About this Artist

An active performer and educator in the Southern California area, LYNN VARTAN is an advocate for diversity in music. She specializes in solo percussion, concert marimba, orchestral percussion, as well as Brazilian, Afro-Cuban, and African hand percussion. At California State University, Northridge, where she received her bachelor of arts degree in 1997, Lynn studied with Karen Ervin-Pershing, Julie Spencer, Steve Houghton, John Magnussen, Brian Kilgore, and Jerry Steinholtz. Lynn received her master's degree from the University of Southern California in July of 2000, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in musical arts in percussion performance from the USC Thornton School of Music, where she is studying with Erik Forrester.

Lynn has performed with the Disney All-American College Orchestra at Epcot Center, the Burbank, South Bay, and Peninsula symphonies, and was the principal percussionist for the CSUN and USC Thornton Wind Ensembles and Symphonies. In 1995, Lynn was the CSUN Concerto Competition winner, and performed as a featured soloist in the 1995 May Music Festival with the CSUN Symphony, as well as at the 2000 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Dallas, Texas. Lynn has also been a featured soloist with the USC Thornton Contemporary and Percussion Ensembles.

Currently, Lynn is a performer in ensemble GREEN, a California-based chamber ensemble that has commissioned many new works. She has commissioned new solo works for percussion and is passionate about promoting and expanding this repertoire.