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Tai Lin / Founder, Chairman
Dr. Tai Lin was born in Taipei, Taiwan and graduated from Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University with the Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 1983. Then, he came to Washington University in St. Louis for graduate study in 1987 and received the Doctor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1994 with a dissertation focus on the understanding of cochlear mechanics. In 1996, He went on to Harvard/MIT after receiving the NIH postdoctoral fellowship in furthering his research in this area at Eaton-Peabody Lab of Auditory Physiology in Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He then joined his former dissertation advisor Prof. Julius L. Goldstein together to apply such knowledge into innovative hearing aids designs and received both European and USA patents on this.
Dr. Tai Lin and his wife, Dr. Yuhling Lu, a Washington University Ph.D. in Biology, started a business, Ariel Premium Supply, Inc., in 1993 in Promotional Product Industry. Ariel has received numerous awards from the Promotional Product Industry as well as a Top 50 Company from the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA) in 2004. As of 2020, Ariel ranks Top No. 16 supplier in North America Promotional Product Industry. Dr. Tai Lin’s personal interests in music started at the age of 10 with private piano lesson. The passion for music came much more stronger in high school band playing flute. He began his exploration of vocal and choir music in Tsing Hua University. He was the choir conductor in Tsing Hua University Choir during 1980-1981. He served his military service from l983-1985 in the R.O.C. Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra (國防部示範樂隊) as a flute player. During that two years, he also conducted the ChinSui choir in Taipei (台北金穗合唱團). After coming to St. Louis in 1987, he conducted a choir group, Friends of Music (唯歌小集) and co-directed St. Louis Taiwanese Youth Chamber Orchestra.(STYCO). Dr. Tai Lin’s deepest interests are in Art, Science and Technology of Sounds and Hearing on top of running a successful business, Ariel Premium Supply, Inc. |
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Tzuying Huang / Artistic Director
Tzuying Huang, a native of Taipei, Taiwan, presently serves as the Bass Clarinetist for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, a position she has held since her appointment in 2015 under the direction of music director David Robertson. Prior to her role with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Ms. Huang held the Clarinet/Bass Clarinet position with the Kansas City Symphony. She has performed as a guest bass clarinetist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Ms. Huang has participated in various summer music festivals, including the Lakes Area Music Festival, the Britt Music Festival, and the Colorado Music Festival.
As an active soloist and chamber musician, Ms. Huang made her debut appearances at the Clarinet Association Convention as a featured performer in the summer of 2023 in Denver, Colorado. Beyond her orchestral commitments, she is the founder and artistic director of the Ariel Concert Series, a chamber music series based in St. Louis that stages monthly concerts. Ms. Huang also collaborates regularly with the Chamber Music Society of St. Louis, Chamber Projects St. Louis, the World Chess Hall of Fame Concert Series, and the Missouri Chamber Music Festival. In February 2023, Ms. Huang co-founded the Meridian Clarinet Quartet with three other professional clarinetists, a group committed to commissioning compositions for the Clarinet Quartet and conducting master classes and concerts throughout the United States. In addition to her performance career, Ms. Huang is a dedicated educator with two decades of teaching experience. She finds joy in working with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Education and Community Program. Furthermore, she has conducted master classes in Taiwan and various locations across the United States. Ms. Huang earned her bachelor's degree from the National Taipei University of Education. In 2007, Huang relocated to the United States to study with James Campbell at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University-Bloomington, where she earned her master's degree and performance diploma. Her primary teachers include James Campbell, Joaquin Valdepeñas, Burt Hara, Nathan Williams, Wei-Ling Bill Chen, and Pei-Lin Lee. As a Buffet Crampon performing artist and D’Addario Woodwinds Artist, Ms. Huang exclusively plays on D’Addario Reserve Bass Clarinet reeds, Buffet Crampon clarinets, and bass clarinets. |
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Ann Fink / Artistic Coordinator
Ann Fink joined the first violin section of the Saint Louis Symphony in 2013. Before becoming a member of the Saint Louis Symphony, Ann performed as a violin fellow with New World Symphony in Miami Beach. She holds bachelor's and master’s degrees in music from the Juilliard School, and also studied at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Ann is a past winner of the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship from the University of Illinois. She has performed with the Opera in the Ozarks, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Spoleto Orchestra, the Schleswig Holstein Festival Orchestra, and the Verbier Festival Orchestra and has studied with Alexander Kerr, Elmar Oliveira, Carol Cole, Hyo Kang, and Sergiu Schwartz. Fink performed Wieniawski’s Concerto No. 2 with the New World Symphony under the baton of Tito Munoz after she was selected as one of the 2012-13 New World Symphony concerto competition winners. A certified Suzuki Violin teacher, Ann Fink has worked as violin faculty at the Preparatory Center at Brooklyn College, Lucy Moses School, the Music Institute of Long Island, and Maryville University. She is an active member of the Chamber Music Society of St Louis, the St Louis Symphony's Community Partnership program, and the Ariel Concert Series playing chamber music and bringing music education across the St Louis community.
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Robert Walker / Audio Engineer
Clarinetist Robert Walker joined the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal and E-flat Clarinet in the Fall of 2025. He previously held the position of Principal Clarinet with Pacific Symphony and Second/E-flat Clarinet with the Louisville Orchestra. He has also served as Principal Clarinet with the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago and the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio. Robert has performed with the symphony orchestras of Cleveland, Nashville, and Sarasota.
In addition to his orchestral career, Robert is an active composer and arranger. He has collaborated with Baby Got Bach at the Aspen Music Festival and with One Found Sound in San Francisco. As an electronic artist, he performs under the alias Bad Belzig with collaborator Ayjay Nils and co-founded a musical collective that curated experimental live shows in New York City. Robert also works as an audio engineer for the Ariel Concert Series in St. Louis, where he frequently performs. His dual role as both performer and producer reflects his wide-ranging musical interests and technical fluency. Before fully committing to a career in music, Robert worked an eclectic array of jobs—elevator operator, orchestra librarian, assistant to a Hollywood film composer, florist, apprentice groundskeeper, box office teller, and social movements archivist. These experiences continue to inform his approach to music-making, emphasizing authenticity, community, and accessibility. His dedication to those values was evident in his work with the Louisville Orchestra’s Creator Corps. As the only rank-and-file musician on the hiring committee, Robert helped select a pioneering group of composers charged with building artistic partnerships throughout Louisville’s underserved communities. Robert studied with Yehuda Gilad at the University of Southern California and Alan Kay at The Juilliard School. He is also grateful to have worked closely with mentors such as Nathan Williams, Burt Hara, Joaquin Valdepeñas, and Charles Neidich. Outside of music, Robert enjoys reading novels, biking, traveling, rewatching early-2000s prestige TV, and singing to his cats. |