Biography
In the 2024/25 season, Finnish-British conductor Ross Jamie Collins returns to Iceland Symphony Orchestra for several engagements and debuts with Boston Symphony, Norrkoping Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Evergreen Symphony in Taipei, and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras. In summer 2025, Collins will conduct singer-songwriter Laufey’s ​‘A Night at the Symphony’ US tour, for concerts with The Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Virginia Symphony and Chautauqua Symphony.
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In 2023/24, Collins was a Dudamel Fellow with Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Conductor-in-Residence of Iceland Symphony Orchestra. In summer 2024, he was selected as one of two conducting fellows at Tanglewood Music Center.
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Previous highlights included debuts with the Philharmonia Orchestra and in San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox series, a return to conduct the Turku Philharmonic and Colburn’s Zipper Orchestra, as well as assisting Maestro Salonen on tour with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Yuja Wang and Johan Dalene. Collins was a member of the Conducting Staff of San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and part of the Philharmonia’s Emerging Artist programme.
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Collins was part of the inaugural class of Salonen Fellows in the Negaunee Conducting Program at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Before moving to Los Angeles in Autumn 2019 to study with Esa-Pekka Salonen, he studied with Jorma Panula at the Panula Academy in Finland and was a laureate of the VII International Jorma Panula Conducting Competition.
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Supported by a scholarship from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Ross has participated in numerous international conducting masterclasses. He has had the opportunity to conduct Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Vaasa City Orchestra, Sinfonietta Cracovia, MAV Symphony Orchestra, Bohuslav MartinuÌŠ Philharmonic Orchestra, Lappeenranta City Orchestra, St.Michel Strings and Camerata Antonio Soler.
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Collins has worked closely alongside Sir Andrew Davis, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Edo de Waart, James Conlon, Ludovic Morlot, Rossen Milanov, Peter Oundjian, Peter Sellars, Grant Gershon, Yehuda Gilad, Yuja Wang and Ray Chen.
A cellist, pianist and baritone, Collins founded his own orchestra, Symphony Orchestra ROSSO, in 2017 and conducted his first full symphonic concert at age 15.