Scotch College

Lin Jiang

A Scotch musician of great skill and flair

In 1996, I was examining for the Australian Music Examinations Board at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) when a young French horn player ran into the room for his grade three exam and said: ‘I don’t need the music stand’. I replied: ‘Then don’t use it!’ The candidate then proceeded to play all the scales and arpeggios on the syllabus, without being asked – flawlessly. The exam proceeded very swiftly, and I awarded this exceptional player an A+.

A few months later, the same player, Lin Jiang, presented for a music scholarship audition. He played a VCE level program beautifully. When I informed his teacher, Yang Xiao, that Lin had played his program without splitting a note (the horn is notoriously difficult in this respect), Yang replied: ‘That’s right – he doesn’t do that’.

Lin (Class of ’03) demonstrated great musical flair at Scotch, where he was first horn in the Symphony Orchestra. He performed horn concertos by Mozart and Gliere with the Scotch orchestra and Pro Musica, and participated in tours to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Zimbabwe. He recorded the Brahms Horn Trio with John Strainge (piano) and Nicholas Buc (violin) when he was just in Year 8. That recording impressed many brass players in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Lin passed his A.Mus.A in Year 9, and in Year 10 commenced studies with Geoff Collinson at the VCA. I rang Geoff after Lin’s introductory lesson. He simply said: ‘He’s a genius!’ During Year 11, Lin played in the VCA horn choir, and was offered a full scholarship to the VCA, without having to undertake VCE. There was some debate about the wisdom of bypassing VCE, but after playing the Hindemith Horn Sonata at the Summer Prom, Lin made the remark: ‘You see, Mr Ferguson, I can do the maths and stuff, but it’s all wasted practice time!’ At that point the decision was final.

After a year at the VCA, Lin (with his scholarship) transferred to the University of Melbourne where his teacher, Geoff Collinson, had been appointed Head of Brass. He went on to win a number of awards, including the inaugural Barry Tuckwell award at the Melbourne International Brass Festival in 2004. Lin made his professional debut as a soloist on 9 February 2005 as part of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s concert season in the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Lin performed the notoriously demanding Second Horn Concerto by Richard Strauss to an appreciative and enthusiastic audience. It was also clear that the orchestra and conductor greatly enjoyed the performance. He has continued to play frequently in the horn section of the MSO, but it is his reputation as a soloist that continues to grow.

In May 2005 I was delighted when Lin accepted my invitation to perform Mozart’s Fourth Horn Concerto with Pro Musica in the Ian Roach Hall at Scotch – it was a superb performance to a capacity house. Later that year he recorded the Strauss and the Gliere Horn Concertos with the MSO for an ABC Classics CD.

This year Lin has recorded the Mozart concertos with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. He performed Mozart’s Third Horn Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in February, and Mozart’s Concerto No 4 with the MSO on 24 and 25 March. He will also feature as a soloist with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in August, and will perform the Strauss Concerto No 1 with the MSO in November.

Asked of his career highlights to date, Lin said that playing his first concerto with a professional orchestra was ‘awesome’, his Master Class with Vlatkovic Radovan was very special, and studying with the amazing Barry Tuckwell continues to be a great and enriching joy.

Lin will tour with the MSO at the end of this year, and is planning to study in Germany from mid 2007. We are hoping to feature Lin as part of next year’s ScotchArts season in April 2007.

Other Scotch musicians

Ye Lian He, class of ’02, is now in Singapore continuing his studies on cello with Liwei Quin. Lin is on a full scholarship from Melbourne University. Oliver Blake, class of ’05, has won a full scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. Oliver achieved his ambition to be the first student to be listed on the music diploma honours board as having achieved diplomas on three instruments. Edwin Chow, class of ’05, has won a full scholarship to Melbourne University to study music, majoring in bassoon.

Passing notes

The Australian Music Examinations Board offers Associate and Licentiate diplomas for exceptional students, A.Mus.A. and L.Mus.A. respectively. In 1964 Ian Heyman was the first Scotch student to obtain A.Mus.A. (which he achieved on piano). Seventeen diplomas were obtained at Scotch between 1964 and 1990. In 1991, three boys achieved A.Mus.A. (a record at the time). In 1999, nine boys achieved diplomas, some obtaining the more demanding L.Mus.A. In 2005, 17 diplomas were obtained.

John Ferguson
Director of Music