Fanya Lin

I believe music is a way for people to communicate without words, to express the deepest feeling from their hearts, to tell the amazing stories from their past, and to share their hope and dreams for the future. From one note, you can ring the sparkling star through the entire concert hall. With one chord, you can turn dark water into the most transparent pearl. By playing one piece, you share a story, you touch people, and you let the loneliest soul know they are not alone. It is the spiritual moments in music that make life special. With great love and passion, it is my ultimate goal to become a concert pianist who performs around the world. I want to inspire audiences and bring them the most uplifting experience with classical music at every one of my concerts. I want to serve as the medium that brings the greatest compositions alive in front of people and tell the stories of what composers wanted to say. Most important, I want to become a pianist who shares the pure beauty of music and lets the love of music shine through the music.

A native of Taipei, Taiwan, pianist Fanya Lin completed her Doctoral degree at the University of Minnesota in 2018 under the guidance of Distinguished McKnight Professor Lydia Artymiw. Lin was a recipient of Schubert Club Scholarship, Marvin O. Mechelke II Piano Award, Centennial Fellowship, and a Teaching Assistantship for her outstanding performance and teaching skills at the University of Minnesota. In 2015, Ms. Lin graduated from The Juilliard School with her Master’s degree, studying with professor Hung-Kuan Chen and professor Jerome Lowenthal. During her time at Juilliard, she actively performed with The Juilliard Orchestra and contemporary music organizations such as Focus and Axiom. In 2008, Lin enrolled at Weber State University to study with Dr. Yu-Jane Yang. Lin was the recipient of the Edna Ione Hall Scholarship, the Presser Foundation Scholarship Award, and the AHA Friend of College Award. Ms. Lin was selected to represent her graduating class as the student speaker for 2013 Weber State University commencement.

Lin has been selected as a top prizewinner in numerous piano competitions, including the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, International Keyboard Odyssiad &Festival, New York International Piano Competition, Seattle International Piano Competition, International Russian Music Piano Competition, and the Beethoven Club International Piano Competition. Her orchestral appearances include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (UK), Toruń Symphony Orchestra (Poland), Utah Symphony (UT), Savannah Philharmonic (GA), Mankato Symphony Orchestra (MN), Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra (CO), Aurora Symphony Orchestra (CO), and the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Orchestra (WA).

Fanya Lin’s festival concerts include Aspen, Music@Menlo, Foulger’s Music Festival, Rocky Mountain Audio Festival, Paderewski Piano Academy, Wilhelm Kempff Kulturstiftung, Minnesota International Piano Camp, and the Seattle International Piano Festival. Lin has collaborated with world-class musicians and organizations including Noah Bendix-Balgley (concert master of Berlin Philharmonic), Romie de Guise-Langlois (clarinetist of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society), Ta’u Pupu’a (tenor in major opera productions including Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera), and New Asia Chamber Music Society. Furthermore, Lin has been featured in many prestigious concert series, including the Schubert Club Musicians on the Rise, Stecher and Horowitz Young Artist Series, Eslite Emerging Artist Series, Taiwan Rising Star of Young Star Series, and the New Arts Emerging Artist. Ms. Lin was described as a “striking interpreter” who gives a “committed and heartfelt performance.” –Musical America, New York Times