Tag Archives: Nguyen Thien Dao

Autumn in Asia: New Roles as Artistic Advisors in Hà Nội, Việt Nam Begin in October

17 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, REDCAT, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Vietnam

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Jan and I at

At Phở Sương, or Happy Noodle, in the Old Quarter of Hà Nội in 2013.

Jan and I are thrilled, honored, and excited to begin a new adventure this October, one which I am happy to share with all my blog readers around the world.

Soon after my last post about our Los Angeles International New Music Festival at REDCAT in Walt Disney Concert Hall, an official invitation arrived from Dr. Lê Anh Tuấn, Deputy Rector of the Việt Nam National Academy of Music in Hà Nội. Dr. Tuan was inviting us to serve as Artistic Advisors to the Hà Nội Philharmonic Orchestra and play a key role in the founding of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble.

Our answer? An obvious and immediate YES, YES, YES!

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A Dream Window With My Japanese Friends

23 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, Kyoto, LA International New Music Festival, Los Angeles, Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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At Saihoji Temple in Kyoto.

At Saiho-ji Temple in Kyoto.

“With all the changes in the world, the world never changes.” Toru Takemitsu

As Autumn begins, I’ve been thinking of Japan, our friends here in California and over the Pacific in Japan.  Though I’m at home in Pasadena, I’ve wanted to share with you a tour that Jan and I experienced in 2013 at Saiho-ji Temple in Kyoto, I hope a good introduction to our reunion with friends in San Francisco a few weeks ago as I’ll toggle locations in this post.

Home to hundreds of varieties of moss, Saiho-ji was the favorite Zen garden of Toru Takemitsu and inspired his Dream/Window of 1985. Let’s have a look….

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Cộng Cà Phê in Hà Nội: The Greatest Coffee in the World

04 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in Composers, Cong CaPhe, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Above the French Quarter.

Bird’s eye view of a section of Hà Nội’s French Quarter.

I am dreaming of one beverage the Vietnamese do better than anyone else on earth. Having spent a lot of time in Asia, jet lag has arrived for me in LA with a ferocity that is a reminder of having been on the other side of the world. Doing this without coffee is impossible.  The jet lag always lifts, but my memory takes me back quickly to Hà Nội.

If you like coffee please read on – Cộng Cà Phê (Cong Coffee) in Hà Nội is the greatest coffee on Planet Earth.  Thank God I brought a pound back with me!

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Saffron Dreams from Luang Prabang in Laos

18 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by in Contemporary Music, LA International New Music Festival, Laos, Luang Prabang, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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6 AM in Luang Prabang.

6 AM in Luang Prabang.

Though only a short one hour flight from Hà Nội in Việt Nam, the UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang in Laos is in another world. Of another world. And still in this world.

Luang Prabang has not been ruined by development. The daily alms ceremony shown above is centuries old and respected with calm observation from bystanders. An awareness campaign throughout the city reminds visitors to keep the ceremony respectful. The city awakes every morning at 4 AM to the sound of a deep temple gong, rousing the monks to meditation. A peaceful life rhythm each day.

This is not a Buddhist Disneyland…

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The First New Moon of October: Đom Đóm Lights up the Night

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Food, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Dom Dom's opening night at Zone 9, October 5.

Đom Đóm’s opening night at Zone 9, October 5 with Jakob Riis & Friends in Hà Nội.

Now it’s official. To a packed house of creative music fans, Trần Kim Ngọc’s Đom Đóm Music, the hub for experimental music and art in Hà Nội, opened on Saturday night October 5 to great acclaim. Set for the auspicious date of the first new moon in the lunar cycle for this month, a sense of event was in the air between the numerous Vietnamese and a few eager Europeans and Americans in attendance.

Đom Đóm at Zone 9 is a breaking point for a serious Vietnamese musical avant garde movement to take hold and move onto the international scene in the next decade.

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The Dragon Awakes: New Music in Hà Nội

05 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Education, LA International New Music Festival, Uncategorized

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The Temple of Literature in Hanoi

The Temple of Literature in Hà Nội.

Việt Nam exists in a world of continuity brought together by a reverence for teachers. The second major holiday here, the Thanksgiving to our Christmas, is Teacher’s Day each November.  The country shifts its gears.  Everyone is obligated to bring a gift to their teacher as a thank you to be guided in life by their example.

That’s right. By national obligation going back for centuries, the person who teaches you in school to talk, add and subtract, write and study, remains important to you for your entire life. No wonder Việt Nam has prevailed over foreign invasion from China (for a 1,000 years), France then Japan then France again, and then us during the Việt Nam War.

The whole country is a Temple of Literature…

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