Collin Heade-Artistic Director/Conductor
Collin G. Heade is celebrating his 14th season as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Westside Community & Youth Orchestra in Hillsboro, Oregon (wcyo.org) and his 13th season as Conductor of the Junior Symphony of Vancouver, WA.
As a conductor, he has participated in workshops with the Virginia, Baltimore, and Norwalk Symphony Orchestras.
Collin also leads the WCYO Summer Strings Workshop, a unique and engaging program in the Hillsboro area. As Artistic Director, he leads the ensemble from his cello chair, fostering a collaborative rehearsal experience "in the round." The workshop is free for abled string musicians, and last summer, they introduced their first Brown Bag Luncheon Concert, allowing the audience to enjoy the performance from outside the ensemble’s circular formation.
An avid composer, Collin's works can be explored on his website, PortlandCello.com. Recently, he has been deeply engaged in composing an extended solo piano piece, a narrative suite of 25 short movements. Titled The Vision That Led to an Adventure, the work begins with an expansive vision and unfolds through a series of musical vignettes, each set in a different key signature. The piece is humbly dedicated to Harold Gray, pianist of the Florestan Trio and founder of Portland Piano International, whose extraordinary contributions to the musical community continue to thrive. More details and recordings can now be found under the New Compositions section of his website.
As a cellist, Collin has performed as Principal with the Oregon Chamber Players and the Oregon Arts Orchestra, touring Europe four times—the most recent and final tour taking him to Ireland, the land of his father’s birth. He has devoted his professional career to cello instruction and now teaches exclusively online from his home studio in Southeast Portland.
Collin’s principal teachers include Tomáš Svoboda (Composition), John Trudeau (Orchestral Conducting), and David J. Wilson (Choral Conducting). He had the distinction of being Hamilton Cheifetz’s first cello student in Portland and also studied with cellist Dorien de Léon.
At home, Collin enjoys a rich life with his spouse, Cameretta, and their two grandchildren, who bring constant reminders of the joys of childhood. His daughter, Julie, is a Senior Manager of Reputation Programs in Corporate Affairs at Banfield Pet Hospital headquarters in Vancouver, WA. She recently published her first book, Exponential: The Climate Crisis & You, available on Amazon.
Mark Iven-Concertmaster
As the most skilled and knowledgeable violinist of the orchestra the concertmaster is chief intermediary between the musicians and the conductor. The concertmaster is responsible for the violin section, playing solo passages in the absence of a guest soloist, understanding the conductor's ideas and communicating them in technical terms to the rest of the orchestra. He also leads the orchestra in tuning before rehearsals and performances. He assists with aspects of the orchestra's management. He supervises the set-up and take down of chairs and equipment for rehearsals and performances. Iven has been with the orchestra since its beginning and represents the string sections on the board.