Tzu-Ping Lin – viool

The violinist, Tzu-ping Lin, was born in Kaohsiung City in 1979.  Lin began to learn violin at the age of five. He studied for a master’s degree in music at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.  He later obtained a full scholarship for a doctoral program in musical arts from Michigan State University and majored in violin performance.  In 2011, Lin earned his Doctorate in Musical Arts.

Lin learned violin from Guo-xi Yang, Wen-he Cai, Jung-Shin Fang, Min-Yen Chien, Nancy Tsung, Keng-Yuen Tseng, and Dmitri Berlinsky.  He also received guidance from the following violists: Cho-Liang Lin, Nai-Yuan Hu, Victor Pikaizen, Alice Shoenfeld, Donald Weilerstein, Pamela Frank, I-fu Wang, and Walter Verdehr.

Lin has won numerous awards during his periods of study, including the first prize in a Kaohsiung City music competition (the violin group) and in a Taiwan music competition (the violin group).  He has also won the Emerging Young Artists Concert in the concerto competition at Taipei National University of the Arts, the Excellence Prize in the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra “Star of the Century” Violin Concerto Competition, and the Best Interpretation of Taiwanese Folk Song Prize.  Lin had diverse experiences in between these accomplishments.  In 1990, Lin performed Haydn Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Yancheng Elementary School Orchestra.  He was later invited by the conductor of the Kaohsiung City Symphony Orchestra, Michel Rochat, to join “Harbor Cultural Strike” event and to perform the Bach Double Violin Concerto with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taichung City Zhongxing Hall, and Kaohsiung City Zhide Hall.  In 1993, Lin also performed the Bach Double Violin Concerto with the Kaohsiung Youth Symphony Orchestra.  In 1998, he performed the Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Kaohsiung Senior High School Orchestra.  In 2003, Lin performed Tzigane (composed by Ravel) with the Taipei National University of the Arts Orchestra. In 2009, Lin performed the Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Michigan State University (MSU) Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.

Lin has frequently performed with orchestras, serving as the concertmaster in school orchestras during his periods of study in Taiwan. He was selected as a member of the Asian Youth Orchestra and has performed in famous music halls in Europe, Asia, and America. While serving in the army, Lin was the principal violin in the orchestra at the Ministry of National Defense and performed at state banquets.  While Lin was studying for his master’s degree, he participated in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and performed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Peabody Conservatory.  While studying for his doctoral degree, he served as the principal violin in the MSU Symphony Orchestra, was the assistant principal violin in the West Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and was a contractual member at the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and the Jackson Symphony Orchestra.

While in the United States, Lin won numerous awards.  For outstanding performances, he won the J.C. Van Hulsteyn Award upon graduation from his master’s program; he also won the Johnson Coleman Memorial Scholarship in String, the Alexander Concertmaster Award, and the Romeo Tata Memorial Scholarship in String.

After returning to Taiwan, Lin actively performed in concerts. Participating in the aforementioned piano trio, they formed Satellite Trio and performed at the National Concert Hall and at Cheng Shiu Hall at Cheng Shiu University.  Moreover, Lin was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Southern Taiwan and a resident artist in the Baroque Camerata at National Sun Yat-sen University.  Lin currently teaches in Kaohsiung Municipal Hsin Hsing Junior High School, New Taipei Municipal Hsin Chuang Senior High School, Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School, Pingtung County Ren-Ai Elementary School, Zhongzheng Junior High School, National Tainan Girls’ Senior High School, National Sun Yat-sen University, and Tainan University of Technology.