• About Jeff von der Schmidt, the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble & LA International New Music Festival

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

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Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

Category Archives: Buddhism

The 100th Day of Mourning: An Elegy for Vũ Nhật Tân

29 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Minh Dam Quang, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vietnamese Cuisine, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Chua Lang Pagoda, Dam Quang MInh, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Minh Nghia, Pham Truong Son, Tan Viện National Park, Ted Osius, Trang An, Vietnamese Cuisine, Vu Nhat Tan

The mountain top of Tản Viên.

On Tuesday July 21, 2020 during a hot Southeast Asian summer, I received the fateful text we’d all been preparing for since a cold February winter. Best friend and charismatic composer Vũ Nhật Tân, aged 49, had at 21h04 finally released his body and passed on to his next life after a long and difficult battle with cancer.

Today, Wednesday October 28, 2020 is the 100th Day since Tân’s death and an auspicious day for remembering the departed. Called “Tốt Khốc” or “The Last Cry” the 100th Day is part of a series of Vietnamese Buddhist rituals that have been strictly observed. Indeed, there are a group of Buddhist monks meditating on his spirit daily for the next decade preparing Vũ Nhật Tân for a more positive reincarnation.

For eight months Jan and I were truly on the other side of the world.

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“The Ancient is New & The New is Ancient” at L’espace in Hà Nội

26 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Japan, Minh Dam Quang, Nguyen Thien Dao, Toru Takemitsu, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Institut Francais-Hanoi, Karlheinz Stockhausen, L’espace, Luong Hue Trinh, Minh Dam Quang, Ngo Tra My, Nguyen Thien Dao, Nicholas Isherwood, Olivier Messiaen, Pham Tra My, Travel

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A silhouette of my friend Hương Lan in Huế.

“I have been trying not to view Japan as an absolute but as a duality, otherwise the tradition does not come alive but remains an unavoidable antique.”

In 1989 Toru Takemitsu wrote for me an essential article, Sound of East, Sound of West. His perspective gives the serious reader a magnetic compass for navigating the shifting soundscapes of our musical world. And like any map locating an unknown destination, my dog eared copy of this East Meets West article, a transcription of a lecture Takemitsu delivered at Columbia University in New York City, has been read and re-read more times than I can count.

On Saturday night December 1st, 2018 at 20h00, the Institut-Français Hà Nội sponsors the ongoing collaboration of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble and the Đông Kinh Cổ Nhạc/Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin at L’espace at 24-26 Tràng Tiền near the Hà Nội Opera House in the Hoàn Kiếm District. Thank you, France!

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The Hà Nội New Music Ensemble 2018-19 Season Starts September 8

07 Friday Sep 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Igor Stravinsky, Manzi Art Space, Minh Dam Quang, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Ripieno Ensemble, Manila, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Goethe Institut Hanoi, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Igor Stravinsky, In, Luong Hue Trinh, Manzi Art Space, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Pham Truong Son, Ripieno Ensemble of Manila, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan, William Kraft

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Violinists Phạm Trường Sơn and Vũ Thị Khánh Linh.

I may be house sitting for a friend in San Francisco this September, but unlike Tony Bennett I’ve left my heart in Hà Nội, Việt Nam!

The opening concert of the 2018-19 season of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble will get underway on Saturday September 8 at the Manzi Art Space at 8 PM. The first of five programs this season, the most ambitious we’ve planned, begins with a Composer Portrait concert of works for strings by Vũ Nhật Tân, entitled Màu Âm in Vietnamese, Shades of Sound in English, Couleurs des son in French, juxtaposed with ancient Vietnamese music from our friends in the Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin.

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Forest Chants & Mountain Walks With New & Old Friends in Kyoto

21 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Buddhism, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Japan, Kyoto, Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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Buddhism, Enrakuji Temple, Gregorian Chant, Guanyin, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine, Kyoto, Maki Takafuji, Mt. Wu Tai, Ohara, Sanzen-in Temple, Seiryu-den Observation Deck, Shogun-Zuka Temple, Shomyo Buddhist Chanting, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Travel, Walking Meditation

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Meeting Maki Takafuji for the first time at Seiryu-den in Kyoto.

