Rising Stars | Jason Xu – OSM Competition

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Last year, Ming Jie (Jason) Xu made history as the first saxophonist to win the OSM Competition. He looks back fondly on the experience, especially the opportunity to perform his own arrangement of George Bizet’s “Air de La Fleur” from Carmen in the semifinal round. “In that moment, I did not care about anything but [playing]my heart out—and people really loved it!” he says.

Expression is a driving force behind Xu’s journey to become a full-time musician. His playing allows him to convey his emotions and connect with the audience through this form of storytelling. He aims to improve his technical ability so that he can more accurately play out his emotions as he envisions them.

Xu views his pursuit of a music career as quite gradual. However, he says that the COVID-19 pandemic allowed him time to reflect on his future goals and pushed him to follow his love for music. Now a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, Xu is taking the steps necessary to make this dream a reality. Looking to the future, he hopes to help the Canadian saxophone community grow and gain more attention. “Even though many schools in Canada now have saxophone programs, it is not getting programmed or being heard as much as other instruments,” Xu says.

In this coming season, the Chinese-Canadian saxophonist looks forward to his official debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM). On May 22, 2026, he will play Frank Martin’s Ballade with conductor Dina Gilbert and OSM. With this performance, Xu advances toward his goal of uplifting the classical saxophone in the Canadian classical music scene.