Colin McKellar was born in 1953 and grew up on a small orchard in Templestowe, Victoria, Australia. After some humanities and single music subjects at tertiary colleges, he studied at a ground breaking multi media Art School in Gippsland from 1975,completing the Monash University Diploma of Visual Art. Later he completed a certificate of music at Box Hill TAFE in 1984, and then studied composition for a period at LaTrobe University in 1988.
He has been teaching piano and trumpet since 1990. Colin has been a member of the Melbourne Composers League since 1998 and has since had works performed, both in the Elbow Room series and wider Composer League concerts. Recent performances have included Trumpet Organ and Percussion piece "Top Pot", and solo piano performance of his composition "Stretch' by Michael Kieran Harvey, for "At First Light" concert. "Fields of Colour",a piece for Flute, Marimba and Vibraphone for "Four Seasons/Gold" Concert. More recently performance of a piece for Contra Bass Flute and Double Bass at Elbow Room Series at Wesley Annne Northcote. Other recent projects include a piece for contemporary dance, and a piece performed at Montsalvat in Melbourne, a 15 minute Bi Tonal Piano solo, "Scottish Dancing." A piano Miniature was performed in collaboration with Visual Artist Belinda Rogers in 2019, and a Trumpet solo tracing the genocide and colonialization of Aboriginal Australia has been recorded recently by Australian Trumpet player Harriet Channon. Audio and Video recordings of many of these pieces can be found at the Melbourne Composers League website https://www.melbournecomposersleague.com