Chia-Hsuan Lin

Associate Conductor

Jack and Mary Ann Frable

Associate Conductor Chair

Hailed by the Virginia Gazette as “a rock solid” and “animated” conductor, Chia-Hsuan Lin delights audiences throughout the world with her trademark energy and command.

Appointed Associate Conductor of the Richmond Symphony in 2016, Lin has established herself as a stalwart champion of the RS through her masterful concerts for all audiences. Clark Bustard wrote of Lin’s Brahms Fourth Symphony with RS, “I’ve never heard a more compelling live performance than this one” (Letter V). Other RS highlights include Handel’s Messiah, Symphony series, Pops series, Family concerts, a side-by-side orchestra of 624 musicians and community members in “Come and Play,” and a record crowd exceeding 19,000 for Henrico County’s “Red, White, and Lights” Independence Day celebration in 2018.

Lin enjoys frequent guest appearances, returning in 2022 to conduct the Minnesota Orchestra in family concerts and their Summer Season, the premiere of PaviElle French’s song cycle in the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s season finale, the RS in Beethoven Symphony No. 9 at the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival and Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back live with film, and concerts with the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra and violinist Paul Huang.

In 2019, Lin was praised as a last-minute replacement in Williamsburg’s performance of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6. Assuming the podium the day of the concert, the Virginia Gazette reported Lin as “leading them through a thoroughly top-drawer performance” in “an exceptionally absorbing interpretation and rendering.” This success catapulted Lin into the finals of WSO’s Music Director search and multiple guest appearances.

Other guest appearances include the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Richmond Ballet, Peninsula Music Festival Orchestra, Virginia Commonwealth University Symphony Orchestra, Academy of Taiwan Strings and Taipei Philharmonic Chorus. Formerly the Assistant Conductor of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Lin punctuated the end of her tenure in 2016 “with the command and energy of a soccer star” before a record FWP subscription crowd (larryhayes.com).

A champion of the next generation of musical talent, her list of premieres continues to grow with new works by Chris Thile, Stephen Prutsman, Laura Schwendinger, Steve Heitzeg, and Jennifer Jolley; and collaborations with award-winning artists including Paul Huang, Sterling Elliot, Amaryn Olmeda, Kevin Zhu, Inna Faliks, and Eduardo Rojas.

Lin has also been a featured guest in Classical Revolution RVA’s Mozart Festivals, sharing orchestral music in non-traditional venues. She conducted the “Land Dive Project” in cooperation with the Institute for Contemporary Art at the Virginia Commonwealth University, a live art installation including a chamber ensemble and a scuba diving team.

Lin previously served as Music Director of Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, University of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, South Loop Symphony Orchestra (Chicago), Interim Music Director of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra of Cleveland, and Assistant Conductor of Opera at the CCM Spoleto Music Festival in Italy. Fueling her passion for vocal works, Lin conducted a lecture concert as part of the Taiwanese premiere of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, and assisted and led opera performances at Northwestern University and the University of Cincinnati.

Lin began her musical training with piano lessons in Taiwan at age three, and she studied percussion at National Taiwan Normal University while performing with Taipei Percussion Group. Lin studied conducting with Apo Hsu, Mark Gibson, and Victor Yampolsky, and holds a doctorate from Northwestern University.

Lin is married to horn player James Ferree, and she enjoys traveling, gardening, and cooking.