Tag Archives: Vu Nhat Tan

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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The Obama Combo: Bún Chả Hương Liên in Hà Nội’s French Quarter

22 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by in Cong CaPhe, Contemporary Music, Diplomacy, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Where to order the Obama Combo.

Where to find the Obama Combo in Hà Nội’s French Quarter.

“Jeff,” texted my friend Vũ Nhật Tân, “I want to take you and Jan for Obama bún chả in French Quarter, not far from where you stay. They are now so busy that we should meet at 10:30 AM for early early lunch or 5 PM for early early dinner. OK?”

That’s a text message that was easy to answer!

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The Superpower Street Food of Hà Nội and a Home Cooked Meal

17 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by in Composers, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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With Tran Thu Thủy, my Vietnamese tutor, upon arriving in Hanoi.

With Trần Thu Thủy, my Vietnamese tutor, the first photo upon arriving in Hà Nội last week.

I didn’t leave my heart in San Francisco, even though the City by the Bay is home to some of my oldest dearest friends on Planet Earth.

When I have to find where I left my heart, I need to get on an airplane, fly 24 hours (via Tokyo, Taipei or Hong Kong) and begin another chapter, what is now the eighth, in my ongoing love for a country that will always lurk in the background of being an American.

I left my heart in Hà Nội, Việt Nam.

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And The River Sings of Eternity: From Huế to Paris for Tôn Thất Tiết

30 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, LA International New Music Festival, Music, Paris, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam

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Sunset in Paris on the Seine from the Pont des Arts.

My friend Tôn Thất Tiết, who I would describe as a hybrid Vietnamese French composer who is fundamentally Vietnamese, writes the most patient music I’ve ever encountered. Poised from years of Buddhist thought and traditions, his command of stillness inspires me. And like the metaphor of water he often invokes, his music conceals endless energy underneath a calm surface.

Tiết was born in Huế, Việt Nam in 1933, went to Paris in 1958, studied with Messiaen’s friend André Jolivet and became a French citizen in 1971. In 1993 he founded the France-Việt Nam Music Association to promote the development of traditional music in Việt Nam.

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

21 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by 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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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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Manzi Art Space: a 1920s Gem for the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

14 Thursday Jan 2016

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Manzi Art Space, Music, Song Hong Ensemble, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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Relaxing before a performance at the Manzi Art Space in Hanoi.

Relaxing before a performance at the Manzi Art Space in Hà Nội.

I was just asked yesterday by a good friend, who has never visited Việt Nam, what remains in the country from the era of French colonialism, what might he experience if he visited. Though answering the question could fill a few volumes, I’ll give you a some general observations.

The most obvious French echoes, along with influences in Vietnamese cuisine, are the numerous buildings that one encounters all over the country, and not just in Hà Nội. This unique blend of France and Việt Nam accounts for Ambassador Ted Osius’ belief that, after 30 years of service in Asia, he believes Hà Nội is the most beautiful city in a beautiful country.

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An Old Quarter Debut for the Hanoi New Music Ensemble

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Composers, Cong CaPhe, Contemporary Music, Food, Hanoi, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Kim Ngoc Tran, LA International New Music Festival, Manzi Art Space, Music, Song Hong Ensemble, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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A typical Old Quarter transaction.

A typical Old Quarter transaction.

If I were asked to put my impressions of the Vietnamese on the back of a business card, I’d probably settle on “the most resourceful people on Earth.” My friends there have a way of tunneling under, going around, slicing through, or soaring above any and all situations life throws in their way. Sometimes they do these things simultaneously, which makes working in Vietnam always interesting.

Before I was approached to be an official artistic advisor and conductor to the Hanoi New Music Ensemble, I was made aware of many new developments in the performing arts infrastructure in Hanoi. But one report, of a new cultural center smack in the heart of the intoxicating Old Quarter, helped me go from interested to YES!

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The Dragon Awakes: Introducing the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble

25 Wednesday Nov 2015

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

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The Hanoi New Music Ensemble.

The Hà Nội New Music Ensemble.

The world had better get ready for the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble!

I’ve had a busy autumn schedule in Asia, with meetings in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Japan, all surrounding activities in Việt Nam and discussing the exciting inaugural concerts of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble. There are quite a few blog posts on the way about this important new group I am privileged to conduct, so I’m going to begin with a general introduction to the ensemble’s auspicious launch in October.

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The Buddha on the Mantle and My Path to Việt Nam

01 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by in Composers, Contemporary Music, Hanoi, LA International New Music Festival, Los Angeles, Music, Southwest Chamber Music, Travel, Vietnam, Vu Nhat Tan

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The new Old Quarter Cultural Exchange will host the first concert of the Hanoi New Music Ensemble on October 25.

The new Old Quarter Cultural Exchange will host the first concert of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble on October 25.

Why Việt Nam?

Jan and I are looking forward to going to Hà Nội soon, and I’m excited to announce the inaugural concerts of the Hà Nội New Music Ensemble as we begin our roles as artistic advisors to this new group and the Hà Nội Philharmonic Orchestra in October. The concerts are October 25 at the new Old Quarter Cultural Exchange, October 29 at the Manzi Art Space and October 31 in the Grand Hall of the Việt Nam National Academy of Music.

One thing, as they say, leads to another. But why Việt Nam?

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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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