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When Colin Buckland (bass) first saw a piano he made an enthusiastic beeline for it. This was embarrassing to his parents because the piano was in the office of the headmistress of the primary school where they were anxious to enrol him. The next time was an organ on the way into a church but this time they had their wits about them and grabbed him just in time.  Instinct will out; he knew there was magic in those keys. At primary school (he made it) he was taught violin for five years by John Hullah Brown, who was in those days something of a legend in violin teaching and managed to teach - brilliantly - classes of thirty without the noise driving him to distraction.  He was also taught the piano by a homely lady with a wooden leg.  I'm not making this up.  The piano lessons gave his mother (who was not musical) a chance to become an amateur piano dealer and the family went through a series of instruments each more dreadful than its predecessor. At secondary he went through the usual recorder thing, but the real stroke of luck was going to a school with a good music teacher (Peter Morgan) who ran an excellent choir.

Colin has many stories of his early musical days which unfortunately this website is too small  to hold. After messing about singing and directing various church and school choirs in an amateurish fashion he met a teacher in Cambridge, at the age of 35, who taught him to sing properly (well better anyway).  Arriving in Luxembourg was another big break because he went to the Conservatoire, whose choir was at that time (1979) conducted by Pierre Cao, and it was like the headmistress' piano all over again.  Twenty very active musical years later he is still singing bass with anyone that will have him.  He wishes to express his gratitude to all who have helped him enjoy himself so enormously, especially the Madrigal de Luxembourg (in his early days here), the Psallette de Lorraine and the Ensemble Vocal du Luxembourg, to name only the groups with whom he has spent longest and sung most.

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