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Amanda Collins, French horn
Amanda Collins is a graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Preparatory (certificate), Pennsylvania State University (BM) and Southern Methodist University (MM). Described as “impressively solid” by the Dallas Morning News, Ms. Collins has quickly become a highly sought after performer and educator across the US and abroad. In 2017, Ms. Collins was appointed principal horn of the Gateways Festival Orchestra (GFO), an ensemble featuring professional musicians of African descent. She toured with the GFO to Chicago, IL in 2024 and New York, NY in 2024 and 2025, performing in the Chicago Symphony Center and historic Carnegie Hall to nearly sold out crowds. She routinely performs with several notable ensembles including the Seattle Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Sphinx Symphony, Missouri Symphony, and Alarm Will Sound. Additionally, she has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony, Opera Memphis, Chineke! Orchestra (UK, tour 2019, 2020), Monarch Brass, and the Lyric Brass Quintet. A sought after performer nationally, Ms. Collins performs musical theater, gospel, R&B/ soul, hip-hop, rap, pops, and opera. She has performed with award winning composer and conductor, JIMEK, GRAMMY award winning artists including Snoop Dogg, HUNTR/X from K-pop Demon Hunters, Lainey Wilson, Andrea and Matteo Bocelli, Vanessa Williams, Ben Folds, Terence Blanchard, and Take 6. She performed as principal horn for musicals “Mary Poppins” (Hershey Theater, PA), “Titanic” (Signature Theater, Washington, D.C.), various productions with the Soulful Symphony, Opera NOVA, and the Washington Opera Society. A dedicated chamber musician, she is a member of the Missouri Quintet and Luminoso Quartet. Ms. Collins was a featured artist in 2017 and 2018 on the national radio show, “Performance Today”, hosted by Fred Child, broadcasted by American Public Media, performing Francis Poulenc’s Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet, FP 100 with members of the Gateways Music Festival. Additionally, she performed with the Gateways Brass Collective on “Backstage Pass” with Julia Figeras on WXXI, NPR in January of 2019 in Rochester, NY. Ms. Collins is a passionate educator and is currently Assistant Professor of French Horn at the University of Missouri. Formerly, she was Adjunct Professor of French Horn at Montgomery College and the University of the District of Columbia. She also served as Instructor of French Horn at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Preparatory and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. In addition to private instruction, Ms. Collins has taught classes in music theory, chamber music, and ensemble playing. A strong supporter of diversity and inclusion in the arts, many of Ms. Collins’ students hail from under-served and underrepresented communities. She is the founder of the MU School of Music Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Collective (MU SOM IDE Collective), a group of students and faculty in support of issues surrounding IDE on and off campus. Additionally, Ms. Collins founded the MU School of Music IDE Committee and serves as chair. Ms. Collins served on faculty at the Prizm International Chamber Music Festival (2018) and the Oklahoma State Arts Institute (2024), where she worked with students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Ms. Collins has commissioned, premiered, and recorded several new works featuring horn. In 2024, she collaborated with Diversify the Stand, a non-profit focused on diversity in class music and the University of Missouri, Ms. Collins commissioned, premiered, and recorded “Winds of Change”, 12 progressive solos for horn and piano by under-served and underrepresented composers (album coming summer 2026). In addition to performing and teaching, Ms. Collins regularly attends events and conferences, performing and teaching the French horn, promoting and creating a network of diverse musicians, artists and instructors, and administrative networking and conversations. In 2017 and 2018, she was selected to be a fellow at the Sphinx Connect conference in Detroit, MI. In 2019, Ms. Collins was interviewed on “Backstage with Lee Thomas” on Detroit Public Television during the 2019 Sphinx Competition, discussing IDE issues in classical music. Ms. Collins is routinely a guest speaker at symposiums and events, discussing a wide range of topics including diversity and inclusion in the arts, college auditioning technique, college career management and entrepreneurship for college students and graduates. She was an invited speaker in 2021 at the Indiana Jacobs School of Music, in 2023 at the Sphinx Connects conference, and in 2024 at the Midwest Clinic. Ms. Collins is a proud Stephens Custom Horn Performing Artist and currently plays a Series I model double horn with B1 and D3S bell flares, and Laskey 75G gold-plated mouthpiece.