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

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

~ A blog about new music, travel and food

Sound Travels with Jeff von der Schmidt

Category Archives: Vietnamese Cuisine

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 Silence of Nôm Calligraphy: Memories of the Tết Lunar New Year

24 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Nom Calligraphy, Tet Lunar New Year, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vietnamese Cuisine, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Music Ensemble of Tonkin, Bamboo House Hanoi, Banh Chung, Buddhism, Food, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hanoi Old Quarter, Nom Calligraphy, Poetry, Temple of Literature, Tet Lunar New Year 2018, Tet Markets, Travel, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Craftsman Era sunset glows on “Good Health” our Nôm calligraphy scroll.

As we say a “good riddance” to the chaotic Year of the Boar and as the more hopeful Year of the Mouse approaches on Saturday January 25, 2020, my thoughts and dreams return easily to 2018. That was the year I experienced my first Vietnamese Tết Lunar New Year in Hà Nội, the Year of the Dog.

“Anh Jeff, we want to show you and chị Jan the real Việt Nam!” said our good friends.

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Liquid Tiramisù: An Introduction to Luscious Egg Coffee Spots in Hà Nội

03 Saturday Aug 2019

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Café Giang, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hanoi Social Club, Loading T Coffee, Music, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vietnamese Cuisine, Vietnamese Egg Coffee, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Asia, Buddhism, Café Giang, Dam Quang MInh, Egg Coffee, Food, Hanoi Coffee, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hanoi Social Club, Hanoi Street Food, Loading T Coffee, Vietnamese Ceramics, Vietnamese Cuisine, Vietnamese language, VTV4, Vu Nhat Tan

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The luscious egg coffee of Hà Nội at Loading T Coffee.

“You and Jan are Hanoians now, no longer outsiders anymore,” said our friend Vũ Nhật Tân, a few days before our recent Hà Nội residency concluded in April. He was quickly seconded in French by Đàm Quang Minh. “Monsieur Jeff et Madame Jan, nous marchons toujours ensemble!”

I continue to slowly absorb our most recent residency with the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. Always SRO concerts, important media interviews, long range planning meetings for an ever brighter future, new friends met and old friends brought closer, even progress with the labyrinth of first pronouncing and now speaking Vietnamese.

And always memories upon memories of the amazing cuisine of Việt Nam!

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