Jun-Ching Lin Named as New Concertmaster of The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra

    KALAMAZOO, MI, July 12, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is proud to announce its new concertmaster Jun-Ching Lin. Jun-Ching Lin first visited Kalamazoo in the early 1990s as a guest soloist with the Western Michigan University Orchestra and to play chamber music with his long-time friends, the Merling Trio. He returned in the 2013-14 season to guest Concertmaster the KSO and to lead an educational residency with pianist, Alpin Hong. That collaboration led to "A Night of Musical Promise" at Chenery Auditorium in 2014. Jun-Ching has since come back to the KSO as a guest Concertmaster many times and has played Prokofiev Violin Concerto no. 1 and Mozart Symphonia Concertante with the Kalamazoo Philharmonia.

"We are so fortunate to be able to appoint Jun-Ching Lin as our new Concertmaster," said Peter H. Gistelinck, President & CEO of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. "We are looking forward to this new and very exciting artistic collaboration that definitely will have a great positive impact on our Orchestra."

Jun-Ching Lin joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Concertmaster in 1988 after a year as concertmaster of the Augusta Symphony. He has also been the concertmaster of the Atlanta Opera Orchestra and a guest concertmaster with the Florida Orchestra, Fort Worth, and Phoenix Symphonies.

Recent solo performances have included Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, Sibelius Concerto with the Georgia Tech Orchestra, and the complete Brandenburg Concerti with the ATL Symphony Musicians. In addition, he has performed works by Bach, Barber, Beethoven, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Vivaldi with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Lin is very active in education, hosting educational residencies at Trinity School in Atlanta and in Kalamazoo. He has been the first violin coach of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra for over 25 years and has taught at Emory University, Georgia Tech University, Meadowmount, Encore School for Strings, and Franklin Pond Chamber Music.

Jun-Ching is the first violinist of the Franklin Pond String Quartet and a founding member of the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta. He has played chamber music on the violin and viola with Alan Gilbert, Robert Spano, and Yo Yo Ma. He has also played with members of the Cleveland, Miami and Tokyo String Quartets and principals of the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Lin has participated in festivals in Highlands-Cashiers, La Jolla, San Diego, and Steamboat Springs among others.

Jun-Ching Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan and grew up in Boston. While in Boston he studied with Sara Scriven, Roman Totenberg, and Robert Koff. As a high school senior, he was one of the first Presidential Scholars in the Arts. He is a graduate of the Curtis and Cleveland Institutes of Music where he was a student of Ivan Galamian, Jascha Brodsky, and David Cerone. He and his wife, Helen Porter, are the proud parents of Emma and Nicholas.

Mr. Lin shared, "I am honored and grateful to be joining the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra as Concertmaster. Every time I visit Kalamazoo I am struck by what a vital arts scene it has and how warm the people are. I look forward to collaborating with friends, old and new, and starting a new journey with the KSO and new Music Director, Julian Kuerti."

Visit www.kalamazoosymphony.com for up-to-date information, details and schedules. Prices, artists, dates, times and programs are subject to change without notice.

The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra receives major support from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra also receives generous support from other local, state and national foundations, as well as private and corporate support. For more information, visit www.kalamazoosymphony.com.

Founded in 1921, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra is Southwest Michigan's premier musical organization, providing musical enrichment to over 80,000 adults and youth per year.

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