Jialin Yao

Chinese pianist Jialin Yao has been praised for his “exquisite melody and profound understanding” and “supreme touch control” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer). A passionate soloist and chamber musician, he brings warmth, imagination, and expressive depth to every performance.
Jialin has appeared at major festivals including the Verbier Festival, PianoFest in the Hamptons, Aspen Music Festival, Gilmore Festival, and Ravinia Festival, and in concert halls such as Alice Tully Hall, Benaroya Hall, the Warsaw National Philharmonic, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, and major venues across China.
As a concerto soloist, he has performed with orchestras including the Castilla y León Symphony, Beijing Symphony, Málaga Philharmonic, Boulder Symphony, Mercury Orchestra, and Wuhan Philharmonic, collaborating with conductors such as Zoe Zeniodi, Lihua Tan, Salvador Vázquez, and Yue Bao. At age eighteen, he released his debut album Campanella with KNS Classical.
Recent and upcoming highlights include Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, the Yellow River Concerto, Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and recital appearances for the Liliane Questel Rising Stars Series, the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, and the Dallas Chamber Music Society. An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists including Midori, Aaron Boyd, and members of leading string quartets.
Born in Beijing, Jialin studied with Hong Fu at the China Conservatory of Music and also received guidance from pianist Ruoyu Huang. He later earned his master’s degree at The Juilliard School under Sergei Babayan and is currently pursuing the Artist Diploma at the SMU Meadows School of the Arts.