Meet Wilbur Lin, set to make his MO Symphony debut with Symphony of Toys
When Wilbur Lin ascends the podium, lifting his eyes and his hands, his interests lie in initiating conversation with an orchestra, rather than imposing his artistic will.
"There are times when you’re performing, and the communication is just so clear," the conductor said. "You know you’re receiving something from the orchestra. You know you’re responding; it’s not a one-way street."
Lin cherishes his new conversation partner, the Missouri Symphony Orchestra. This summer, he was chosen from a field of four finalists to become just the third music director in the symphony's 50-plus years of history.
Columbia audiences have the chance to eavesdrop, and even engage in, their conversation later this month. Lin's first public concert as music director designate is Symphony of Toys, the ensemble's annual holiday concert.
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Finding hope in holiday music
Whenever Lin steps up to guide the symphony, he wants its repertoire to sound out what Columbia — and our broader society — values, to provide a "collective connection" into common concerns and virtues.
With creative leadership from Shelby Ringdahl and Melissa Bohon-Webel, Symphony of Toys fixes its gaze in such a direction. The program features a gifted array of singers, including Ringdahl, Jazz Rucker, Jamey Grisham, Symonne Sparks, Callie Cox and Anthony Fortino.
The concert also trains its spotlight on the youngest ensemble within the symphony's conservatory, the Prelude Strings, Lin said.
The symphony will unite genres — from musical theater and cinematic features to sacred standards — Lin said, as well as refract the light of varied cultural celebrations. Symphony of Toys is no less than a Christmas concert but exists as something more.
"It’s interesting that during this time of the year — the daylight is the shortest and the night is the longest — across cultures people have this longing for hope," Lin said.
The concert will honor that innate hopefulness, he added.
A high flyer
The first murmurs of Lin's conversation with Columbia came in 2017 when he participated in a masterclass with longtime symphony director Kirk Trevor. The caliber of the orchestra — and the spirit of Columbia itself — left a "deep imprint on my memory," Lin said.
He was struck by "how open, how progressive, how curious this community is," he added.
Already owning a deep and wide musical resume, Lin's musical journey has taken him to Ohio, as assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; across the broader Midwest, to work with orchestras in Indiana and Michigan; and to Taipei, Taiwan, where he founded the Chamber Philharmonic Taipei and has conducted ensembles there.
Lin and his fellow candidates conducted the Missouri Symphony this summer during its hallmark Hot Summer Nights festival, a sort of living, breathing, music-making job interview. Surveying the field before a choice was made, executive director Trent Rash praised Lin's intentionality and capacity for making his choices clear and relevant to listeners.
"He’s very much into engaging the audience through the programming," Rash told the Tribune in June.
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Lin savors opportunities to surprise audiences in the most satisfying ways, he said, presenting pieces in unique settings and contexts, allowing each piece on a program to elucidate and lend meaning to the others.
Naturally, Lin is still surveying the symphony landscape; he enjoyed conversations this summer with musicians and other cultural stakeholders, revolving around the question "How do we shape the future of this orchestra?"
He intends to center his musicians as much as possible, bringing their personalities, skills and interests before Columbia listeners. They will learn more about the orchestra's members while he takes in more information about Columbia itself.
Off the podium, Lin's love for flying continues to progress. Captivated by a flight simulator program he received in his youth, he kept the sky and its upper limits in mind until the pandemic. With time to himself, Lin pursued his pilot's license in Cincinnati and took the controls.
The ability to learn a process from the inside out, and perform with excellence, satisfies him, he said — and evokes his primary passion.
"I tell people 'I love orchestra music, and I always have the best seat in the house,'" Lin joked, before adding he wants the audience to feel like every seat in the house is the best seat.
Symphony of Toys takes place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 at the Missouri Theatre. Tickets are $25; ages 17 and younger are admitted free. Learn more at https://themosy.org/symphony-of-toys/.
Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at adanielsen@columbiatribune.com or by calling 573-815-1731. Find him on Twitter @aarikdanielsen.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: New conductor will deliver early holiday gift with Symphony of Toys
