Brilliant young musicians perform in regional orchestra

Six talented Vietnamese musicians will join the Southeast Asian Youth Chamber Orchestra (SEAYCO) to perform in Yangon, Myanmar today, Oct 15.

They are La Diem My and Hoang Ho Khanh Van (violin); Tran Hong Nhung (cello); Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang (flute); Pham Khanh Toan (oboe) and Nguyen Tuan Long (French horn).

All the musicians who make up the new 25-member SEAYCO were selected in August by a jury from the Mahidol College of Music in Thailand. They attended a 6 day-workshop at the college under the direction of the German conductor Nicolas Pasquet, to prepare for the first concert in Bangkok last Friday.

The SEAYCO is a new project designed to support young talent, bringing together the most outstanding young musicians from Southeast Asia. Every year an intensive two-week master class will be led by a renowned conductor.

The project has been organised by the Goethe Institutes in Southeast Asia in conjunction with the Mahidol College of Music. It is funded by German company Merck.

The SEAYCO plans to perform in Viet Nam in 2013.

IDECAF children's shows prove popular

Without financial assistance from the State, HCM City-based Institute for Culture Exchange with France (IDECAF) is growing in popularity due to its children's drama shows Ngay Xua, Ngay Xua (Once Upon A Time).

Tickets are often sold out a week before the shows, which feature fairy tales from Viet Nam and other countries.

"The warm response from young audiences has encouraged us a lot," said Huynh Anh Tuan, manager of Thai Duong Co which runs IDECAF.

IDECAF has staged more than 200 Ngay Xua Ngay Xua shows for several years, according to Tuan.

It is one of several theatres in the city that receive funds from private companies, following the "socialisation model" that the State began years ago to encourage private companies to invest in theatres. After performing at the city's Experimental Theatre Club for a few years, well-known artists including Thanh Loc, Hong Van and Thanh Hoi have opened new theatres of their own. Thanh Hoi's Hoang Thai Thanh Theatre performs romantic dramas targeting young audiences, and the Saigon Theatre, which receives investment from Phuoc Sang, stages comedies.

"This new policy has increased diversity in theatrical activities in the city," a report in the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper said. Also popular are the performances at the Phu Nhuan Theatre, which stage comedies and other plays based on traditional stories from the north.

"We stage these dramas because a large number of northern people live in Phu Nhuan and nearby Go Vap districts," said artist Hong Van, manager of the theatre.

The play No Than (Magic Cross-Bow) staged by the theatre carried off a gold medal at the national professional drama theatre festival 2009 held in HCM City. Now that the city's theatre sector has made advancements, the challenge is to find more high-quality scripts, critics say.

Khmers prepare for annual ox races at traditional pagoda

The organisers of this year's ox race festival in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang are inviting guests to the annual event to begin tomorrow at the Khmer pagoda of Ta Miet.

Sixty four teams, including two from Cambodia, have registered to take part, according to Do Minh Tri, deputy chairman of the Tri Ton District People's Committee and deputy head of the event organising committee.

The ox race is organised to celebrate the Sene Dolta rites by the Khmer people.

This year's event is expected to attract 25,000 to 30,000 visitors, Tri said.

VN Economic Times to print Japanese edition of the Guide

The Japanese edition of the Guide Magazine was officially introduced during a ceremony in Ha Noi yesterday.

The edition, published by the Viet Nam Economic Times, is expected to further enhance mutual understanding between people from Viet Nam and Japan. By reading the magazine, the two nations' people will learn that they share many similarities in history, culture and development desires.

The edition, which includes both Japanese and Vietnamese text, will be published once every three months. The second issue, to be released in December, will introduce Vietnamese culture, spotlighting the country's most attractive tourism sites and offering information about tourist destinations and services of interest to Japanese readers. Japanese gastronomy will also be highlighted in the forthcoming publication.

Germany supports social projects in Thua Thien-Hue

Germany will continue assisting the central province of Thua Thien-Hue in education, heritage preservation, bomb and mine clearance, resettlement, and coping with natural disasters.

German State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz made this statement at a meeting with the Thua Thien-Hue provincial People’s Committee on October 12.

Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Cao thanked Germany for its support, which significantly boosted socio-economic development in the province.

Thua Thien-Hue is currently implementing poverty reduction and bomb and mine clearance projects sponsored by the German Federal Foreign Office.

Germany has also provided 139,660 euros for a project to restore the interior of the Ta Vu (Mandarins’ House) in the 2012-2013 period.

This is Germany's fourth international assistance project to help preserve the historical relics in the former Imperial City.

The previous three projects focused on the Khai Tuong Lau-An Dinh Palace, the tomb of King Tu Duc, the Toi Linh Tu (Highest Celestial) temple, and the Phu Noi Vu (Royal Treasury).

VNN/VOV/VNS