DJ Hoang Anh to embark on world tour

Vietnamese singer DJ Hoang Anh, a top-selling recording artist, recently unveiled he will launch a world tour in celebration of his 15th anniversary of performing on the musical stage.

The singer will hit the road on May 15 with a performance at the Asta Club in Hue City and one day later play at the Sky 360 bar in Danang City before heading on to London on May 24 and then around the world.

It promises to be a big year for Anh with performances in Bella Vista Cruise in Sydney on June 12 and in Studio 3 at Crown in Melbourne on June 13 and he has assured that further dates, venues and countries will be soon announced.

DJ Hoang Anh won first prize at a Heineken DJ contest in 2004 and more recently worked as a jury member for The Remix-a live music reality show.  

VN Exhibition Hall in Milan Expo 2015

Vo Trong Nghia Architects have designed and built the Viet Nam Pavillion for the Milan Expo 2015, that will run from May 1 till October 31 in Italy.

The Milan Expo 2015 is a universal exposition at which participating countries will display their technology, innovation, culture, traditions, creativity and food, highlighting this year's theme: "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life".

This year's Milan Expo motto has inspired the design team to bring back the power of living for urban people by providing food for their bodies and a positive outlook for their minds, which are equally important.

"Our proposal is to bring back the trees to the cityscape in order to share the importance of nature and regenerate living in harmony with nature," said Architect Vo Trong Nghia..

The design team has set up a two-storey exhibition space at the centre of the pavilion, surrounded on all sides by water and framed by 25 bamboo structures.

Vietnamese cities such as H Noi and Ho Chi Minh City are losing green areas, with less than one square metre per person.

VTN said they wanted to tackle the problem by incorporating trees into their designs and buildings.

Bamboo has been used in the construction of the pavillion, because it has a very rich and strong relationship with Vietnamese culture and life.

Pianists make stage debuts with Bach, folk music

A concert featuring four pianists, heard for the first time in Viet Nam, will be held on May 30.

The pianists, Ta Quang Dong, Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, Pham Quynh Trang and Tran Thi Tam Ngoc, will play Bach's Concerto for four hands, along with two pieces arranged from Vietnamese folklore music by Dang Huu Phuc.

The musicians will perform on Steinway and Yamaha pianos.

The concert includes a two-piano performance by Mozart. His work, Divertimento, will open the concert and be performed by the Ha Noi String Orchestra.

The concert will begin at 8pm at the Viet Nam National Academy of Music, 77 Hao Nam Street. Call 0903230685 or email: sonviolin@yahoo.com for tickets.

VN Next Top Model winner releases first collection

Viet Nam's Next Top Model Winner Season 1 – Trang Khieu announced her first exclusive collection through a collaboration project with the leading fashion e-commerce website ZALORA.

The collection is named Trang Khieu Collection (TKC) and will be presented exclusively beginning on May 14.

The Trang Khieu Collection features over 60 pieces combining minimalistic designs for women, including shirtdresses, culotte pants and tank tops, mostly in black and white, inspired by Trang's sporty yet chic and feminine style.

Concerts to mark Trinh Cong Son's death anniversary

Three major concerts will be held in HCM City, Ha Noi, and Hue starting next week to mark legendary composer Trinh Cong Son's 14th death anniversary, his family told the media on Wednesday.

The singers and musicians who will take part in Stretching Our Arms Wide include Cam Van, Thanh Lam, My Linh, Tung Duong, Duc Tuan, Tran Manh Tuan, Lan Nha, and Hoang Quyen.

The shows will be organised by the Crescent Pool in the Phu My Hung Urban Area in HCM City on May 23, in Ha Noi on May 30, and in Hue on June 6.

The organisers said the Trinh Cong Son Show in Phu My Hung attracted audiences of 25,000 in 2012, nearly 30,000 in 2013 and over 35,000 last year.

Son died on April 1, 2001.

Gia Lai: efforts to preserve heritage epic performances

The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai has devised measures to preserve the Bahnar epic poems which received the title of National Intangible Heritage in September last year, said Phan Xuan Vu, Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Gia Lai province plans to issue books of Bahnar epic poems to local schools with ethnic minority students, particularly boarding and semi-boarding schools, and sponsor folk culture concerts that include performances of Bahnar epics.

