A man of exceptional conduct

Born and raised in Kunming in Yunnan province, Yin is the son of two musicians who graduated from the Yunnan Arts University, and grew up listening to classical music and watching classical music performances.

His father, who is a baritone and a vocal teacher at the university, bought lots of recordings and DVDs of world-renowned classical musicians and symphony orchestras, to ensure that his only son had as much exposure to music as possible.

As a child, Yin learned to play the piano and the violin. He gave up the latter because he found it too hard to master, and focused instead on the piano. Even then, he had decided that he would become a conductor one day.

"There can be over 100 musicians in an orchestra but there is only one conductor," he says. "The conductor is the only member of an orchestra who has no instrument, and makes no sound of their own throughout the performance. Instead, the conductor is like the composer's messenger, which is a magical experience."

When he was 14, Chen Lin and Chen Bing, two conductors from the Central Conservatory of Music came to Kunming to choose students. Yin's father allowed him to perform for them.