HA NOI — The Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra (VNNO) will perform on the prestigious stages of Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Centre in New York City from January 8 – 11, organisers have announced.
At the event celebrating the co-operation of Viet Nam, Japan, South Korea and America, VNNO will perform with South Korean pianist genius Isadora Kim, and Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji.
"This event will help promote Vietnamese symphony as well as culture", said Nguyen Van Tinh, head of the International Affairs Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. "We should be very proud of VNNO for its development in the past few years. The upcoming tour will also use musical connections to improve harmony between the four nations".
VNNO will perform compositions to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Ha Noi along with the best Vietnamese symphonies such as the national anthem and the Thang Long concerto, as well as world famous works including Symphony No 4 by G. Mahler.
"These concerts are going to be historic, we have been practising for four years so we are very confident", said Honna Tetsuji, conductor and creative director of VNNO.
The Viet Nam leg of the tour will be held from December 30 – 31 and all proceeds from the event will go to Understand the Heart charity organisation, which helps underprivileged and handicapped children.
City TV in musical ode to Ha Noi
HCMCITY — HCM City Television's HTV9 will broadcast a music programme tomorrow to commemorate Ha Noi's 1,000th anniversary for which celebrations have begun.
The live show, titled Ngan Nam Thang Long-Viet Nam Bay Len (Thang Long A Thousand Years – Viet Nam Is Flying), will feature songs and dances eulogising the city's history, culture, and lifestyle.
Dozens of singers, dancers, musicians, and sound and light effects specialists have reportedly worked hard to prepare for the show.
Popular songs like Ha Noi Niem Tin Va Hy Vong (Ha Noi Belief and Hope) composed by Phan Nhan and Nho Ve Ha Noi (Nostalgia for Ha Noi) by Hoang Hiep will be among the highlights.
The show will start at 8 pm at the HCM City Television Theatre.
India Studies faculty celebrates
HCM CITY — An Indian Research Centre would be established at the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities in the near future, dean of the Indian Studies faculty said yesterday.
Prof. Hoang Van Viet, dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies' Department of Indian Studies at the university, was speaking on the occasion of the Hindi Day celebrated by students and teachers.
There are 460 million native Hindi speakers in the world, second only to Chinese, noted Abhay Thakur, Consul General of India. "Going by the total number of speakers as first or second language, Hindi with 650 million speakers ranks only behind English (1.8 billion) and Chinese (1.35 billion)," he said.
He also pointed out that the US Government has identified Hindi as a critical language under its National Security Language Initiative and grants nearly US$1 million every year to promote its learning.
Can Tho man wins nostalgic tunes prize
HCM CITY — Bui Trung Dang from Can Tho has won the Golden Bell prize for HCM City Television's prestigious annual vong co (Nostalgic Tunes) music contest.
In the second section, involving just signing, he sang Sang Mai Vang Duong (Forever Bright Sun) by Phi Hung.
The Silver Bell and Bronze Bell were won by Dang Thi My Van of Ben Tre Province and Nguyen Binh Trong of Kien Giang Province.
The Vong Co Golden Bell contest turns five this year and HTV plans to celebrate it today with a gala at the theatre. — VNS