In 2016, when Chia-Hsuan Lin was guest conductor for a Fort Wayne Philharmonic performance, the Journal Gazette editor Larry Hayes wrote that she “moves with the command and energy of a soccer star.” Now the conductor plans to make the Amphitheater her pitch — and she’s on a winning streak.
In just the last year, Lin was appointed music director of Rochester Symphony this year and named principal guest conductor of the Richmond Symphony, where she’s served as associate conductor since 2016. There, she’s conducted everything from Classical Series, Symphony Pops, family concerts, and an orchestra of 624 musicians and community members in Richmond for “Come and Play” — with over 19,000 in attendance.
Tonight, Lin returns to the grounds as guest conductor for the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra’s performance at 8:15 p.m. in the Amp, with a program dear to her heart — all of tonight’s composers, she said, are incredible in their writing of melodies and construction of characters. The CSO will be performing Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Petite Suite de Concert, Op. 77; Tyzen Hsiao’s “The Angel from Formosa”; and Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88, B.163.
Lin will be bringing a little of her native Taiwan to Chautauqua with Hsiao’s piece; “The Angel from Formosa” evokes a sense of the quiet life in what the Portuguese called “Formosa,” meaning “Beautiful Island.” Hsiao, also Taiwanese, studied and composed abroad, taking themes from his homeland and composing them into something entirely different; many of his works even related to civil liberty and democracy, which got him blacklisted by the Chinese Nationalist Party.
Coleridge-Taylor earned entry into the historically white world of composition with his acclaimed musical genius. In life, he was close friends with both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, and after his untimely death at 37 — due to pneumonia exacerbated by overworking to support his family — a memorial concert was held in 1912 with the proceeds given to support his family.
One of Coleridge-Taylor’s idols was Antonin Dvořák. Written early in the Czech composer’s career, Symphony No. 8 contains within it the sheer joy of being alive in a world of natural wonders. Dvořák wrote Symphony No. 8 while residing in Vysoká, Slovakia, where he had his own garden to inspire him.
For violist Pedro Mendez, a 2024 CSO Fellow, Dvořák is one of his favorite composers, because of his ability to find a way to make expression simple, yet intense. Mendez also noted how this evening’s program emphasizes the importance of orchestras performing a variety of music.
“I love the fact that every orchestra is giving more opportunities to minorities,” Mendez said. “It’s so nice because we have too many colors and flavors to give to classical music (for us not to be included).”
A diversity of musical expression “really enriches our lives with various music by all these composers,” Lin said. “All three composers in this program are celebrated, not just now but back then, as well. Music history sometimes forgets about them, but I’m really happy that we are creating this environment for all voices to be expressed.”
In her work, Lin also advocates for the next generation of diverse musical talent.
“Music is an incredible way to nurture, share, and express emotions; and to connect with each other,” Lin said. “There are so many kinds of music, and it opens our imagination. That’s the biggest gift we have — imagination — and music is really the key to sharing that together.”
Lin remembers always loving music, being teased and encouraged to sing or dance for her family when young. She began with piano, then jumped to percussion later on, but a tragic accident changed the trajectory of her life; she was struck by a car, and the resulting injuries, including a broken wrist, left her unable to play percussion.
She started to explore other fields, but she missed playing in an orchestra and with friends in her professional ensemble; being surrounded by incredible art is a singular experience.
“I recall the most vivid memory that I had playing in the orchestra. I was sitting at the back of the orchestra playing the timpani and during the slow section, this organ with strings melody, they just intertwined — it was so moving. I had the best seat in the entire house,” Lin said. “I was being hugged by this melody, I was in tears; I want to be able to share that experience for everyone to be able to (feel that). I’ve always loved that the entire group is feeling that pulsation, the rhythm all together.”
Conducting led her back into that feeling of life-giving music. Through conducting, she aims to create room for dialogue, for the dance of communication in music.
“I’ve always loved the tremendous creativity that comes out of the orchestra. I’ve been so blessed to work with amazing musicians and it’s so fascinating for me to create that space for all these unique voices to come out,” Lin said. “As a conductor, it’s my job and goal to invite these creative ideas and then we all shape it together for that unforgettable experience all of us feel.”
Though, for Lin, conducting has never really felt like a job, and life took on an incredibly vibrant hue after her near-death experience. She finds the joie de vivre multiplied by music.
“Probably, because of the experience of being hit by a car, I really treasure every time that I can play music. It’s a gift and a blessing. Every time I’m on the podium, or every time that I can play a little something with friends and share life-music, (I remember) there was a moment that I couldn’t play — now I can. I did it. It’s done. There’s pure joy.”
