The First Melody at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing | Dialogue

It is music that dispels the darkness and illuminates his world;

As long as your heart is clear, you will see the whole world smiling at you.

— Wang Taifan, chief trumpeter at the Yangfan Orchestra of Chongqing Special Education Center

Wang Taifan had the prestigious honor of blowing out the first notes of melody on behalf of China at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing. He became blind at the age of 10, recalling that moment, and said, "It's like sand in an hourglass that flows from top to bottom and into the endless darkness." In 2015, Wang was transferred from the general school to the Chongqing Special Education Center for study. There were signs at corners of the stairs for the blind to touch and feel. The teachers were warmhearted and did not treat him differently. He felt at home.

He got involved in trumpet and music and described it as "a beam of light, very, very bright, that penetrated the darkness." He suffered a lot as a trumpet learner for being blind. He made it to the Chongqing Grand Theater, the National Grand Theater, and the 2022 Winter Paralympics. "I feel like having everything as long as I have the trumpet with me even when I am alone."

Reporter: To be honest, were you nervous on the field (the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics)?

Wang Taifan: Of course, there were so many people. I was not quite lucky that night because of the gust. I was affected by the cold weather and the gust when playing.

Reporter: How was that? How did the gust affect you?

Wang Taifan: It will take away all the moisture. You didn’t get enough back from the trumpet, for the sense was lost. It was very dry, and then your lips wouldn’t vibrate well. Then it would become a major problem to perform.

Reporter: What did you do? How did you calm yourself down?

Wang Taifan: I had to moisten my lips while listening to the background sounds. When I heard (the host saying) “please stand up and raise the flag,” I grabbed the trumpet because it was too cold. I would cover it with my hands and blow hot air into it to get it fully heated. Only after that could the trumpet and I work well together and communicate.

Reporter: Do you remember when you first came into contact with the trumpet?

Wang Taifan: I was a primary school student in the first grade. We did self-study or had the class over when they (other players) were rehearsing. We would hear the sweet sounds after school when we were going around the playground. It intrigued me, so I asked about it. I've never heard of it. Fellow students from higher grades told me that there was a wind music band in the school. I would imagine what the flute and trumpet look like. What are they? What sound do they make? I did not know. Mr. Li introduced me to the world of trumpets. I told him in class that I wanted to play an instrument. He asked about it. I was quite afraid of the teachers back then, you know. Then I stood up. My mind went blank, and I uttered I wanted to play the trumpet.

 Normal students at ordinary schools can get adept at a piece of music in two or three weeks. They can learn a lot of tunes in a semester. But we can only learn and practice one piece in a semester. We would memorize, practice, and get familiar with the music in the first month. We would learn to play it accurately to rhythms in the second month by beating a stick. The stick would be removed from time to time in the next month, but the performance was a mess, so we would get the stick back. We needed to remember the rhythms before the stick was completely removed. That’s how we practice as an ensemble.

Reporter: So by the time you finished practicing, you really knew it by heart.

Wang Taifan: Yes, we did. For example, when the teacher said, “bar fifty-two, let’s do it,” we were getting ready as he looked for the right page.

The Yangfan Orchestra, where Wang Taifan works, was established in 2011 and has trained 165 blind musicians in three batches over the past ten years. It now has 32 teachers and more than 70 blind children. It has developed into the world's largest wind ensemble for the blind.