The city of Kyoto can be a paradox. The functional train station, workaday streets and boulevards, the normal comings and goings of its citizens, the overall grey quality of most of the recent architecture, all can elicit a potentially ambivalent response. Kyoto is a UNESCO World Heritage City with an extraordinary endowment of timeless shrines, temples, mind boggling handicrafts, legendary ceramics, world class tea and sake production, the legendary home of Noh and Kabuki, and maintains all the splendor of the once ancient capital of Japan. At first appearance, however, these wonders seem very hidden, as if the greatness of Kyoto is itself wrapped in a confusing furoshiki of the modern world.

But whereas the Vatican in Rome is housed in the magisterial architecture of the Renaissance, the sibling city for Buddhism in Kyoto is an ongoing interaction with nature. You will experience more open doors framing a view of nature in a Zen Temple in Kyoto than any Catholic Church in Rome.

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Finding Tambuco in Japan: “Are Those Bamboo Gamelans I Hear, Mr. Bond?”

12 Tuesday Dec 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Buddhism, Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Japan, Kyoto, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Uncategorized

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007 Spectre, Art Curator Japan, David Newman, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Indonesia, John Harris, Kyoto, Maki Takafuji, Nagoya Marimbas, Naoko Minami, New Music Gathering Asia, Onjuku, Sam Mendes, Sanzen-in Temple, Shogun-zuka, Shomyo Chanting, Steve Reich, Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, Toru Takemitsu

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With Maki Takafuji at Sanzen-in Temple in Ohara.

”Jeff, it’s interesting, after all our projects together, that we are now talking here about music and culture in Onjuku, Japan,” said my friend Ricardo Gallardo of the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble during an early morning coffee looking out on the Pacific Ocean.

“You and Jan must meet my friend Maki Takafuji when you go to Kyoto. She lives there, teaches in Nagoya and is a great advocate for new music, and she commissioned Steve Reich for the famous Nagoya Marimbas.”

But before we get to Kyoto, I should to tell you about why Ricardo and I were talking on the Pacific coast of Japan in Onjuku.

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The Eternal City of Huế

07 Saturday Oct 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Hue, Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Anthony Bourdain, Buddhism, Dam Quang MInh, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hue Citadel, Kodo Drummers, Lan Huong, Perfume River, Sado Isalnd, Thien Mu Pagoda, Vu Nhat Tan

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Eternal Việt Nam and the Sông Hương, the River of Perfume, in Huế. Photo by Lan Hương.

It has been eleven years since I visited the city of Huế, considered the Vatican of Vietnamese Buddhism. Despite the horrific battles fought here in 1968 during the Tết Offensive, a calm spirituality infuses the area. You glimpse this on the long highway road from Đà Nẵng. Sandwiched between busy shops and food stands are more Buddhist temples that I could count.

The language is different. The cuisine is different. The atmosphere is different.

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The Eroica Moment for Việt Nam and the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

06 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Ken Burns, Kim Ngoc Tran, Music, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Ken Burns, Kent Nagano, Kim Ngoc Tran, Luong Hue Trinh, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Nom Calligraphy, Paris, Ton That Tiet

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Composer Nguyễn Minh Nhật in Paris with his mentor, Tốn Thất Tiết.

While Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and PBS turn American attention to the Vietnam War with an important new documentary on September 17th, Jan Karlin and I will be in Việt Nam turning our attention to the third season of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. For the first time, Vietnamese composers are writing new works for their own Vietnamese ensemble for a supportive Vietnamese public, guided by their first ever American arts advisors, with trusted friends sending best wishes from Paris on October 21st.

