Photo courtesy of Leandro Olgiati
Aksuna (Natasha Lin) is an award-winning pianist-composer currently residing in Germany. She grew up in a household shaped by academic rigor and a quiet sense of discipline. From the age of seven, she practiced piano three hours a day, her childhood punctuated by weekend eisteddfodds and graded yearly piano exams alongside her schooling. It was a life of structure and musical immersion, where the piano primarily shaped her sense of discipline. By age ten, she had given her first recital; by seventeen, she was a finalist in the New South Wales Concerto Competition later in her twenties, a finalist in the prestigious National Australian Piano Award.
Despite her early success as a performer, Aksuna’s path was never linear. A brief detour into dental studies hinted at a pragmatic and academic streak, but her curiosity in music called her back. Winning a full scholarship to the Melbourne Conservatorium, she pursued a double degree in Performance and Criminology, later completing postgraduate studies in both a Master of Music and Master of Music Therapy. The dual lens of discipline and compassion would go on to deeply inform her creative voice.
After working in palliative care as a music therapist and witnessing firsthand the fragile, transcendent power of sound, Aksuna’s relationship with music began to transform. Over time, music became less about discipline and achievement, and more about discovery and creativity. This shift in philosophy marked the beginning of her journey as a composer.
Aksuna composes music that bridges storytelling, philosophical reflection, and classical virtuosity. Her works have been featured across Australian radio networks including Classic FM, 2MBS, and 3MBS, with performances spanning continents — from local halls in Sydney to international premieres in Hamburg and Boston. She released her first album in 2019, and in 2022, received second prize in the Australian National Composition Award. In 2024, her solo piano piece Love Child was selected for inclusion on OPIA’s inaugural compilation under Universal Music, and in the same year she was selected as one of five composers for the Boston-based collective, FUSE: Collaborations in Song.
Her growing body of work includes two original solo piano albums, an EP, three short film scores, one of which was shortlisted at Flickerfest, as well as a range of commissioned pieces that reflect her emerging voice as a pianist-composer. This year, she will be one of the 2025 fellows of Classical:NEXT in Berlin, where she will appear as a panelist and delegate.
Though she now deviates away from performing classical works, Aksuna crafts original solo piano works that pay homage to the great masters. Her music, often described as immersive and soul-searching, exists primarily to express emotions that are otherwise indescribable with words. She composes with a dual intention: to honour the depth and dexterity of the pianist’s craft, and to invite in the modern-day listener with openness and clarity. In an era where contemporary classical music increasingly blends with electronics, Aksuna chooses, for now, to remain faithful to the acoustic piano.
Aksuna is an Associated Artist at the Australian Music Centre.