WORLD FESTIVAL OF VIETNAMESE TRADITIONAL MUSIC

After successful festivals in Canada in 2011 and the US in 2013, the Festival for Vietnamese Traditional Music makes its debut in Australia in August this year. We are connecting the greater Vietnamese diaspora through music and promoting knowledge of Vietnamese traditional music to the wider community. And, most of all, we are sharing of culture, knowledge, and music, from different corners of the world. There will be lectures, presentations, workshops and a Gala Concert with Vietnamese and Western performers. Listen to new ideas, enjoy tradition, and explore with us as we find out what Vietnamese music means to different people!

This Festival is proudly supported by the Australian National University School of Music, Vietnam Foundation and University Preparation College Australia. You are cordially invited to attend the World Festival of Vietnamese Traditional Music during 14 – 16 August 2015 in Sydney.

Official website: https://vietmusicfest2015.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vietmusicfest2015

GALA CONCERT

Bryan Brown Theatre Saturday 15 August 2015 | 7.30 pm - 10.30 pm

Info: https://vietmusicfest2015.wordpress.com/tickets/ 

PRESENTERS

Associate Professor Diana Blom, The University of Western Sydney

Dr. Ros Bandt & Le Kim Uyen Creating and performing collaborative compositions cross-culturally

Prof. Phuong Oanh Phượng Ca Dân Ca Quốc Nhạc với giáo dục âm nhạc cổ truyền Việt Nam trong hệ thống nhạc viện quốc gia Pháp

Phạm Đức Thành Những kinh nghiệm khi học nhạc cổ truyền 

Nguyen, Dang Thao Vietnamese traditional music and its impact on young Vietnamese today

Ngo, Thu Hien Changes in performance practice of Vietnamese traditional music: đàn tranh cải tiến

Le Phuong Đàn Tranh trong diễn tấu và diễn đệm

Geraldine Balcazar Recreating the Dance from Indochina

The Golden Bamboo Ensemble Workshop Introduction to Vietnamese traditional musical instruments

Le-Tuyen Nguyen & Nguyen Duc Hiep Tai tu music odyssey: from village to the City of Light 

PERFORMERS

Prof. Phương Oanh & Phượng ca Dân ca Quốc Nhạc (Paris FRANCE) 

Prof. Phương Oanh was born in Da Lat in central Vietnam in 1945. She graduated from the Vietnamese Conservatory of Music in Saigon in 1962 and taught music at Saigon National Conservatory of Music from 1964-1975. In 1969 she founded the Phuong Ca Dan Ca Quoc Nhac music school. In 1996, Prof. Phuong Oanh completed her music degree and received credentials of National Professor of Dan Tranh (equivalent to a PhD degree in the USA). During over forty years of teaching Vietnamese traditional music, Prof. Phuong Oanh has trained many eminent Vietnamese traditional artists, including artists Kim Uyen, Kim Hien, Ngoc Dung, Nguyet Anh, and Van Anh. With her ensemble, Prof. Phuong Oanh has performed throughout the world. In recognition of her many contributions to traditional music, she was awarded in 1988 the gold medal for music from the Asian Cultural Academy.

Mr. Phạm Đức Thành (CANADA) 

Pham Duc Thanh is a world-renowned musician known for his masterful ability on the Vietnamese one-stringed instrument (Dan Bau). he had begun playing Dan Bau (monochord) and Dan Nhi (2-string fiddle) at the age of 5. In October of 1983, he graduated with top honors from the Center for Musical Research of Vietnam. It was here that he became recognized as one of the rising musicians on Dan Bau in traditional as well as modern music. He and his family moved to Canada in 1996. Beyond the traditional music of Vietnam , he has used the Dan Bau to integrate seamlessly with the sounds and rhythms of various ethnic sounds from around the world.

Back To Back Zithers – Ros Bandt, Kari, Le Kim Uyen 

Back to Back Zithers are four distinguished solo composer-performers who enjoy sharing each other’s traditions and skills in the process of making new Australian music. Since 1988 they have combined their original ideas with musical thoughts from Vietnam, West Java, medieval France and Italy in new compositions which transcend the boundaries of East and West.  Kari is a musician and visual artist. She spent several years living a Sundanese life in West Java studying music and dance. She has performed in several multicultural ensembles and explored many musical landscapes. She has also played a key role in facilitating multicultural music in Australia. Her work has taken her from Indonesia to Greece, from the deserts of Australia to sails on the seas. Ros Bandt is a composer, performer and sound sculptor. Her original music and sound sculptures have been widely appreciated in Europe, America and Australasia. She performs with the Early Music group La Romanesca as well as creating her own acoustic and electronic compositions which are recorded on the Move label. She was awarded the Don Banks fellowship for composition in 1991 and an Australian Research Fellowship in 1992.

