Finding harmony in everyday moments

One of the group's defining characteristics is its focus on performing original compositions. Jin, as the founding conductor and resident composer, has contributed over 100 original choral works, including nine choral suites, featuring diverse styles and themes.

His most popular works use humor and emotion to portray the daily lives of contemporary urban Chinese youth.

More recently, his compositions have become theatrical expressions, his work evolving from choral suites to choral dramas.

From A Trip to the White Horse Village to The Star River Tavern: A Rediscovery and the latest release in 2023, The Land of Luocha: Chapter of the Mountain, his recent works have taken on a new depth, exploring the integration of ethnic music and traditional Chinese orchestration with chorus.

With the help of video projections and recorded dialogues, these concert productions feature stories that reflect his thoughts about history, society and human existence.

Last year, Jin kicked off a new project composing music for 300 Tang Poems, arguably the most celebrated collection of Chinese poetry from the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

He embarked on the ambitious project from a personal perspective, working on one poem after another, in the same order he learned them at school. "I can compose for no more than 20 poems every year, so by the time I have completed the whole series, I will have reached retirement age," says the 39-year-old composer.

"There will be solos, choruses, duets and Chinese instruments, such as the Chinese drums, pipa (a four-stringed Chinese lute), and sanxian (a three-stringed traditional lute). Maybe after finishing the whole collection, I will be able to present a showcase of all the major Chinese instruments."

Over the past decade, the Shanghai Rainbow Chamber Singers group has gained popularity and amassed millions of followers on various social media platforms. Meanwhile, Jin has seen that new chorus ensembles have mushroomed around China.

You don't have to be an exceptionally good singer to join a chorus, he says. "But if you come, you will experience the harmony. As long as you are ready to open yourself up and start singing, you will have fun and experience the positive feedback. As a result, more ensembles are being formed and more audiences are ready to get involved too. It has gradually developed into a positive progression."