• 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: Vietnam

Gongs & Bamboo: New Music from Hong Kong, Manila and Hà Nội

22 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Ripieno Ensemble, Manila, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Cebu, Charles Kwong, Feliz Anne Reyes Macahis, Gilbert Nouno, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, IRCAM, Jonas Baes, Jose Maceda, Luong Hue Trinh, Magellan, MATA Festival, Ripieno Ensemble of Manila

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Asian Ensemble Workshop in Hong Kong brings together Manila and Hà Nội.

The Asian Ensemble Workshop in Hong Kong is an inflection point, at least in foundation speak. In plain English this June 2018 workshop is the start of something big!

From June 22 to 24 and sponsored by the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, these workshop meetings are discussing side-by-side projects deepening artistic connections between the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, the Ripieno Ensemble in Manila, and the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. The goal is to get started with collaborative projects during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, building on the strengths of each city, formally establishing an international network between Hong Kong, the Philippines and Việt Nam.

In case you were wondering, this regional Southeast Asian network didn’t just fall from the sky fully formed in the last few days. And though Hong Kong is not officially in ASEAN, the city does function as a geographical fulcrum. A flight from Hà Nội is only about an hour, the same from Manila. I’m happy to provide some necessary background.

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From Vienna to Việt Nam with the Influence of Leonard Bernstein

14 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Cong Ca Phe, Famous Father Girl, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Jamie Bernstein, Leonard Bernstein, Tanglewood, Uncategorized, Vienna, Vienna Philharmonic, Vietnam

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Austria, Bayreuth, Beethoven, Cong Ca Phe, Famous Father Girl, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Jamie Bernstein, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Serge Prokofiev, Vienna, Vienna Philharmonic, Vietnam

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St. Joseph’s Cathedral from a Cộng Cà Phê in the Old Quarter of Hà Nội.

“There are no coincidences.” – Leonard Bernstein

A day before concluding my eleven week residency this April with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble, I did something routine before I leave Việt Nam. I went across the street from where I stay to my local Cộng Cà Phê, which has hands down the world’s best coffee.

“Cho anh cà phê nâu đá,” I ordered in Vietnamese, which frankly I don’t need to do anymore. The young and attentive staff greet me, often generously coach me in Vietnamese pronunciation each morning and usually just show up with my order. Being older in Việt Nam has its advantages. “Hello, grandfather!” is their normal salutation.

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Transfigured Schoenberg in Việt Nam

17 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Laos, Nguyen Thien Dao, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Arnold Schoenberg, Goethe Institut Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hanoi Old Quarter, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Kolisch Quartet, Nguyen Thien Dao, Paris, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Pham Truong Son, Ripieno Ensemble of Manila, Tet Lunar New Year 2018, Vu Nhat Tan

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Rehearsing Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night in Hà Nội.

”I’m satisfied with what we’ve accomplished tonight,” I said to my hard working friends in the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble after two and half hours rehearsing the complexities of texture and harmony in Schoenberg’s epochal Transfigured Night. “Would like to go home early?”

”No,” came a unison answer. “Can we just take a break and keep working?”

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Black Cardamom & Star Anise at the Đồng Xuân Market in Hà Nội

08 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Farmers Markets, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Minh Dam Quang, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Black Cardamom, Dam Quang MInh, Dong Xuan Market, French cuisine, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, India cuisine, Paris, Tet Lunar New Year 2018, Vietnamese Cuisine, Vu Nhat Tan

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The alley leading to the Đồng Xuân Market.

There are elements of Vietnamese culture that invest significantly in symbolism. Colors. Numbers. Days of the week. Seasons of the year. Phases of the lunar cycle. I-Ching astrological fortune tellers play important and still visible societal roles. Your given name has a deeply considered poetic meaning.

And the cuisine of Việt Nam?

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Thoughts on a Winter Moon with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

27 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Chihiro Inda, Cong Caphe, Dam Quang MInh, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Mititaka Matubara, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Nguyen Thien Dao, Vu Nhat Tan

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A dreamy winter’s day in Hà Nội.

