Tag Archives: Bắc Ninh

East Meets East: The Hà Nội New Music Ensemble and The Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin on November 4

26 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Composers, Contemporary Music, Diplomacy, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Nguyen Minh Nhat, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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A handshake contract with my good friend Dam Quang Minh in Bac Ninh.

A handshake contract in Bằc Ninh with my good friend Đàm Quang Minh of the Ancient Music Ensemble of Tonkin.

I am happy to announce an important development for serious music in Việt Nam. On Friday November 4th at the second concert of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble we will begin a long term collaboration with the Ancient Music Ensemble of Tonkin. As an American arts advisor to new music here, I’m proud to have been a catalyst for this long overdue fraternity of friends, and should you be in Hà Nội, make plans to join us at 8 PM in the Grand Hall of the Việt Nam National Academy of Music in a concert honoring the 60th anniversary of the Academy’s founding.

It’s been quite a busy time since I arrived in early September.  Not to mention the monster crowd that greeting our opening concert at L’espace on Sunday!

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A Pilgrimage to Chùa Dâu, the Oldest Buddhist Temple in Việt Nam

05 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, LA International New Music Festival, Minh Dam Quang, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Chua Dau, at 3000 years the oldest Buddhist temple in Viet Nam.

Chùa Dâu, at 3000 years the oldest Buddhist temple in Việt Nam.

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. Confucius

Rarely do I experience the guardian angels of my life coming back to Earth, encircling me with love, humility, thankfulness, generosity and, as I acknowledge the unavoidable fate of being human, life memory. As momentous as a baptism, wedding or funeral, these rare moments of spiritual contact leave a new connection, refreshing me for the next chapters of my life.

At Chùa Dâu, the oldest Buddhist temple in Việt Nam, I had one of those spiritual moments finding the guardian angel, the bodhisattva, of my work in Southeast Asia, Loi Trinh Le.

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The House in Bắc Ninh

02 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Composers, Diplomacy, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Minh Dam Quang, Music, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Is this Provence or Viet Nam?

What do you think? Provence or Việt Nam?

Culture neither survives nor advances by accident. Decades of violent rupture does not bode well for continuity. In the case of Việt Nam, it takes people dedicated to renaissance to find out about the past after decades of turbulent experience. What our friends here are faced with gives the definition of the word contradiction a whole new vocabulary.

My wife and I weren’t totally clear on the significance of a text from our friends Bông Hoa and Vũ Nhật Tân. “Minh and us want to take you to a village in Bắc Ninh to the oldest ceramics maker area in Việt Nam.” Sounded innocent enough.

I’m not sure if anything is innocent in Việt Nam. There is always a new layer to be uncovered, and for us, never more than on this day.

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