Burns, Novick and PBS are justifiably concerned with the Vietnam War. But Jan and I want us all to truly to move forward, and to do that you must be prepared to see Việt Nam as a country. We firmly believe new music is writing the inspiring next chapter of our story together.

Why not join us in Hà Nội on October 21st and hear for yourself?

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Who Knew? Chez Janou and 80 Types of Pastis in Paris

16 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Buddhism, Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Japan, Kim Ngoc Tran, Kyoto, LA International New Music Festival, Los Angeles, Minh Dam Quang, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Asia, Buddhism, Chez Janou, Dam Quang MInh, Food, French Food, Gilbert Nouno, Guangxi Arts Festival, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, India, IRCAM, Munich Biennale, Paris, Pastis, Pierre Boulez, Travel, Vietnam

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Jan at Chez Janou.

Invariably, when one searches the internet for restaurant reviews of places to go in Paris, the general observation includes a few “rude service” comments. Personally, I’ve never experienced what they’re talking about, but that might be because I have a decent amount of French. I’ve always found Parisians pretty easy going if you just say “Bonjour” when you walk into a restaurant or a shop. You aren’t the first tourist they’ve ever seen. Smiles always help you.

Jan and I are in Europe for planning meetings for next steps for our Hà Nội New Music Ensemble in Việt Nam. Things are moving forward, for while we’re in Europe, my Vietnamese colleagues have concerts in Hà Nội with the directors of the Münchner Biennale and then tour to the Guangxi Festival in Nanning, China. By dividing our resources we’re getting ready for an ambitious future.

Allow me to share with you where a Parisian friend recommended we meet for dinner? And the staff is friendly and fantastic. Feel free to make your own reservation!

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Where the Dragon Descends: A Trip to Hạ Long Bay, Part One

13 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Buddhism, Cat Ba Island, Halong Bay, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Anthony Bourdain, Arnold Schoenberg, Ascending Dragon, Au Co Boat Tours, Buddhism, Cat Ba Island, Emeraude Boat, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Vietnam

A world of clouds and dragons in Ha Long Bay.

A twilight world of clouds and dragons in Hạ Long Bay.

When the dragon meets the clouds, peace is at hand. Vietnamese Proverb

Listen well to my story, because once upon a time in a distant land there was a fairy princess named Âu Cơ. She lived high in the mountains and had a warm heart. With her abundant kindness, Âu Cơ became a skilled doctor, healing the mountain people of their sicknesses with endless compassion. But one day she was very frightened by a monster, who scared her so much, Âu Cơ turned herself into a crane and flew far far away to safety.

And where did her crane wings fly her to safety? To the protection of Hạ Long Bay, where the dragon descends into the ocean.

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Conquering the Darkness: The Festival of Lights in Luang Prabang

03 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Buddhism, Diplomacy, Laos, Luang Prabang, Secret War in Laos, Travel, Uncategorized, UXO Removal, Wat Xieng Thong

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Asia, Buddhism, Festival of Lights in Luang Prabang, Hanuman, Luang Prabang, Mekong River, Mt. Phou Si, President Obama, Princess Sita, Ramayana, Secret War in Laos, Wat Xieng Thong

Twilight on the Mekong in Luang Prabang.

Twilight on the Mekong in Luang Prabang before the Festival of Lights.

Make no mistake about it. What Vatican City is to Roman Catholicism, Luang Prabang is to Theravada Buddhism in Laos. Consider Wat Xieng Thong akin to St. Peter’s. Because to approach this UNESCO World Heritage Site city, located on a peninsula at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers, without awareness of its spiritual life is to miss it entirely.

Jan and I knew that the Festival of Lights, or Boun Ok Phansa in Lao, was approaching in mid-October, marking the end of the rainy season. The late summer to early autumn time is a period of intense meditation for most Laotian Buddhist monks. We could enjoy a week off from our hectic schedule with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble in Việt Nam and Luang Prabang, being only an hour flight away in Laos, beckoned to us again.

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