No matter how long the journey, the pattern of progress always returns to one step at a time. After spending the Christmas and New Year Holiday season at home in Pasadena, cooking up a lot of delicious storms and seeing scores of friends and neighbors, I’m excited to be back in Việt Nam for another extended residency with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble, making each little step we take count towards achieving a world class ensemble in Southeast Asia.

And we all need a little help from our friends. In the case of my work with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble, that means creating a collection of like minded people slowly chipping in from Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Paris, Kyoto, México City and Tokyo to offer help and guidance along the way.

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The New Music Gathering Asia with the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble

08 Wednesday Nov 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Music, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Buru Quartet, Charles Kwong, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Karina Yau, Lio Kuokman, MATA Festival, Ripieno Ensemble of Manila, Sharon Chan, Todd Tarantino, Toshio Hosokawa, Unsuk Chin, William Lane

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We’re always happy to be in Hong Kong!

My extended family nostalgia appears spontaneously as soon as I set foot in Hong Kong. When I was a little boy, a man named Harry Woo often watched me for my parents at our family restaurant at 2601 West Sixth Street in Los Angeles. Harry was their loyal dishwasher and short order cook. On what has, over time, become for me a fateful Saturday afternoon in the 1960s, he showed me a letter he was writing to his family in Hong Kong with his Cantonese calligraphy.

I’ve never recovered from that moment. Harry’s letter to his parents in Hong Kong written in Cantonese taught me the world was a bigger place than I’d ever imagined.

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A Third Season Opening Triumph for the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

02 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Composers, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Music, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Ton That Tiet, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Nguyen Duy, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Thanh Hoai, Ton That Tiet, Vu Nhat Tan

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Opening night curtain calls in Hà Nội.

”We are friends! Chúng ta là bạn!” said Thanh Hoài in a stage whisper as we reached out to hold each other’s hand, joining together the entire cast of Kim by Vũ Nhật Tân. Receiving the amazing response from a capacity audience for the collaboration of two of the new outstanding arts organizations in Việt Nam, the Đông Kinh Cở Nhạc/Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin and the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble, was a night to remember for us all.

How successful, you ask? Let me put it this way. My return flight is now booked. After recharging at home in California for the Christmas holiday season, I will return to Hà Nội for more hard work and important next steps in January 2018.

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The Bamboo House Rehearsal

16 Monday Oct 2017

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

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Ancient Music Ensemble of Tonkin, Bamboo House Hanoi, Chua Lang Pagoda, Gilbert Nouno, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, IRCAM, Pierre Boulez, Thanh Hoai, Tran Thu Thuy, Vu Nhat Tan, Water Puppets of Hanoi

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A happy Bamboo House moment with Thanh Hoài and Đàm Quang Minh.

“Mr. Jeff, you must come to rehearse with us in the Bamboo House!” said my friend Đàm Quang Minh in his charming mix of French and broken English. “There you will learn about the real Vietnamese ancient music avec moi et Monsieur Tân.”

I’d been hearing about the Bamboo House with its seemingly legendary status since I arrived in Hà Nội in September. Perhaps it was an inner sanctum for rehearsal and discovery? An urban oasis? On the outskirts of the city?

“Mr. Jeff, you and Jan must first go only to Chùa Láng, et d’accord, nous marchons avec Monsieur Tân à Bamboo House,” continued my friend Minh.

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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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Autumn Moon Lanterns in Hội An

03 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hoi An, Uncategorized, Vietnam

≈ 2 Comments

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Apocalypse Now, Autumn Moon, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hoi An, Ms. Vy’s Morning Glory Restaurant, Nguyen Duy

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Colorful lanterns in Hội An.

I adore the Autumn Moon Festival in Việt Nam. Primarily for youngsters, kids, babies and strollers, smiling grandparents and tired moms and dads, the ramp up weeks to the actual celebration contains charm, even innocence, qualities often missing or hard to locate in the Western world these days. Here in Hà Nội, it’s often a nighttime lullaby to be serenaded by loud citywide dragon drumming this time of year.

Clearing away evil spirits is a good thing, don’t you agree?

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