About Me
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Bryan Lin is a Taiwanese-American conductor and composer based in New York City. His work bridges the path between tradition and innovation while seeking to build community and inspire social action. Bryan finds the intersection of his passions in choral music and musical leadership.
Bryan is a conductor equally at home with choral and instrumental music. Since 2023, Bryan has been an active member of C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective in New York City, where he chairs the Conducting Committee in addition to singing and composing. He has directed ensembles at Mannes Prep in The New School’s College of Performing Arts and Adelphi University, and was Assistant Conductor for The Dessoff Choirs from 2021-2023 under the direction of Malcolm Merriweather. He is a fierce advocate for new music, having conducted dozens of premieres by composers including Taylor Joshua Rankin, Coral Douglas, Karen Siegel, Hayes Biggs, in addition to himself.
Bryan’s compositions use humor and social commentary to smear the boundaries of genres and traditions. Subject matters for past works have ranged from climate change denial to the vanity of self-promotion on social media. His harmonic and rhythmic sensibilities draw from minimalism and postmodern aesthetics, a product of his training as a jazz saxophonist. Past collaborations and commissions include C4, Musaics of the Bay, International Orange Chorale of San Francisco, Guerrilla Composers Guild, Choral Chameleon, San Francisco Choral Artists, soprano Naomi Columna, Lehigh University Philharmonic Orchestra, and Monocacy Chamber Orchestra.
In addition to performing and composing, Bryan enjoys an active career in arts administration and currently works at Miller Theatre at Columbia University, New York City’s leading new music presenter. He was previously the Manager of Ensemble Operations at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), overseeing all artistic operations for collegiate ensembles and working closely with prolific faculty conductors such as Edwin Outwater and Nicole Paiement. In 2017, he was Director of the eight season of the Hot Air Music Festival, an annual day-long new music marathon held at SFCM.
Bryan holds an M.M. in Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and two degrees from Lehigh University — a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.A. in Music — where he was also music director of the co-ed a cappella group Off The Record. He has studied composition with David Garner, Paul Salerni, Steven Sametz, David Conte, and Bill Warfield. His conducting mentors include Malcolm Merriweather and Mark Shapiro, with additional lessons with William Weinert, Vince Peterson, Matthew Oltman, and Steven Sametz. Bryan has also studied conducting at The Juilliard School, and composition, counterpoint, and ear training at the European American Musical Alliance (EAMA) in Paris. Bryan is a trained instrumentalist, with lessons in jazz saxophonist with Dave Riekenberg, jazz piano with Tim Harrison, and classical piano with Eugene Albulescu. In his free time, Bryan enjoys rock climbing and is the moral, spiritual, and administrative leader for his intramural Central Park softball team as captain.
(updated October 2025. Contact me directly for my most recent bio or alternate lengths.)
Bryan is a conductor equally at home with choral and instrumental music. Since 2023, Bryan has been an active member of C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective in New York City, where he chairs the Conducting Committee in addition to singing and composing. He has directed ensembles at Mannes Prep in The New School’s College of Performing Arts and Adelphi University, and was Assistant Conductor for The Dessoff Choirs from 2021-2023 under the direction of Malcolm Merriweather. He is a fierce advocate for new music, having conducted dozens of premieres by composers including Taylor Joshua Rankin, Coral Douglas, Karen Siegel, Hayes Biggs, in addition to himself.
Bryan’s compositions use humor and social commentary to smear the boundaries of genres and traditions. Subject matters for past works have ranged from climate change denial to the vanity of self-promotion on social media. His harmonic and rhythmic sensibilities draw from minimalism and postmodern aesthetics, a product of his training as a jazz saxophonist. Past collaborations and commissions include C4, Musaics of the Bay, International Orange Chorale of San Francisco, Guerrilla Composers Guild, Choral Chameleon, San Francisco Choral Artists, soprano Naomi Columna, Lehigh University Philharmonic Orchestra, and Monocacy Chamber Orchestra.
In addition to performing and composing, Bryan enjoys an active career in arts administration and currently works at Miller Theatre at Columbia University, New York City’s leading new music presenter. He was previously the Manager of Ensemble Operations at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), overseeing all artistic operations for collegiate ensembles and working closely with prolific faculty conductors such as Edwin Outwater and Nicole Paiement. In 2017, he was Director of the eight season of the Hot Air Music Festival, an annual day-long new music marathon held at SFCM.
Bryan holds an M.M. in Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and two degrees from Lehigh University — a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.A. in Music — where he was also music director of the co-ed a cappella group Off The Record. He has studied composition with David Garner, Paul Salerni, Steven Sametz, David Conte, and Bill Warfield. His conducting mentors include Malcolm Merriweather and Mark Shapiro, with additional lessons with William Weinert, Vince Peterson, Matthew Oltman, and Steven Sametz. Bryan has also studied conducting at The Juilliard School, and composition, counterpoint, and ear training at the European American Musical Alliance (EAMA) in Paris. Bryan is a trained instrumentalist, with lessons in jazz saxophonist with Dave Riekenberg, jazz piano with Tim Harrison, and classical piano with Eugene Albulescu. In his free time, Bryan enjoys rock climbing and is the moral, spiritual, and administrative leader for his intramural Central Park softball team as captain.
(updated October 2025. Contact me directly for my most recent bio or alternate lengths.)