Yanyan Bao displayed artistic sensitivity from her earliest years and began piano lessons at the tender age of four. Her early musical precocity led her to begin more disciplined studies at the age of seven with Chinese-American pianist Jay Pengjie Sun, Piano Department Chair at Xinghai Conservatory Middle School in Guangzhou. After being admitted into the Xinghai Conservatory Middle School at age 11 with outstanding ranking, Yanyan continued her piano study with Professor Sun’s wife, Dr. Vivian Li, Chinese-Canadian pianist and Professor of Piano at Xinghai Conservatory.
Since then, Yanyan has emerged as one of the most promising young pianists in China. Now 16 years of age, Yanyan is already a veteran of the concert stage, having presented solo recitals in numerous cities in China, Italy and Germany. Yanyan has also selectively taken part in music competitions with prizes including Third Prize at the Zhuhai Mozart Youth International Piano Competition, First Prize at the Shenzhen Lang Lang Futian International Piano Competition, Young Talent Award at the Ettlingen International Piano Competition, Second Prize and Best Chinese Work at the Beijing Chopin International Competition, and First Prize and Best Schubert Prize at the Aspire Category of 2021 E-Piano Junior Competition.
She has also been fortunate to have taken masterclasses with celebrated pianists such as Gary Graffman, Arie Vardi, Lev Natochenny, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Dmitri Alexeev, Li Qi, and Wu Ying. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, drawing, swimming, and of course, listening to music.