Tiny trumpeter's ceremony melody hit right note

A 9-year-old solo trumpeter who performed at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics practiced the melody about a thousand times before his big night at the Bird's Nest on Friday.

During the ceremony at the iconic venue, formally known as the National Stadium, Zhu De'en, a Beijing primary school student, played the song Me and My Motherland, well-known in China, as representatives from all walks of life and the nation's 56 ethnic groups passed the national flag to the flagpole.

Lasting more than a minute, the little trumpeter's confident performance deeply impressed audience members. One comment on a Sina Weibo micro-blog post about De'en said that as soon as his trumpet sounded out, the viewer almost cried. Another said De'en was adorable and excellent.

Zhu Guang, De'en's father and also a trumpet player, told Beijing News: "The trumpet is quite a suitable instrument for the song. The ceremony's director, Zhang Yimou, really knows how to touch Chinese people's feelings. I am grateful for the director who allowed my son to represent Chinese children to express their love for the motherland.

"At such a large ceremony in the Bird's Nest, even a professional adult performer could feel nervous. Enen (his son's nickname) succeeded in being calm to overcome the pressure."

The boy started learning how to play the trumpet in 2020.

"He has always been interested in learning the trumpet, but I didn't start teaching him very early," Zhu said. "Because since he was 4, he has been learning the piano with his grandmother, as its pitch is fixed and can help him train his ears."

In mid-November last year, Zhu was invited by the organizing committee for the Beijing Winter Olympics to find a child to play the trumpet at the ceremony.

Zhu sent a video of his son's performance, and De'en became one of three candidates for the role.

After that, Zhu taught his son to improve his endurance and other basic skills. For example, Zhu made De'en raise his arms perpendicular to his body, he told Beijing Youth Daily.

He hung a water bottle on his son's trumpet and added water to the bottle to increase his son's arm strength. Jump-roping and pushups also helped strengthen the boy's lungs and arms.

When Zhu was training De'en, he often inspired him by telling him to imagine he was using the song to tell the story of the motherland to friends far away.

Over the past two months, De'en practiced the song about a thousand times and was often too tired to speak.

To make sure everything was properly prepared, Zhu also asked his friends to find a special valve oil that could be applied to the trumpet.

"Nearly the whole world would be watching the ceremony, so I needed him to realize the importance of it and try his best," Zhu told Beijing Youth Daily.

He told Beijing News that De'en does not have to be a trumpeter when he grows up, but he can master the instrument no matter his profession.

"When he feels bad, he still can play the trumpet to relieve his mood," he said. "I also hope that more children will grow to like the trumpet and play it."