

Lin Conducts Brahms & Korngold
June 18 @ 8:00 pm
TICKETS: $49 Premium Reserved | $39 Standard Reserved | $34 Adult Lawn | $15 Child (1-12) & Student Lawn (with valid ID)
GATES OPEN: @ 5:45 PM Early Entry | 6:00 PM General Public | 7:00 PM Pre-Concert Talks
ALCOHOL: A selection of beer and wine will be available for purchase. Customers will also be permitted to bring in outside alcohol for this performance.
Johannes Brahms transcends 20 years of self-doubt and creative struggle in his First Symphony, a work of heightened lyricism that ends in a blaze of orchestral glory, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold evokes the sounds of Hollywood’s Golden Age in his achingly romantic Violin Concerto.
PROGRAM
Ke-Chia Chen
A Lasting Bond
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
William Hagen, violin
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
Learn more about the music and the artists by coming early for our 30-minute Pre-Concert Talk (excludes concerts with film and/or non-classical events).
Note: Schedule, programs, and artists subject to change. Visit Brittfest.org for the most current information. Standard BFO programs run 90 minutes with intermission.
Sponsors & Grantors:
Sponsors: Cutler Investment Group, LLC, Rogue Valley Manor, Diamond Medical Maintenance, Inc, and Kubli Haus
Grantor: The Carpenter Foundation
Hailed by the Virginia Gazette as “a rock solid” and “animated” conductor, Chia-Hsuan Lin (pronounced “jah-shwen”) delights audiences throughout the world with her trademark energy and command. In 2024, Lin celebrates her inaugural season as Music Director of Rochester Symphony, and she is also named Principal Guest Conductor of the Richmond Symphony, where she served as Associate Conductor since 2016.
This season, Lin returns to the podium with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in a pair of world premieres with the virtuosic cellist-vocalist-composer Abel Selaocoe. Also returning to conduct the Minnesota Orchestra in concert with Tony DeSare and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Lin debuts with Charlotte Symphony and Cirque de la Symphonie, and with Portland Symphony in Star Wars: A New Hope. As guest conductor, Lin has also directed the Saint Louis Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Williamsburg Symphony, Richmond Ballet, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and Taipei Philharmonic Chorus. Her work as cover conductor spans renowned ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Opéra de Rouen Normandie, covering esteemed conductors such as Gianandrea Noseda, Marin Alsop, Stéphane Denève, Sir Mark Elder, Jahja Ling, Yu Long, Nicholas McGegan, Valentina Peleggi, Thomas Søndergård, John Storgårds, Juraj Valčuha, Osmo Vänskä, and many more. The Chautauquan Daily praised Lin for her 2024 direction of Dvořák Symphony No. 8, “The entire CSO profited from Lin’s direction, from the violins’ beguiling rendition of the third movement’s lilting theme to the brass punches and horn whoops.”
Lin received accolades in 2019 as a last-minute replacement in Williamsburg Symphony’s performance of Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6. Assuming the podium the day of the concert, the Virginia Gazette reported Lin as “leading them through a thoroughly top-drawer performance” in “an exceptionally absorbing interpretation and rendering.”
An advocate for the next generation of musical talent, Lin has collaborated with award-winning artists Paul Huang, Sterling Elliot, Amaryn Olmeda, Kevin Zhu, Inna Faliks, and Eduardo Rojas. She previously served as Music Director of The Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra, and University of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor of Opera at the CCM Spoleto Music Festival in Italy. As Interim Music Director of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra of Cleveland, she led unique projects in collaboration with Chris Thile and Michael Stanley. Her list of premieres continues to grow, showcasing music that often transcends traditional classical boundaries, with new works by Texu Kim, Stephen Prutsman, Zachary Wadsworth, PaviElle French, Laura Schwendinger, Steve Heitzeg, and Jennifer Jolley.
Lin, a native of Taiwan, pursued conducting with Apo Hsu and Mark Gibson, and she received her Doctorate of Orchestral Conducting at Northwestern University in Chicago with Victor Yampolsky. She is married to horn player James Ferree and lives in Baltimore.
The riveting American violinist William Hagen has appeared as a soloist with many of the world’s
great orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, San Francisco
Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and many more. Already a seasoned international performer
who has won friends around the world, William has been hailed as a “brilliant virtuoso…a standout”
(The Dallas Morning News) whose playing is “… captivating, floating delicately above the orchestra”
(Chicago Classical Review). He was the third-prize winner of the 2015 Queen Elisabeth International
Music Competition, one of the highest-ranking Americans ever in the prestigious competition. William
performs on the 1732 “Arkwright Lady Rebecca Sylvan” Antonio Stradivari, and on a violin bow by
Francois Xavier Tourte, both on generous loan from the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation.
Hagen’s recent performances include appearances with the Detroit Symphony and Utah Symphony,
and performances at the Brevard Music Center & Festival and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.
Hagen’s 2024-25 season highlights include performances for the Richmond Symphony conducted by
Valentina Peleggi, Lubbock Symphony under the direction of David Cho, Bozeman Symphony under
the direction of Norman Huynh, and Pasadena Symphony conducted by Brett Mitchell.
William has performed with conductor Nicolas McGegan both at the Aspen Music Festival and with
the Pasadena Symphony, and made his debut with the Oregon Symphony under Carlos Kalmar,
performed with the Brussels Chamber Orchestra in Beijing and at the Aspen Music Festival with
conductor Ludovic Morlot, and played recitals in Paris, Brussels, and at the Ravinia Festival.
Collaborations include those with Steven Isserlis at the Wigmore Hall, with Tabea Zimmermann at the
Beethovenhaus in Bonn, with Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, and Christian Tetzlaff in Germany, and in
New York City with the Jupiter Chamber Players.
Since his debut with the Utah Symphony at age nine, William has performed with conductors such as
Marin Alsop, Christian Arming, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Michel Tabachnik, and Hugh Wolff. A native of
Salt Lake City, William first heard the violin when he was 3 and began taking lessons at age 4 with
Natalie Reed, followed by Deborah Moench. At age 10, he began studying with Robert Lipsett at the
Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he studied until the age of 17.
After studying at the Juilliard School for two years with Itzhak Perlman, William returned to Los
Angeles to continue studying with Robert Lipsett at the Colburn Conservatory. He then went on to study at the Kronberg Academy in Germany with Christian Tetzlaff. William is an alumnus of the
Verbier Academy in Switzerland, the Perlman Music Program, and the Aspen Music Festival.