The next player to be featured in this blog series is Chen-Yu Lin (Nina). She is one of the most exciting euphonium players around today. Technically brilliant, in her recent performance at the Jeju Euphonium Competition, she was the highest placed woman and she currently plays for, 2024 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, The Flowers Band.
In 2018, I had the honour of performing and teaching in Taiwan. During that time, I met some amazing players. One of whom was Nina, see picture below.
Before reading her interview, you MUST listen to her playing! šµ Here is a recording of her playing part of the Karl Jenkins Euphonium Concerto.
I hope you enjoy reading her interview!
Do you have a favourite composer or piece of classical or brass music?
The composer has to be Rachmaninov - he has the ability to give music a soul that many try to achieve. Brass music wise, I have to go for something a little cheesy, Paganini Variations by Philip Wilby. Iāve only contested on it once (at Bugle Festival earlier this year) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Have you got any funny stories or unique experiences that you would like to share about any musical projects you have ever been involved in?
Being in the UK has given me plenty of unique experiences through banding and allowed me to experience cultural events I have no clue about being from Taiwan.
This year, I got to play euphonium with Chav Brass at the Whit Friday contest. I knew of the Whit Marches, but before being here I never knew what a 'Chav' was. The day was fantastic, playing with brilliant musicians and seeing how much the crowds loved us, playing club anthems (that Iāve since educated myself about) before nailing a contest march. I canāt wait to do it again and wear my England top, neon cap, and big golden chain.
What 3 songs do you love the most and why?
āStill Into Youā by Paramore - first gig in the UK. āLow lifeā by Neck Deep - it is a good tune that has many meanings to me. āModern Loveā by Bloc Party - from the longest gig Iāve ever been to and I ended up at the very front which was a first for me.
Tell us about some of your achievements as a euphonium player and musician.
Iāve completed an undergraduate degree (Taipei National University of the Arts - TNUA) and masters degree (Royal Birmingham Conservatoire - RBC) on the Euphonium as principal study.
Whilst in Taiwan, I won a competition to play a concerto (Martin Ellerby) with TNUA orchestra. At RBC, I was able to win the Brass Prize (2023), Bernard Brown Small ensemble prize with TLC tuba quartet (2023), and finished runner-up twice in the BPO Concerto Prize competition (2023 & 2024).
I was lucky enough to become a Boise Scholar in 2023 - Iām grateful for their financial support.
In a banding context, Iāve had fabulous first contesting performances with Amersham Band at their area contest and the Spring Festival in 2023. Since joining Flowers Band, winning the Area Contest (2024) and finishing 3rd at Brass in Concert (2023) were great moments but my most enjoyable achievement was finishing 2nd at the British Open, the best contesting result in the bands history and qualifying for the European championships in 2026 - only missing out on the win due to double European Champions Treize Ćtoile incredible performance.
Personally, being able to form a great partnership playing alongside Daniel Thomas has been a great experience and achievement - I learn so much from this as a musician.
āšµ Since Nina wrote this, she also won the National Championships, at The Royal Albert Hall, with the Flowers Band! Congratulations Nina! šµā
What would you still like to achieve in your life, musical or not musical?
Musically, Iād like to win an international solo competition in the future. Personally, I want to learn more languages - they give you more opportunities for experiences.
How did you first get involved in music and what was your early inspiration?
I started playing the piano when I was 6 but I didnāt really like it, so when I saw thereās a wind band in my primary school, I told my parents that I wanted to play in wind band to escape the torture of piano practice.Ā Iād like to say that I saw the euphonium and fell in love, but actually I wanted to play saxophone. However, I couldnāt do the correct embouchure they asked me to do, so they asked me what else Iād like to play. I picked the euphonium because they told me that the teacher is Japanese and he is funny.
Do you have a website, business or social media page you would like to promote? Please tell us all about it.
I do have an Instagram account but Iāve not posted for a long time.Ā But, Iām sure if I mention about my account here, I will try to post as much as I can. If you are interested, itās @ninatheuph.
Do you agree there are challenges facing female musicians today? If so what do you think are the biggest changes that need to be made to improve this?
Yes, certainly - female musicians face the same challenges females face in society in general. Iāve unfortunately been witness to and subjected to sexist behaviour both directly and indirectly - in Taiwan and the UK.
An example that comes to mind is that after hearing the result of my first year recital (whilst studying for my masters). I was told that it was a high mark because āyou are a girlā. Leaving to one side that this āgirlā was older than the person who made the comment, it underlined the fact, it seemed appropriate to use sexism as a way to justify his shortcomings. This is one of the more tame examples of the challenges women face as musicians.
Improving this situation is a struggle that society needs to come to terms with in general, which is by no means an excuse for this to take a long time. We all have the tools and information with which to educate ourselves right now to ensure we aren't negatively affecting others - people just need to use them in their lives.
It would also be fantastic if there were more well known female role models for people to aspire to become as a musician, especially within banding on lower brass instruments. Hopefully this sort initiative by you (Mark) will help make people aware of the fantastic players out there!
What piece of advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time?
I would tell myself to spend more time playing slow melody and listening to more recordings (not just the euphonium playing). Try more different ways to play the same phrase and choose the one that I really like but not just listen to what the teacher said.
What piece of advice would you give to young brass players (or any instrumentalists) to help them find success?
Fundamentals are important. Although practicing scales and basic stuff are dull, it really does help with your playing. Grab every opportunity to perform on stage, either with band or solo playing. The most important thing is to have faith in yourself.
A big THANK YOUĀ to Nina for being interviewed in this blog series!
I hope you enjoyed reading the interview, please share it, like and subscribe and look out for the next one very soon!
To return to the overview page to see who is next to be featured, just CLICK HERE!
Mark Glover
9/10/24
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