Daniel Lee Colston received a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University in Baltimore on May 24, 2012.

He graduated with distinction from the University of North Carolina-
Chapel Hill, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He was a member of the orchestra and was the winner of the 2002 concerto competition.

He was granted an assistantship to study music at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he earned a Master of Music degree in violin performance and subsequently a Master of Music degree in viola performance. While in Texas, he played with the Baylor University orchestra and the Waco Symphony Orchestra. He also taught violin and viola students. His graduate string quartet was a National Finalist in the Music Teachers Association competition.

A scholarship to study abroad allowed him to go to Shanghai, China, where he studied at the Shanghai Conservatory.

During the summers, Daniel studied string 
quartet at music festivals in Killington, Vt., Warm Springs, Va., Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. and in Casselmaggiore, Italy.

He has recently joined the faculty at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

Daniel, a graduate of Rocky Mount Academy, is the son of Harold and Nancy Colston of Rocky Mount.