Attendees of HarmonicaUK events will recognise the piano player who works tirelessly along in the background, accompanying many of the harmonica performers on the stage. That piano player is Chris Collis, and we’ve been talking so I can find out more about him. Neil: How long have you been performing with HarmonicaUK (previously National Harmonica League)? Chris: Twenty years, since 2002. How did it first come about? Jim Hughes telephoned me. I didn’t know who Jim Hughes was back then, or what an important part of my career he would become. Jim was looking for an accompanist for an up-and-coming harmonica player, Phillip Achille. I first met Jim and Phillip at Solihull School chapel where we rehearsed up to three times a week. So, you worked closely with Phillip in his rise to stardom? I did, yes, and I like to think I played a part in it. We worked closely together since Phillip was just a young boy, playing a lot of classical arrangements, including some pieces composed specifically for the chromatic harmonica. I take great pride that I went on to accompany Phillip at his first World Championships in Trossingen in 2013, where he won the Classical session. Subsequently Phillip and I were invited to play in the gala concert at Trossingen, which was a big honour. Were you involved with Phillip’s entry in the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2007? Yes, I also accompanied Phillip in that competition, where he did fantastically well to make it to the quarterfinals against a very talented line-up. We performed together on BBC4 TV in Gateshead. The BBC selected Phillip for a fly-on-the-wall documentary, with the film crew following us around. What was the first HUK event you took part in? It was a one-day festival held in Birmingham, where I accompanied a young Phillip in what was probably his first performance in front of a HUK audience. You’ve been the piano accompanist at the main HUK festival for many years now - how did that start? Other people heard me playing with Phillip and started asking me to accompany them, and it developed from there. Jim Hughes also supported this. I had started playing with Jim around schools in Birmingham. Do you play any harmonica yourself? I don’t, although Jim Hughes showed me a few basics to help my understanding of the instrument. I did have a connection to the harmonica before I got involved with HUK though, as my
CHRIS COLLIS INTERVIEW By Neil Warren
Summer 2022 • Harmonica.uk
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