• 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

Tag Archives: China

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

05 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt 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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Ancient Music, Asia, Bắc Ninh, Buddhism, Chùa Dâu, China, Confucius, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Mahayana Buddhism, Minh Dam Quang, Nom Calligraphy, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Vu Hoa, Vu Nhat Tan

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 Jeff von der Schmidt 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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Ancient Ensemble of Tonkin, Asia, Bắc Ninh, Buddhism, Ceramics, Chùa Dâu, Chùa Linh Am, China, Dong Kinh Co Nhạc, France, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Ho Chi MInh, Minh Dam Quang, Provence, Vietnam, Vietnamese Cuisine, Vu Nhat Tan

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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The Ambassador’s Party: Arts Diplomacy & The Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

21 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Composers, Contemporary Music, Diplomacy, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, LA International New Music Festival, Manzi Art Space, Music, Song Hong Ensemble, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Ambassador Ted Osius, Ascending Dragon, ASEAN, Asia, Catherine Karnow, China, Clayton Bond, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kim Ngoc Tran, Laos, Stanley Karnow, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Vu Nhat Tan

The residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam.

The residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Việt Nam.

“Sometimes i do my job by signing a letter.”

Perhaps, just perhaps, this blog might provide a small but helpful antidote to the toxic political season underway in the United States.  I look for facts, not coincidences, in life. And so what I’ll be revealing in this post is, first and foremost, simple fact.

Because the wisdom of President Barack Obama appointing Ted Osius as the U.S. Ambassador to Việt Nam contains a lot of facts that might help you see the United States in a different light. After meeting Ambassador Osius, I am more proud of my country than ever before. And our Embassy staff in Hà Nội is an inspiring group of Americans in the foreign service!

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From the Fragrant Harbor of Hong Kong: Thank You, Harry Woo!

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by Jeff von der Schmidt in Contemporary Music, Food, Hong Kong, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Taipei, Tea, Travel

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Asia, China, Chinese, Chinese tea, Cong Caphe, Hanoi, Health, Hong Kong, Hongkong, Katz's Deli, Kowloon, Lin Heung Kui, Lin Heung Kui Dim Sum, Los Angeles, MIng Cha Tea, Phoenix Deli, Star Ferry

Hong Kong & Kowloon.

Hong Kong & Kowloon.

Trying to describe Hong Kong is like writing an encyclopedia – you’re going to need a lot of pages to cover all the subjects and possibilities. My marriage is a combination of Hollywood and Broadway: I’m from Los Angeles, California and my wife Jan is from Newark, New Jersey. Which means she spent all her teenage weekends in the Big Apple, as in attending the first Earth Day. Grandma took her to Radio City Music Hall with, of course, white gloves. She still has family in Brooklyn. I used to wait in the parking lot of 20th Century Fox with my uncle for my mom to get off work. Between the two of us, we know the two largest cities in the U.S. from childhood.

Each major city holds a lifetime of experience. I don’t think you’d get tired of any of them. Worn down by traffic and congestion, sure. But tired? Not me. Big cities equal endless opportunity. And just crossing from Kowloon to Hong Kong on the Star Ferry is the single greatest commute on Planet Earth.

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