Lucia Lin

Violinist Lucia Lin has performed as soloist, as chamber musician, and with orchestras throughout the U.S. and internationally in a diverse, multifaceted career that also includes teaching and collaborations in the visual and performing arts. Lin made her debut at age 11 performing the Mendelssohn Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She went on to be a prizewinner in numerous competitions including Moscow’s prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition. Her critically acclaimed performances include solo appearances with orchestras in Europe as well as a recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. 

At age 22, Lin won a position in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has also been acting concertmaster with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and spent two years as concertmaster with the London Symphony Orchestra, where she was leader for many recordings and for tours to Japan, Italy, Scotland, and Spain. After returning to the BSO in 1995, she also focused on chamber music, founding the Boston Trio and joining the Muir String Quartet in 1998. The quartet’s dedication to teaching helped foster Lin’s passion for guiding young musicians to discover their own musical voice. With influences from her own mentors—Paul Rolland and Sergiu Luca—reflected in her pedagogy, Lin teaches applied violin, chamber music, and orchestral studies as a professor at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. 

Lin’s creativity for unique projects has helped her make connections across the arts, including in dance, visual art, and literature. In 2007, she collaborated with the dance company Snappy Dance Theater in the world premiere of String Beings, an innovative piece integrating music with dance and technology. Her project In Tandem builds on Lin’s vision of taking performance, mentoring, and collaboration to new levels. In Tandem is a nonprofit initiative dedicated to bringing new voices to classical music by commissioning ten emerging composers from the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. 

Lucia Lin has recorded as a guest of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players for Nonesuch Records; the works of Bright Sheng for New World Records; and as a founding member of the Boston Trio for Parjomusic. Other recordings include works of Kreisler, Berg, and Schulhoff with the Muir String Quartet; a collaboration with harpist Ann Hobson Pilot and bandoneon player J.P. Jofre in music of Astor Piazzolla for Harmonia Mundi; an album featuring works by Debussy and Ravel for Navona, and a DVD featuring the 10 duos from Lin’s In Tandem project for Ravello records. She was part of a world premiere recording of Leonard Bernstein’s only string quartet, released in fall 2023 on Navona.