Biography
Hunter Collins holds a Bachelor's Degree in Oboe Performance from Tennessee Tech University and a Master's Degree in Oboe Performance from Louisiana State University. Mr. Collins is currently the director of bands at Union County High School and a freelance musician in East Tennessee. He previously held the position of second oboe and solo English horn with the Bryan and Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Collins has performed extensively across Tennessee, Louisiana, and Virginia with engagements that include the Cumberland County Playhouse, Oak Ridge Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, and a 2017 Carnegie Hall concert with the Tennessee Wind Symphony. His accolades include the Charles Coker Young Fine Arts Award, the Captain William Anderson Scholarship, a grant through Tennessee Tech University's Office of Creative Inquiry, and the Louisiana Lagniappe Award for Best Woodwind Jury. Additionally, Hunter was named the winner of the 2019 Joan Derryberry Memorial Concerto Competition, which allowed him to perform as a soloist with the Bryan Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, Mr. Collins was named a finalist for the third oboe and solo English horn chair of the Knoxville Symphony. He has also been awarded a fellowship with the inaugural Newfound Chamber Winds Festival, taking place in the summer of 2024. Originally from Maynardville, Tennessee, he is currently pursuing further graduate studies at Carson-Newman University (M.Ed.). His major teachers include Michael Adduci and Johanna Cox Pennington. His professional affiliations include Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Association for Music Education, the Tennessee Music Education Association, and the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association.