 Colina had many of his earliest works performed by the Conductor Robert Maddox with the Garinger High School Orchestra in Charlotte, North Carolina, including his first Piano Concerto that Colina premiered in 1965 at the age of 15.Colina studied composition at the North Carolina School of the Arts with Vittorio Giannini, Louis Mennini (brother of composer Peter Mennin) and Robert Ward.He continued studies at the Chigiana in Sienna, Italy with Thomas Pasatieri and Roman Vlad, and was the first recipient of the Vittorio Giannini Memorial Scholarship award.