August 19, 2026
Erika Chia-Yu Lin recently earned second prize at the 2026 Universal Marimba Competition in Belgium, one of the world’s premier international competitions for percussionists. Held under the High Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Paola, the competition brought together leading marimba performers from around the world.
Lin’s path to the international stage included a demanding repertoire of works throughout the competition. In the first round, she performed “Marimba D’amour” by Keiko Abe. For the second round, she performed “Moi, Jeu...” by Bruno Mantovani. In the semifinal, she performed “Luminosity” by Thomaz Golinski and “Dances of Earth and Fire” by Peter Klatzow. For the final round, Lin performed “Heartwood Concerto for Marimba Solo & Piano” by L. Albert and R. Marques with orchestra.
Chia Yu /Erika Lin performs at the 2026 Universal Marimba Competition
The award adds to an already impressive run of international competition success. In 2025, Lin earned second prize at the Great Plains International Marimba Competition.
Lin’s career has taken her around the world, but her path to becoming a professional percussionist began almost by accident.
At age 5, Lin began studying piano and quickly developed into a talented pianist. When she reached middle school, she was allowed to choose a second instrument through her school music program. She chose percussion simply for fun. At the time, however, piano remained her primary musical passion.
That changed when she began applying to colleges. Lin discovered that many aspiring pianists competed for relatively few scholarships, while far fewer students pursued percussion. Her parents came up with a strategy: apply as a percussionist and then pursue a double major that would allow her to continue studying piano.
The plan worked, but not quite in the way they expected.
Lin immediately fell in love with percussion. What began as a practical strategy for college admissions quickly became her passion and ultimately the focus of her career.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Taipei and later completed a master’s degree at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin. She then traveled halfway around the world to study at the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin.
Erika / Chia-Yu Lin and Bryce Turner perform at the Butler School of Music on November 6th, 2025.
“Butler made my dreams come true,” Lin said.
For Lin, one of the greatest strengths of Butler is its faculty and, more importantly, the collaborative community they create. Her principal teachers, Thomas Burritt and Ivan Trevino, both worked with her through weekly lessons as she developed as a performer.
Rather than relying on a single teacher or single approach, Lin found a community of musicians who contributed different perspectives and areas of expertise.
That community became particularly important when she began preparing for the Universal Marimba Competition.
Lin received the competition repertoire in May, just as the academic year was ending. With the competition taking place before the start of the next school year, she had only a few months to prepare an extensive and demanding program.
Her summer vacation quickly became a summer of preparation.
For the first two months, Lin worked closely with Burritt and Trevino, taking lessons and refining the repertoire that would eventually carry her through four rounds of international competition.
The preparation appears to have paid off. Despite competing at one of the highest levels of international percussion competition, Lin said she experienced very little stage fright when the competition finally began.
Her secret?
Preparation, having fun, and eating a small piece of chocolate immediately before walking onto the stage.
Chia Yu /Erika Lin celebrates her win at the 2026 Universal Marimba Competition
With that combination, Lin walked onto the international stage in Belgium and emerged with a second-place finish, adding another major achievement to her rapidly growing career as one of the world’s leading young marimba performers.