Speaker Information

Music 2013

Jim Colias

James P. Colias Imagine being in the company of one of the world’s greatest musical comedians for a quarter of a century. That’s what Jim Colias had the good fortune to do when he was the personal assistant to Victor Borge, traveling with him, working with him and managing many aspects of Borge’s professional and personal life. Colias came to that position through a life-long friend of Borge’s, the Danish pianist Gunnar Johansen, who was the first Artist-in-Residence in Music at any school in America and a performer who produced more than 140 albums of piano music.

A Wisconsin native, Colias traveled with Victor Borge - sailing the seas, planting eucalyptus trees in Portugal, dining on the Panama Canal and searching for soy sauce in China. Colias is currently involved in arts management and consultation, serving as Business Manager for Borge Productions, Inc., trustee for the Johansen Charitable Trust, President of the Ferruccio Busoni Foundation and sitting on the boards of musical organizations from San Francisco to Newport. As Bob Sherman’s special guest, the pair will talk about Victor Borge, play a variety of videos of the “Great Dane,” and read excerpts from the books Bob Sherman wrote with Borge.