BORN as the ninth child in an average working family in the 1960s, trombonist Hao Jie knew since childhood that he would have to grasp opportunities because nothing would be handed to him. He has worked with an uncommon determination ever since.

The 54-year-old Chinese-American was awarded this year’s Magnolia Silver Award for his contribution to Shanghai. Apart from performing on stage as the chief trombonist of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Hao has also been dedicated to music education at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Band School co-organized by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Born in Qingdao, Shandong Province, Hao’s only access to music before he was 7 years old were operas broadcast over the radio. This was also where his talent for music was discovered.

Being able to sing every aria on his own after listening to it no more than three times, Hao won his first opportunity for music education at the Qingdao Children’s Palace, where he was exposed to lots of local operas, traditional Chinese instruments and Western classic instruments like violin, percussion and alto horn.

“I was very good at alto horn back then but I decided to quit, as I felt in love with music and was determined to take it as my life career,” says Hao. “Alto horn couldn’t take me there.”

That was because, as a non-mainstream instrument, alto horn was not included in professional orchestras. Hao decided to change his major, and he locked on trombone as it shared the same mouthpiece as the alto horn and had similar playing methods.

However, his mother became angry when he brought a trombone home, fearing the heavy instrument would burden his body that was weak from malnutrition. The trombone was taller than he was, and his mother threatened to throw it away if he kept playing it.

“I couldn’t compromise, as it was the only way for me to reach my ideal career rather than be sent to the countryside to do farming, as my older brothers and sisters did at the time,” recalls Hao. “I had to grasp my chance.”

To avoid being noticed by his parents, Hao sneaked out every midnight to practice and came back before his parents woke up. After two years of hard practice, Hao was recruited at 15 by the pre-class of the Central Symphony Orchestra attached to the Central Conservatory of Music — the predecessor of China National Symphony Orchestra.

The good news not only thrilled the young man but also worried him.

“I told myself, if I was recruited by the Qingdao Song and Dance Ensemble, I should make myself the best of them; if I got a position at Shandong Symphony Orchestra, I should be the No. 1 trombonist there. But I wasn’t prepared to become part of the Central Symphony Orchestra at 15,” says Hao. “I couldn’t fall asleep, fearing that some chief trombonists of provincial orchestras should knock at my door to take my place because they would find me less qualified.”

To assure he was fully qualified for the orchestra, Hao practiced even harder for over 12 hours a day. When he officially became a trombonist of the Central Symphony Orchestra, he set a goal of achieving the chief position within five years.

The musicians around Hao were the only way for him to learn about music, as he did not have many records or other materials.

“Take in all the merits from them while removing the defects, and then make myself the best of them. That was my strategy,” he says.

Hao persuaded many of his fellow musicians to teach him regardless of their instruments, which included violin, oboe and clarinet.

“They were puzzled at first as we didn’t even play the same instruments. But I convinced them that they didn’t have to teach me about trombone, but just about music, which they were familiar with,” says Hao.

Within four and a half years, he achieved his stage goal as the youngest chief trombonist of the orchestra. But he wasn’t satisfied for long. He was motivated by something new in China — a trend of studying abroad as reform policies were opening China to the world in the 1980s.

Europe and the United States were the major destinations for most trombonists seeking further studies at the time. Hao was determined to visit both.

With only US$400 as he took off from Beijing, Hao won his access to the University of Hannover in Germany in 1991 as the first Chinese in the recital master class. In addition to learning at school, Hao paid to take personal classes from some trombone masters.

His talent continuing to be recognized, Hao was invited to play trombone for various orchestras and later to play as chief trombonist for a number of local orchestras, including the Hamburg Youth Symphony Orchestra. This helped relieve some of his financial difficulties.

“I still remember the defiant look of some Germans when I first joined their rehearsal. But the moment I made my trombone sound, they all shifted their attitude,” says Hao. “I was so proud at that moment.”

He even participated in the recruitment examination for the chief trombonist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra only six months after he landed in Germany.

“It was amazing to get the invitation for the exam. Many people wondered how can I get it. But for me, since I made myself here, I should at least see how the world’s top orchestra works,” says Hao.

With a small budget, Hao spent hours looking for cheap accommodation with his instrument in the heavy snow. He finally found a cheap guesthouse but ran a fever that night and got a pustule on his upper lip. To make sure he could play for the exam next day, he squeezed the pustule overnight. As expected, he failed to gain the position, but he never regretted taking the exam.

Finishing his courses in Germany, Hao set off to the US and ended up at Indiana University. Later he gained the chance for professional course by Jay Friedman of the Chicago Symphony with the help of his department head.

He lived and worked as chief trombonist at the Michigan Symphony Orchestra and Elkhart County Symphony Orchestra until returning to China at the end of 2009 when his father was ill.

“I had a fantastic week in China, finding everything different from how it was when I left,” says Hao. “I talked with many old friends and was interested in everything. On my flight back to the US, it suddenly occurred to me that I had not been happy like that for more than a dozen years, and probably it was time to go back home.”

With no hesitation, Hao took an invitation from the China Philharmonic Orchestra in 2000.

“I found that the idea of returning to the place where I grew up with my family and friends was actually always there, just waiting for a trigger,” says Hao.

But still, he wanted to do more. He always had the idea of sharing all he had learned with Chinese youth. He promised Yang Liqing, who happened to visit the University of Hanover in the 1990s, that he would teach at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music when Yang became the president. He finally kept that promise in 2005.

Four years later, he joined the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and moved his life to Shanghai.

“I have come through so many difficulties to reach my music dream, but I was also lucky to witness the growth of classical music in China in the past 40 years,” says Hao.