Denis (1993). Historical precedents for Bach's Evolutio Canon BWV 1087-10. BACH: The Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, 24 (1), 5-14.

Historical precedents for Bach's Evolutio Canon BWV 1087-10

1993

Journal Article

Zarlino and Berardi as teachers of canon

Collins, Denis (1993). Zarlino and Berardi as teachers of canon. Theoria: Historical Aspects of Music Theory, 7, 103-123.

Zarlino and Berardi as teachers of canon

1993

Book Chapter

Fugue, Canon and Double Counterpoint in Nicola Vicentino's L'antica musica

Collins, Denis (1993). Fugue, Canon and Double Counterpoint in Nicola Vicentino's L'antica musica. Music and the Church. (pp. 276-301) edited by Harry White and Gerard Gillen. Dublin, Ireland: Four Courts Press.

Fugue, Canon and Double Counterpoint in Nicola Vicentino's L'antica musica

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2025
    Sounding Symmetry
    Engaging Science Grants
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2023
    Indigenising the musicology curriculum: Developing resources for teaching and learning in higher education
    Musicological Society of Australia Special Funding Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2021
    The art and science of canon in the music of early 17th-century Rome
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2020
    Music keyboard and piano research equipment and infrastructure
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    Canonic Techniques and Musical Change from c.1330 to c.1530
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2005
    The Canonic Compositions of G.P.da Palestrina and their Influence on Contrapuntal Compendia by Early Seventeenth-century Roman Composers
    University of Queensland Research Development Grants Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2001
    Canon and related contrapuntal procedures in music from ca. 1400 to ca. 1800
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant

Availability

Associate Professor Denis Collins is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Master Philosophy

    Vibrato Use in Contemporary Performance of Paul Hindemith's Sonata for Solo Viola, Op. 25 No. 1

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Mr Patrick Murphy

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Shifting priorities in representations of female musicians in Renaissance art

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Andrea Bubenik

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Rhetoric and Symbolism in Late Elizabethan Music

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Honorary Professor Samantha Owens

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Shifting priorities in representations of female musicians in Renaissance art

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Andrea Bubenik

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The Enduring Legacy of Monophonic Byzantine Chant in Australia: Educational Possibilities for Greek-to-English Chant Adaptation in Greek Orthodox Communities

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Anne Levitsky

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Associate Professor Denis Collins directly for media enquiries about:

  • Baroque music
  • Canon - music
  • Contrapuntal procedures - renaissance and Baroque music
  • History of music theory
  • Music cognition
  • Music theory - history of
  • Renaissance music

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