Charlie Lin had an interesting path to joining the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra first violin section in September 2024. While he began his musical studies at age 6, he also pursued a career in medicine, and currently holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Northwestern University. There he secured research grants to pursue research into kidney disease and worked closely with the Zheng and Abecassis Labs as a microsurgery technician at the Northwestern Feinberg Memorial Hospital, eventually publishing research in medical journals such as Kidney International. While at Northwestern University, he also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Violin Performance studying under Gerardo Ribeiro.
After completing his undergraduate studies, Charlie decided to pursue a career in music, earning a Master of Music degree and a Graduate Certificate in Performance from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he studied violin with former New York Philharmonic Concertmaster, Glenn Dicterow.
During this time at USC, Charlie worked as a freelance musician in the greater Los Angeles area, working with various film recording studios and event artist agencies, performing on festival stages and with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Long Beach Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, he toured Japan with Pacific Music Festival orchestra.