HA NOI (VNS)—Experimental music will be offered to Hanoian audiences at Luala concerts – a series of free shows on city streets – to begin tomorrow.

Taking place on the pavement in front of the Music Publishing House, 61 Ly Thai To Street, the opening concert will feature leading jazz saxophonist Quyen Thien Dac and his Phu Sa bandmates, who will perform their compositions featuring Vietnamese folk melodies.

Experimental compositions combining jazz and Vietnamese traditional tunes cai luong (reformed opera) and hat van (ritual singing) by composer Dao Van Trung will be performed.

The Sunday concert will feature electronic music artist and DJ Tri Minh. Minh, who mixes electronic and traditional music genres, including ca tru (ceremonial singing) and xam (folk songs once sung by wandering blind musicians). Veteran folk artist Xuan Hoach will join him.

The Luala season will also feature singer/songwriter Le Cat Trong Ly on April 24; the contemporary circus show Lang Toi (My Village) will introduce its orchestra on April 28.

The show combines traditional circus skills and theatrical techniques to convey a story about Vietnamese village culture.

At the Luala concert, audiences will have the chance to enjoy sounds and music that recall the scenery of Vietnamese rural areas. Audiences will also have chance to enjoy the performance by contemporary piano artist Pho An My – an graduate of the EM Phillips Bach School, one of the best musical training schools in Germany.

My successfully introduced the combination of piano and Vietnamese classical drama as well as other traditional genres.

During her Luala performance on May 5, My will be joined by folk artists Thanh Hoai, Le Xuan Quy and Nguyen Ngoc.

On May 5, under the baton of Xuan Huy, a classical orchestra will peform Western classical and Vietnamese cai luong melodies by composer Dao Van Trung.

The Luala concerts will start at 3pm every Saturday and Sunday until May 5 on the pavement in front of the Music Publishing House.

A wrap-up concert will be held on May 12 at Ecopark – a new urban residential area in Hung Yen Province, about 13km from Ha Noi centre.

Thousands of people of all ages gathered to enjoy Luala concerts last year and the previous year they were listed as one of the top 10 music by the Viet Nam Musicians' Association. They are also a nominees for this year's Cong Hien (Devotion) Award for Music Programme of the Year, to be announced on April 24. — VNS