Dean Hinkley, Percussion

Dean Hinkley was born and raised in the Los Angeles area where he started playing piano at age 7. By the time he was 11, his band/orchestra teacher asked him to play some of the Orchestra Bell, Chime and Xylophone parts and immediately developed a love for them. His first teacher was Tom Collier, who was living in the area at the time, but is currently a professor of percussion at the University of Washington. His teacher for the next several years was Earl Hatch, who was an early pioneer of the Vibraphone in the 1930's as well as a musician for the Warner Brothers studio. The next teacher Dean studied with was Emil Richards, the premier studio percussionist for several decades, responsible for some of the most memorable sounds on many major movie soundtracks.

After moving to the Portland area in late 1988, Dean played for many years with Mt. Hood Pops Orchestra, first under the baton of the late Philip Cansler and then Ben Brooks. As he started to establish himself in the area musically, he then performed with more of the local area orchestras until today, he is a section Percussionist with Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, the Principal Percussionist/Timpanist for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Percussionist with Rose City Chamber Orchestra, a Percussionist with Bravo! Vancouver Orchestra, the Timpanist for the Portland Festival Symphony, a substitute Percussionist for Oregon Symphony as well as a "gun-for-hire" at several area churches. In his spare time, he works full-time for the City of Portland as a Customer Service Rep in Printing & Distribution.

Dean currently lives in Vancouver & has 2 sons, aged 19 and 20.