Most soloists only get a few minutes to showcase their individual talent, but in her performance with the Lewisville Lake Symphony Friday, junior Megan Lin played a 25-minute solo in which she lead the rest of the symphony.

During Lin’s extended solo, she didn’t have the aid of sheet music or director cues to rely on.

“Nothing much goes through my mind,” Lin said. “I hear the music in my head. I can’t think about anything else except for the concerto, because if my mind and thoughts get distracted, I get a memory slip or lapse.”

In order to play with the professional symphony, Lin was required to audition for the Vernell Gregg Young Artists Competition.

“I went up and asked her ‘what else can you learn?’,” Gregg said. “That was just awesome how long she played from memory. This is the 19th year of the competition, and each year it just seems to get better. I don’t know how we can top this.”

Performing with a professional symphony for the first time, Lin believes Friday’s concert was fundamental in her journey as a violinist.

“It was a good experience for me, but I learned a lot about what I need to work on,” Lin said. “Practicing is a lot different from performing and I definitely need to practice performing.”

Lin’s parents and many of her friends attended the concert to support her

“Hopefully, she will become a top musician,” Megan’s dad Jui Lin said. “In the bottom of my heart, I want her to go for music. I know what talent she has.”

In orchestra together, junior Eun Jae Kim has heard Lin play many times, but hearing Lin at the concert was much different.

“I’m really proud of her,” Kim said. “I always knew she was good, but I didn’t know she was that good, so it was nice to see her perform a solo.”

Having fellow students and teachers there to support her might have added some pressure, but it was worth it to Lin.

“It definitely made me more nervous, but I need that kind of experience to better control my anxiety,” Lin said. “Obviously, it’s nice to have people see what you do outside of school.”