Hồng Việt Hải & Hướng Việt Performing Arts Group (Seattle, USA)  

Hai Viet Hong is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Huong Viet Performing Arts Group. He studied Dan tranh and Vietnamese traditional music with Ong Duc Xuan, Kim Uyen, and Chinese music with professor Chang. He is the first Vietnamese chosen to received the Washington State Arts Commission Folkarts Award. An active member and a sponsor of the World Festival of Vietnam Traditional Music, he has also actively participated in many Vietnamese community non-profit organizations in the USA.

Ms. Diệu Trinh & Tre Việt (Toronto CANADA) 

Tre Viet Group is a Vietnamese Musical Group based in GTA ( Toronto). Founded in 1993, we specializing in folk songs and music of the old imperial courts using Vietnamese traditional musical instruments. The group is headed by Kim Uyen, a professional Vietnamese traditional musician who has performed throughout the world. Our group consists of many members, all dressed in traditional costumes, and each plays a different instrument. Tre Viet actively participates in many events within various communities and promote multiculturalism. The group will provide a peek into the past with nostalgic of Vietnamese music .

Ms. Geraldine Balcazar (AUSTRALIA) 

Geraldine Balcazar is a movement artist with particular interest in collaborating with visual and sound artists. Her movement practice is based on research of the body, its anatomy and building sensory performance work that is both resonant by the dancer and spectator.
 She is finding through her training and engagement in yoga, meditation and pranayama practices. Her performance art continues to present the building blocks between the performer, the spectator and their experience, all leading to ONE experience.

She has worked with Xavier Le Roy (France) in his new durational work presented by Kaldor Public Arts Projects Sydney; Tino Sehgal’s durational work at the Art Gallery of NSW (2014); Annalouise Paul’s world premier of Mother Tongue (2014). She studied yoga studies with Bianca Machliss and Simon Borg Olivier. Her movement art, collaborations, research and works continue to immerse and have been supported by Bundanon Trust – Artist in residency program (2014) and Imagine Platform since 2013.

Ms. Lê Phương (Sydney AUSTRALIA)

Ms. Lê Kim Uyên (CANADA) 

Kim Uyen is a composer and virtuoso of Vietnamese traditional music on Đàn Tranh. In 1984, she received the National Gold Medal for Excellent Đàn Tranh Performance. Throughout years studying đàn tranh at the Vietnamese Conservatory of Music, Ms. Kim Uyen continuously ranked first in her class and graduated as a valedictorian. Upon her completion for master degree in music at Monash University, Australia, with a Women’s Scholarship, Ms. Kim Uyen actively performed and participated in many traditional musical programs across Asia, Australia, United States, Canada, and Europe. She has produced six albums about Đàn Tranh and Vietnamese traditional music, and appeared in numerous radio and television programs. Ms. Kim Uyen is also a member of many prestigious Vietnamese traditional music groups such as Tiếng Hát Quê Hương, Thiếu Nhi Lê Văn Khoa, Back to Back Zither, and Hồng Lạc. She is now residing in Ontario, Canada. Currently, Ms. Kim Uyen is an adviser for Hướng Việt Performing Arts Group.

Dr. Stephanie Nguyen & Hương Xưa (Houston USA) 

Dr. Stephanie Nguyen (Nguyễn Hồng Lan Phương) is a pharmacist and a member of the Hương Xưa group. She studied Đàn Tranh (zither) with Le Kim Uyen and Sao Truc (Vietnamese bamboo flute) with Tran Thanh Trung. She is the winner of the Festival of Vietnamese Traditional Music Competition for Amateurs in 2015. She has been a supportive sponsor for the World Festival of Vietnamese Traditional Music.

Mr. Nguyễn Đăng Thảo (Adelaide AUSTRALIA) 

Đăng Thảo is an accomplished musician and composer who has performed extensively in Australia. He graduated from Vietnam National Conservatory of Music majoring in Vietnamese Zither and Classical Guitar (1971). He completed a Graduate Diploma in Music at the Elder Conservatorium in 1993. Đăng Thảo also lectures in Vietnamese music at the University of Adelaide. He has recorded with the ABC Radio and SBS Television.

Ros Hewton (Australia) Ros Hewton is a Music teacher. She has played piano since childhood, and has been interested in music of other cultures for many years, in particular, Vietnam. She has accompanied Dang Thao Nguyen on keyboard since 1983. Together, they have performed together at many venues in South Australia schools, folk festivals and Adelaide University. Ros has a Graduate Diploma in Intercultural Music studies from Adelaide University.

Golden Bamboo Ensemble (Sydney AUSTRALIA)

Ms. Phuong Linh (CANADA)

Ms. Đăng Lan (Sydney AUSTRALIA)

Ms. Huỳnh Phi Thuyền & Phượng Ca Oslo (NORWAY)

Ms. Ngọc Hà & Vietnamese Artists Union of Australia

Prof. Lan Nguyen & Lạc Việt (Utah USA)