Cecilia Lin

Biography

Dr Cecilia Lin is a pianist, educator, and collaborative pianist whose career bridges performance, higher education, and artistic leadership across the United States, United Kingdom, and China. She currently serves as Lecturer in Music (Performance Specialist) and Module Leader at Middlesex University London – Hainan Campus, where she teaches performance, collaborative piano, musicianship, and performance-related subjects within the BA Music programme.

An active solo and collaborative pianist, Dr Lin has performed at major international venues including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York, where she made her chamber music debut performing Schubert’s Violin Sonata with Chia-Ying Lee and appeared as a selected Emerging Artists performer. Her performance activities have taken her across the United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Europe, encompassing solo, chamber, and collaborative repertoire.

Dr Lin has received recognition in several international piano competitions, including the Gold Prize in the Professional Piano Category at the World Exceptional Musicians Competition (2026), First Prize in the Professional Piano Category at the New York Classical Music Competition (2025), and First Prizes in both the Solo Group and Chamber Group categories at the Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition (2022).

Her academic career is complemented by extensive experience in university teaching and performance coaching. Prior to joining Middlesex University, she served as a Graduate Teaching Fellow and Collaborative Pianist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she worked with undergraduate and postgraduate musicians, instrumentalists, vocalists, ensembles, and faculty across a wide range of repertoire. Her teaching emphasizes purposeful practice, musical understanding, reflective learning, student agency, and meaningful performance experiences.

Dr Lin holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Keyboard Performance from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she was a University Fellow and completed her dissertation on the evolving role of the collaborative pianist through a case study of Amy Beach’s Romance for Violin and Piano and Three Browning Songs. She also holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Musicology (Music Education) from Jimei University in China.

Beyond her work as a performer and educator, Dr Lin is actively involved in artistic direction and performance production. At Middlesex University, she has served as Artistic Director and Producer of the MDX Young Artists Showcase and has curated interdisciplinary performance projects, including the opening recital for the 38 Psychogeography interdisciplinary exhibition. She previously served as Artistic Director at St. Mark’s University Parish in Goleta, California, where she curated concert programmes and directed the Easter Concert Series.

Her professional interests include collaborative piano and performance practice, piano interpretation, performance pedagogy, reflective practice, student-centred learning, authentic performance assessment, and international music education. She is also a Gallery Artist at the Royal College of Music Museum in London, where she has presented historical instrument demonstrations and connected live performance with musical heritage and public engagement.