Preferential policies have also been adopted to encourage epic singers and tellers to continue performing and passing their skills and knowledge to the younger generation.

The provincial authority has nominated 15 Bahnar epic performing artists as Meritorious Artists and People’s Artists, Vietnam’s honorary titles for exceptional achievements in the arts.

Called Hoamon in the Bahnar language, the epic poems are legends about the tribe’s heroes and great events, representing centuries-old aspirations of the Bahnar people. They are long enough to sing and tell through several nights, the longest takes weeks or even months to finish, as sung by memory.

One of these legends, the epic of Dam Noi, was first discovered in the 1980s in Kong Chro. Other epics found in the region have been translated and published bilingually since 2000.

The province is currently home to 20 epic performing artists living in the districts of Dak Po, Dak Doa, Kbang and Kong Chro. They know around 70 Bahnar epic poems by heart, including Dyong Du, Dam Noi, Dio Hao Jrang, Bia Brau, Atau So Hle Kone Goseng and Giong Trong Yuan.

Vietnam-US photo contest to honour winners this July

Winners of the photo contest and exhibition “Images of Vietnam – US Relations and the United States of America through the lens of Vietnamese photographers” will be awarded this July in Hanoi after a seven-month submission period.

There will be one grand prize, three first prizes, six second prizes, six third prizes, and 12 incentive prizes.

Nearly 2,000 entries by 100 photographers have been divided into three categories, politics-diplomacy, culture-society-daily life, and landscapes in the US.

Up to 100 winning photos will be on display in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Washington D.C.

As part of activities celebrating the 20th anniversary of the normalisation of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations, the event is a joint effort between the Vietnam-US Society, the Vietnam-US Magazine and the VTV4-Vietnam Television under the auspices of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.-VNA

Publisher unveils books on late President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday

Books about the late President Ho Chi Minh have been introduced by the Kim Dong Publishing House on the 125th birthday anniversary of the founder of modern Vietnam and its first President (May 19, 1890-May 19, 2015).

The ‘Parting moment on the Dragon House Wharf’ book by writer Son Tung, based on the screenplay ‘See You Again Saigon,’ depicts Uncle Ho’s young life.

‘Our Uncle Ho’ writen by Bich Thuan portrays the simple life of President Ho Chi Minh through memoirs and historic materials.

‘Father and Son’ features emotional stories about President Ho Chi Minh’s childhood and his father Nguyen Sinh Sac; ‘Telling Uncle Ho stories’ features tales about the revolutionary life of Uncle Ho; and ‘Uncle Ho’s Portrait’ contains humanitarian stories, among other books released on the occasion.

HCMC museum shows off never-before-seen artifacts

Some 250 artifacts, most of them never before shown in public, are on display at the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum.

The items on show at the “A 40-year collection of artifacts” exhibition include a gemstone earring in a skull dating back 2,500 years, a bronze jar from the 1st-3rd centuries, and ceramic oil lamps from the 19th-20th centuries.

They have been excavated, gifted, or bought over the past 40 years.

While most of the items belong to Vietnamese cultures, some are from Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Laos, and Myanmar.

After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the new government took over the museum from the US-backed Saigon regime and increased the number of items from 5,000 to the current 37,000.

The exhibition will run until October 31 at the museum at 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, District 1.

Regional bartenders to compete for title in Thailand

Four Vietnamese bartenders will be mixing drinks live on stage in front of an excited crowd at a Southeast Asian regional competition this July in Thailand for a chance to be crowned the best bartender.

They are Lam Duc Anh from Sorae Sushi Sake Lounge, Dien Van Dung from Lotte Hotel Hanoi, Nguyen Anh Tai from Chill Sky Bar and Tu Hoang Duy from Urban Bar.

They will face other competitors from Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The winners at the competition, which is run by the International Bartenders Association and is now in its fourth year, will advance to the finals set for September 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).

Each country’s bartenders will compete in one of the cocktail categories – Before Dinner, Sparkling Cocktail, Fancy Cocktail, Long Drink and After Dinner – and one flairtender.