Yang Lin

Pianist and Coach Yang Lin joined SFCM’s Opera Department in Spring 2025 and was appointed Principal Vocal Coach in the voice department in Fall 2026. He has also served on the music staff at San Francisco Opera in multiple roles, including prompter, assistant conductor, and pianist. His recent productions with the company include the world premiere of The Monkey King, Tristan und Isolde, Partenope, Omar, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Lohengrin, Madama Butterfly, and Bohème Out of the Box. He is a graduate of the prestigious Merola Opera Program and the Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera. 

An active recitalist, he has performed with acclaimed singers including Nicole Car, Klaus Florian Vogt, Jane Eaglen, and Meigui Zhang, earning praise from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for "unfailing accuracy and attention to color and detail that went far to compensate for lack of an orchestra in the big scenes." 

His other opera experience extends across North America, Europe and China, including La Monnaie in Brussels, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, Festival Napa Valley, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Cincinnati Opera, WestBay Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Canadian Vocal Arts Institute, I Sing Beijing, and National Center for the Performing Arts. He was awarded a scholarship to participate in the Bayreuth Festival in Germany. He is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory, CCM, and Shanghai Conservatory.

Born into a family steeped in the Western operatic tradition with two generations of musicians at Shanghai Opera, Lin was initially determined to avoid the family business and pursue engineering. However, a recording of Tosca moved him so much that he asked his father for a score to explore, thus beginning his passion for the art form.