HCMC to host Toyota Classics Concert 2011  

The 14th Toyota Classics Concert 2011 will be held at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House on November 3.  
 
45 artists of the Northeast German Philharmonic Orchestra, pianist Pamela Nicholson and violinist Vasko Vassilev, together with Vietnamese young talented soprano Pham Thi Duyen Huyen will perform at the concert under the baton of talented master conductor Thomas Dorsch.

Toyota Classics concert is an annual musical event in the country. The show not only contributes to cultural development in Vietnam but also creates an opportunity for local music students and teachers to learn from performances by world-famous orchestras.

Tickets range from VND300,000 – VND800,000 with all proceeds going to the Toyota scholarship for Vietnamese young music talents.

The event is being organized by Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Vietnam in cooperation with Vietnam Performing Arts Center of the Department of Performing Arts under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
 
Italia holds talk on culture

The Italian Embassy in Hanoi will host a seminar to discuss its great cultural heritages and influences on contemporary Vietnamese society this Wednesday.

Titled “Omaggio all’Italia” or “Tribute to Italy”, the event will discuss the country’s music, football and fashion which have left distinctive impacts on countries around the world including Vietnam.

Distinguished guest speakers including music professor Nguyen Dai Dong, sport journalist Anh Ngoc and fashion designer Minh Hanh will chair the seminar and deliver talk in their respective field of expertise.

While professor Dong talks about Italian Opera and football commentator Anh Ngoc delves on the connection of Vietnamese and Italy’s most famous sport, designer Minh Hanh will elaborate on how the local fashion industry got its inspiration from the European fashion power.

“Tribute to Italy” will be held at 5pm30, October 19 at Nguy Nhu Kon Tum Hall, 13-15 Le Thanh Tong Street, Hanoi.

Universities screen traffic films

10 universities and colleges in Ho Chi Minh and Can Tho have been chosen to screen the winning documentaries of the 89,600km+ non-profit project since last week.

Originally chosen from 29 script entries, the four films “Disordered”, “Banana seller’s love story”, “Amok” and “Xe om” which received financial support from the project address bad driving habits and behaviors of Vietnamese and other related traffic problems.

Founded by award-winning actress and producer Hong Anh, the 89,600km+ project aims to support young aspiring filmmakers to pursue their career and spread awareness of the chaotic traffic scene in Vietnam.

Expected to reach more than 5,000 students at these institutions, these films will also be shown at a number of US colleges next year.

While “Disorders” will be signed up for a short film festival in Australia, “Xe om” will compete at Japan’s NHK Documentary Festival, Anh said.

The 89,600km+ project will be held again next January, which is expected to provide at least VND100 million (US$ 4,780) worth of production budget for each of the five winning script entries.

The film screening will run until November 15.

Ho Chi Minh City to host first Piano Festival  

Ho Chi Minh City will host the first Piano Festival at the municipal Conservatory of Music from October 18-23.  
 
The festival will attract teachers and students from the Piano Faculty of Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, artists from Vietnam National Academy of Music, Hue Academy of Music as well as from  foreign countries such as the US, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Singapore and Korea.

The event will also include a conference on the history of piano on October 18, headed by Vo Bao Lac Nhan, an expert on educational psychology and teaching methodology at the Stepman School in Koekelberg in Bruxelles.  Another talk on Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt by Van Hung Cuong, conductor of the orchestra and a teacher at North Virginia Community College will take place on October 19.

A course on piano masterpieces by Professor Boris Kraljevic and Rena Cheung Phua, Head of Keyboard Studies at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and concerts performed by local and guest artists will be held during the six-day event.

Tickets will be priced at VND 100,000-VND350,000 and will be  available at the HCMC Conservatory of Music, 112 Nguyen Du Street, District 1, HCMC.
 
Big little man to climb Vietnam’s tallest mountain

Well-known Agent Orange victim and sports journalist Nguyen Son Lam is set to trek up Mt Fansipan, Vietnam’s highest peak, this weekend to raise funds for his charity.

The 3,142-meter ascent will be a considerable physical challenge for Son, who is only 83 cm tall and weighs 23 kg.

Born to a Vietnamese veteran father who was exposed to Agent Orange during the war, Son suffers from porous bones and muscular atrophy, which has severely limited his movements since childhood.

Lam said he wants to change perceptions about people with disability and raise fund for “Son Lam and friends,” a charity he runs to help needy children.

He has been training for the trip for months, climbing stairs and practicing martial arts.

“I will wear a T-shirt with the Vietnamese flag and sing our national anthem when I reach the top,” Lam told Tien Phong newspaper.

The 28-year-old is famous for his academic achievements and actively working to raise awareness of people with disabilities and helping them despite his own condition.

He has two college degrees, speaks four languages, and is a sports editor at The Thao Van Hoa newspaper.

Italy-Vietnam cultural week introduced

The Italian Embassy in Hanoi introduced Italy-Vietnam Cultural Week, part of the Italy-Vietnam progromme 2011, at a press conference in Hanoi on Oct. 19.

The week, taking place from Oct. 14-22, aims to increase mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Italy , through many cultural, sporting, fashion and music activities, Italian Ambassador Lorenzo Angeloni said.

Within the framework of the week, the “Festival of European Language” was held on Oct. 14-15, and a fashion show will take place on Oct. 22.

PV