Guitarist Paco Renteria to perform in Vietnam

Mexican guitarist Paco Renteria will be in Vietnam from September 22-27.

He is scheduled to perform in Hanoi and Thai Nguyen and take part in an exchange at the Vietnam National Academy of Music.

In 2010, he performed very successfully in Hue and Hanoi.   

He began to play guitar at the age of seven and graduated from the music school seven years later.

Paco Renteria has risen to fame thanks to his new style of “Free Play” with 300 pieces of work.

Poland offers Hue expertise in conservation of relics

Poland is helping train conservation staff working on relics in Hue, the former imperial capital.

A one-month onsite training, which began last week, is being provided by Polish architect Marek Baranski and his associates for managers, staff, and researchers working at the Hue Monuments Complex Conservation Centre.

The training will be given at various sites in the complex to cover conservation of stone, earth, and wood objects.

Concert to mark 66th anniversary of the Southern Resistance War  

A music concert to mark the 66th anniversary of the Southern Resistance War that began 23rd September 1945 will be held at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Cultural House on September 24.  
            
The music performance will present popular Vietnamese revolutionary songs Chien si Viet nam (Vietnamese soldiers) by Van Cao, Len ngan (Let's go to the mountain and forest) by Hoang Viet, Anh Ba Hung (Mr. Ba Hung) by Tran Kiet Tuong, Biet on Cu Ho (Being grateful to Uncle Ho) by Luu Bach Thu and Nam Bo khang chien (Southern Resistance War) by Ta Thanh Son.

Singers Khanh Ngoc, Vo Ha Tram, Huy Hoang, the Hoa Dat Viet band including past female political prisoners of war will participate in the event.

On the occasion, audiences can also take part in a writing contest on the Southern Resistance War and write lyrics for revolutionary songs.

Submissions can be sent to the Art and Culture Department, Ho Chi Minh City Youth Cultural House, 4 Pham Ngoc Thach Street, District 1 by September 23.

The awards ceremony will take place on September 24.

Golden autumn show in capital

The Vietnam Song and Dance Theater and Asian Friendship Co., Ltd will jointly host the show Lang nghe mua thu vang (Listen to the golden autumn) at 8 p.m. on October 1 and 2 at the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace, 91 Tran Hung Dao, Hanoi.

The event features a series of songs written about Hanoi in autumn, such as Hanoi mua thu (Hanoi’s autumn), Hanoi trai tim hong (Hanoi-the red heart) and Nho mua thu Hanoi (Longing for Hanoi’s autumn).

Lang nghe mua thu vang is the meeting of two music couples Uyen Linh/Thanh Lam and Diva My Linh/Hong Nhung, along with the participation of singer Quang Dung with Jennifer Pham the MC.

They will perform under the direction of People’s Artist Tran Binh and musicians Anh Quan and Huy Tuan.

Tickets ranging from VND600,000 to VND2 million are available at the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace or www.acf.com.vn.

Gourmet Canadian dishes to hit HCMC hotel  

The Consulate General of Canada is providing the public with a uniquely Canadian culinary experience until September 25 at the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

The “The Great Taste of Canada” promotion, launched on September 14, introduces gourmet Canadian food to diners at the Reflections Restaurant, including a selection of premium seafood, such as lobster, oysters, Dungeness crab, mussels and scallops, as well as Alberta beef and wines.

These exceptional dishes will be prepared by Canadian master chef Donald Berger from his specialty restaurant in Hanoi, along with the head chef at the Caravelle Hotel, Timo Reus.  

For more information on this event, you can call (08)-38279899, fax: 84-8-3 827 9935 or email him at  tanloc.dang@international.gc.ca.

Vietnam food week held in Thailand

A Vietnam food week was held in the four-star Novotel Bangkok Fenix Ploenchit hotel in Thailand on September 11-18, attracting crowds of local and international visitors.

The display space was decorated with Vietnamese flags and a menu board introducing traditional dishes.

Most of food, including beef noodle soup, spring rolls, braised fish and seafood, was made by Vo Tung Lam, a cook from the Novotel Nha Trang hotel in Vietnam.

VN President meets Australian artist

President Truong Tan Sang on September 17 received in Hanoi painter George Burchett, son of the late Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett.

George Burchett and his family are in Hanoi to organise the photo exhibition “Wilfred Burchett and Vietnam” to commemorate the 100th birthday anniversary of the famous war reporter, who was a great friend of Vietnam.

On behalf of the Vietnamese Party, State and people, President Sang praised Wilfred Burchett’s contributions to the past struggle for national liberation and re-unification of the Vietnamese people.

President Sang affirmed that journalist Wilfred Burchett is a close friend of the Vietnamese people who braved difficulties to present at the Viet Bac resistance base and the southern region’s battle fields during Vietnam two resistance wars.

The journalist had spent a long time together with Vietnamese soldiers and his impartial and truthful reports had contributed to waking up the Western public opinion to support Vietnam’s struggle for national independence and unification, said Sang.

The President also spoke highly of the enthusiasm of George Burchett and his family in organising the photo exhibition, saying it honours the noble cause of the late journalist and his feeling for Vietnam.

Exhibition spotlights sea, islands and naval soldiers

An exhibition entitled 'Sea, Islands and Naval Soldiers - The Ho Chi Minh Trail at Sea' opened at the Khanh Hoa Cultural Centre in Nha Trang city on September 18.

