Christopher Lin (b. 1989) is a magna cum laude graduate of the prestigious University High School[824] in Irvine, ranked one of the top 200 schools in the nation by Newsweek. He is best known as a world-class violinist and the concertmaster of the All-National Honor Orchestra of America. Lin will attend the prestigious University of California, Berkeley.

Early life

Christopher was born on March 4, 1989, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Little is known about his life on the East Coast, but as soon as he moved to the West Coast in 1999 he started building himself a reputation as a highly gifted student student and violinist. He attended Turtle Rock Elementary School in sixth grade and went to Rancho Middle School for seventh and eighth grade. Lin was concertmaster of the Rancho Middle School Orchestra and the IUSD Honor Orchestra. He was also third-chair in the All-Southern California Honor Orchestra. He studied with William Fitzpatrick during this time.

High School Years

As a student at University High School, Christopher became involved in a variety of activities, including Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, Future Business Leaders of America, and Classical Music Forum. He is currently on Board of FBLA and CMF. As a sophomore, Lin took AP Chemistry, a class designed for advanced juniors and seniors. During the same year, he took AP US History, one of the most difficult AP classes at University High, and managed to receive an A first semester and an A- second semester (note that this A- is because he did not speak on the last day of the course and because he broke Mr. Kessler's map) despite such a busy schedule. As a junior, he took 3 AP courses and of course, did very well in all of them, including Mr. Knight's AP Biology class, also considered one of the most difficult classes at UNI. He has also shown his aptitude through Science Bowl and Olympiad, winning medals in Olympiad frequently and leading his Team B at Bowl to defeating Team A. Lin is also a Biology Olympiad National Semifinalist and American Invitational Mathematics Examination qualifier. Chris is considered by his peers as a high-achieving student with a solid work ethics.

Musical Accomplishments

In 2006, Christopher was selected as the concertmaster of the Honor Orchestra of America and associate concertmaster of the All-State Honor Orchestra and All-Southern Honor Orchestra. In 2007, he was appointed concertmaster of the University High School Symphony Orchestra and the Irvine Unified School District Honor Orchestra. He has also performed extremely well at the Southwestern Youth Music Festival for the past two years, winning 1st prize with the Sibelius Violin Concerto in 2005, 1st prize with the Mendelssohn Piano Trio No. 2 in c minor, and 2nd prize with the third movement of the Barber Violin Concerto in 2006. His expansive repertoire consists of several Paganini Caprices, Wieniaski Concertos, Bruch Concerto No. 1, Bruch Scottish Fantasy, Wieniaski Scherzo Tarentelle, Saint Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Barber Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Bach Sonatas and Partitas, Paganini Violin Concerto No. 1, and much more. Lin is in constant demand for performances, as he has performed in the major concert halls of the world, such as Carnegie Hall, Princeton University, Clowes Memorial Hall, Carpenter Center at California State University, Long Beach, Oliphant Hall at Chapman University, the Sacramento Convention Center, Citrus College Auditorium, and the world-renowned University High School Auditorium.

Lin won the University High School Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and in December 2006, performed Saint Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, which was described by many as "inspiring and amazing." According to Maestro Brendan McBrien of the world-famous Venado Middle School Symphonic Orchestra, "[Chris's] playing sounds nearly identical to Heifetz's." In June 2007, he once again won the University High School Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and performed the 3rd movement: "Presto con moto" of the Barber Violin Concerto, which Mrs. Gayle Bentley of University High School described as being "WOW, exciting, [and] full of atonal notes." This special concert artist is scheduled to perform in Ukraine in July 2007 with the Ukraine Philharmonia on the complete Tchaikovsky Concerto.