Wilbur Lin () is a Taiwanese–American conductor best known for his work with orchestras and operas in the United States and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. As of 2023, he is the music director of the

Missouri Symphony The Missouri Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Columbia, Missouri. Founded in 1970 as the Missouri Symphony Society the professional orchestra brings symphonic classics, pops, and guest artist to Mid-Missouri. The orch ...

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

and assistant conductor of the

Colorado Symphony Orchestra The Colorado Symphony is an American symphony orchestra located in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1989 as the successor to the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony performs in Boettcher Concert Hall, located in the Denver Performing ...

. Previously, he was assistant conductor of the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cincin ...

and a professor at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

DeKalb, Illinois DeKalb ( ) is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 according to the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian- French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died ...

. Lin was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and moved to Taiwan at age six. In 2008, while attending

National Taiwan Normal University National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU; ), or ''Shīdà'' is an institution of higher education and normal school operating out of three campuses in Taipei, Taiwan. NTNU is the leading research institute in such disciplines as Education and Lin ...

, he founded the Chamber Philharmonic Taipei. Lin has conducted ensembles in Europe, Latin America, East Asia, and the United States, including the

Taipei Symphony Orchestra The Taipei Symphony Orchestra (, as known as TSO (not to be confused with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra), founded in 1969, is one of the leading orchestras based in Taipei, Taiwan. In these seasons, TSO works also with European Music directors a ...

Cincinnati Ballet The Cincinnati Ballet is a professional ballet company founded in 1958 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States and had its first performance in 1964. The current artistic director is Victoria Morgan. Founding Organizing founders Nancy Bauer, Virgini ...

Manchester Camerata The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances. The orchestra's primary concert venue is The Bridg ...

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music. History George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Company ...

Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra (A2SO) is an American orchestra based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is one of two symphony orchestras in Southeast Michigan alongside the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1928, the A2SO plays most of its conc ...

, and Richmond Symphony Orchestra of Indiana.

Childhood and education

Born in

, United States, Wilbur Lin moved to

at age six with his parents. His father was an amateur choir conductor. Lin has credited the musical environment at churches he attended with influencing his career choice. He was a boy soprano and began playing piano at age six. Lin went on to study piano and harpsichord at the

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

, receiving his undergraduate degree in 2011. At school he would study with

Apo Hsu Apo Hsu or Hsu Ching-hsin () is a conductor born in Taiwan and resident of both Taiwan and the United States. Hsu served as music director of the National Taiwan Normal University Symphony Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Spr ...

, who was formerly music director of the Springfield Symphony in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

-the same U.S state as the Missouri Symphony Lin would later lead. In 2013, Lin received a master of music degree in conducting from the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

in Manchester, United Kingdom. He holds a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

Jacobs School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

, where he studied with

David Effron David Effron is an American conductor and educator. After earning a Bachelor of Music degree in piano from the University of Michigan and a Master of Music degree in piano from Indiana University, he worked as an assistant to Wolfgang Sawallisch ...

and Arthur Fagen. His dissertation is titled: Performing Bach Cantatas with Modern Orchestras: A Modern Conductor's Handbook for Applying Historically Informed Practice to Today's Ensembles. Lin has been coached by

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Yannick Nézet-Séguin, CC (; born Yannick Séguin;David Patrick Stearns, "Nezet-Seguin signs Philadelphia Orchestra contract". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', 19 June 2010. 6 March 1975) is a Canadian ( Québécois) conductor and pianist. He ...

Mark Elder Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England. Life and career Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the ba ...

, and

Helmuth Rilling Helmuth Rilling (born 29 May 1933) is a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He is the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei (1954), the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), the Oregon Bach Festival (1970), the Internationale Bachakademie S ...

and is a graduate of the

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...

's Italian Opera Academy in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, Italy.

Career

In 2008, as an undergraduate student, Lin founded the Chamber Philharmonic Taipei. Originally composed of students, the orchestra became fully professional in 2013; he continues to conduct the ensemble as of 2022. Lin was employed as assistant conductor of the

from 2019 to 2022. In 2022, he became an assistant professor at

, where he directs the University Philharmonic and Opera Theatre. Lin becomes the third music director of the

in 2023. He is the third Taiwanese to lead a symphony orchestra in the United States.

References

External links

Official websiteThe Missouri SymphonyChamber Philharmonic Taipei
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Wilbur Living people American musicians of Taiwanese descent Musicians from New Jersey Taiwanese emigrants to the United States American male conductors (music) 21st-century American conductors (music) National Taiwan Normal University alumni Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Jacobs School of Music alumni Northern Illinois University faculty Year of birth missing (living people)