Christabel Lin / Violinist

Christabel Lin

Christabel Lin is a classically trained violinist redefining the violin scene in Austin, Tx. When not performing, Christabel is also a Suzuki certified violin instructor and teaches children and adult violin classes.

 

New Zealand born violinist Christabel Lin made her first major solo performance with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at the age of 10. She has since appeared as a soloist with the New Zealand Symphony, Christchurch Symphony, Taichung Symphony, Vienna Conservatory Chamber orchestra and the Austin Civic Orchestra. Notable venues include the Sydney Opera House, Wellington’s Sky Stadium and the Vienna Musikverein.

In 2012, Christabel was a full time violin player in the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, Austria.

She holds a Master's degree in violin performance from the Vienna Conservatory, and an Artist Diploma from the University of Texas at Austin under a full scholarship. She earned her Bachelor Degree in Violin Performance at the New Zealand School of Music, where she was received mentorship from the New Zealand String Quartet as part of the Graduate String Quartet scholarship programme.

Christabel has toured as a chamber musician throughout New Zealand, Asia and the UK (including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and St Martins in the Fields).

She currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Violin at Austin Community College, and is a Suzuki certified member of faculty at Suzuki Strings of Austin, as well as at Austin Chamber Music Center where she works with adults and children as a chamber music coach. She is a member of the Austin Opera orchestra.

In the realm of popular music, Christabel is an experienced and sought after recording session player who regularly performs stage shows with popular artists. In 2022, she joined the touring band of GRAMMY nominated group, Japanese Breakfast as a violinist, keyboard player and backing vocalist. Other notable artists she has collaborated both live and in studio include Rapsody, BLK ODYSSY, Reid Umstattd (The Voice), Wild Child, Grace Sorensen, Moody Banks, Nané, and many more.

Christabel was nominated for the category of Best Strings in the Austin Music Awards in 2023 and 2024.

As a writer/composer, Christabel was nominated for two B. Iden Payne Theatre Awards in the categories of Best Original Score and Best Musical Performance for her work in the play, Little Bird by the Heartland Theatre Collective in 2018. She has arranged violin and string quartet music for several recording artists.

In 2021, Christabel opened for The Moth show at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, performing original solo violin works written for the event. She has been nominated in the 2023 Austin Music Awards in the category of Best String Player.