Department of Music Faculty and Staff

Violinist Ching-Yi Lin’s performances and masterclasses have taken her to the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Norway, the Shenyang and Xi’an Conservatories in China, Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of British Columbia. She’s also performed in New York on the Museum of Modern Art’s Summer Garden Series, at the Sejong Center in South Korea, in Taiwan at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, and will be performing at Carnegie Hall in March of 2024.

Her album on MSR Classics features sonatas for violin and piano by Charles Ives, William Bolcom, and John Corigliano. In reviewing the album, Gramophone noted the “panache and warmth” of Ms. Lin’s playing and described her interpretations as “a series of tender, lively, and challenging conversations.”

A dedicated and creative teacher, Ching-Yi Lin is Professor of Violin at Western Kentucky University (WKU) and directs the year-round WKU String Academy for string students ages 4-18. She also serves on the faculty at the Indiana University Summer String Academy, the Hilltop String Festival, and the WKU Summer String Institute. She regularly performs in the Tennessee and Kentucky region, and serves as the concert master of Paducah Symphony Orchestra.

Ching-Yi is the recipient of the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service in Washington, DC, recognizing her work in bringing music into the lives of young people throughout her community. In 2017, Ching-Yi received a Sisterhood grant from WKU to direct student teachers and volunteers in teaching the violin to refugee children in Bowling Green, KY. In 2020, this program developed into a non-profit organization called Bridging Cultures with Music. The program offers college music majors an opportunity to teach, inspire, and make an impact in a global classroom setting.

Ching-Yi is active in national and international pedagogical organizations. She currently serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She is also a board member for the Daraja Music Initiative, a non-profit organization in Moshi, Tanzania, where she founded a beginning strings program for students of the Majengo Primary School. Lin regularly presents at the American String Teachers Association National Conference and is an active clinician and adjudicator.

Dr. Lin holds bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, with additional studies at the Vienna Conservatory. She plays on a violin made in 1863 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. Visit her website for recordings, articles, and more: www.chingyilin.com