Seeking means of discovery and expression, Carlin Ma has dedicated her life to music and the arts, including piano, photography, and filmmaking.  She has performed at prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center, Ravinia Festival, Lübeck Musik Hochschule for the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Capella Hall and Philharmonic Hall in Russia, and Seiji Ozawa Hall for the Tanglewood Music Festival. In Spring 2026 Carlin was Artist-in-Residence for Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, performing an outdoor program about deep listening. In 2025, she performed on the Seattle Symphony’s Chamber Series with musicians of the orchestra.

As a filmmaker and photographer, Carlin’s works have appeared with institutions like the Seattle Symphony and Meta and in publications such as The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle,the Seattle Times, among others. Recent film commissions include “Mother,” a documentary for Emerald City Music, “Michelle V. Agins: Storyteller” for Zimmerli Museum, a music video filmed in an Alaskan Glacial Ice Cave, and a short film for Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Since 2016 she has served as the Artistic Director of the Hawaii International Music Festival, producing works that highlight connections between the community and nature.

Carlin holds a Master’s Degree of piano performance from San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Bachelor’s Degree from Indiana University. Her mentors include Menahem Pressler, Yoshi Nagai, Arnaldo Cohen, Evelyne Brancart, Emile Naoumoff, and Karen Taylor.  As a pedagogue, in 2021-2023, Steinway & Sons awarded her with “Top Piano Teacher in Seattle” for her private studio.