The event was co-organised by the Department of Naval Politics and the Department of Politics in Military Zone 5 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Sea Trail (October 23, 1961 - October 23, 2011).

More than 200 documentary photographs together with 50 items and documentation provided by the Vietnam Navy Museum feature the courageous feats of the unnumbered ships on the legendary sea trail named after beloved President Ho Chi Minh.

The exhibition also displays images and documentation on protecting sovereignty over the country’s sea and islands and the strength of Vietnam’s naval forces, as well as the lives of soldiers and local people in the Truong Sa (Spratly) island district.

The event aims to raise people's awareness of the responsibility for protecting the nation's sea and islands, which contributes to socio-economic development, national defence and security.

The mobile exhibition will be held in ten provinces and cities across the country that received weapons from the unnumbered ships on the Ho Chi Minh Sea Trail, starting in Quang Ngai province then travelling to Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Can Tho, Ca Mau and Hai Phong city.

Free classes keep traditional Vietnamese folk music alive  

Meritorious artists Tuyet Mai and Dinh Linh have kept the strains of traditional Vietnamese folk music alive by offering free classes at their Truc Mai music house in Ho Chi Minh City.  

The artist couple gives visitors lessons in traditional Vietnamese music and knowledge of old folk musical instruments.

The couple founded the Truc Mai traditional music house in 2004, not just to provide free classes to locals but also to foreigners. According to Tuyet Mai, who has performed often at the Bong Sen Theater in Ho Chi Minh City, the music classes have attracted many people from different ages and backgrounds, such as war veterans and students.

Nguyen Hoang Le Trung, a 12th grader from Trung Vuong high school said he comes to the music class with his younger sister, grandfather and parents. He believes these classes provide a valuable traditional culture which is enriching as well as stimulating, he added.

Visitors can contact Truc Mai Music House at 104-Pham Viet Chanh, Ward 19, Binh Thanh District or trucmai_music@yahoo.com.vn for further information.
 
German conductor to lead local youth orchestra  

The Young Philharmonic Orchestra (YPO) from the Vietnam National Academy of Music will perform famous classical works under the baton of conductor Christoph Poppen at the Hanoi Opera House on September 21.

The YPO, consisting of  over 70 young lecturers and exceptional students from the Academy, will feature compositions by composer Wolfgang A. Mozart, Ludwig v. Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn.

In recent years, the Young Philharmonic Orchestra has worked under the direction of such internationally renowned conductors as Nguyen Thieu Hoa, Claire Levacher (France), Peter Gülke (Germany) and Christian Schumann (Germany). Especially outstanding was their participation in the International Beethoven Fest in Bonn and Berlin in October 2009.

The orchestra presents at several concerts in the Hanoi Opera House every year, with program ranging from classical to modern works from world famous composers.

In addition to his conducting career, Christoph Poppen, has worked in several areas of classical music as a violinist, soloist and chamber musician.

He has also held professorships at various universities. Since 2003 he has been professor of violin and chamber music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and worked as conductor and artistic director of the Munich Chamber Orchestra from 1995-2006.

He then served as Chief Conductor of the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra, and since 2007 he has been conducting the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern.

In addition, Poppen is also active internationally as a guest conductor. Through his distinctive style, contrasting classical and contemporary works, Poppen has made a name for himself and has been honored with numerous awards.

Free tickets are available at the Goethe-Institute Hanoi, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc

Tel.: +84 4 37342251/52/53 – 9.

Oxfam launches anti-poverty photo contest  
 
The contest's winners will be awarded an Ipad 2, a Sony DCS and an Ipod Nano

A photo contest held to suport anti-starvation campaigns around the world looks to highlight the globe's unique cultures.

The photos must be of a meal and its owner, and should depict the cultural dinette, specific customs and conditions of each region.

The contest is part of a global campaign called GROW initiated by Oxfam, an international confederation of 15 organizations working together in 98 countries and with partners and allies around the world to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice, according to its website http://www.oxfam.org/.

The contest will accets single photos attached with a caption not longer than 200 words about the meal’s owner.

Applicants can send more than one photo, but the photos cannot be not over-adjusted.

The photo contest is divided into two periods, Sep 9 – Oct 10 and Oct 11 – Nov 11, 2011.

Entries can be sent via email chiendichgrow@gmail.com.  

More information could be found at the following websites: http://www.thehexanh.net/,  http://www.oxfam.org/grow,  www.oxfam.org.uk/system and http://www.facebook.com/GROWgarden?sk=wall

The contest's winners will be awarded an Ipad 2, a Sony DCS and an Ipod Nano

Int'l short films to be shown in Hanoi, HCMC  

A fresh batch of international short films will be screened this month in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City by Future Shorts ONE, the monthly global film festival.  

A diverse range of dramas, comedies and music videos from 15 countries - Australia, Austria, Cambodia, Finland, Georgia, Iceland, Indonesia, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, UK and Vietnam - will be shown this month.

The selected films include Path Lights, Traffic Jam, A Perm, One Minute Puberty, and music videos of New York band Cults’ Go Outside and Paolo Sassanelli’s War.

In Path Lights, a voice actor famed for his work on detective audiobooks and the automated answering service of a tree cutting company is propelled into a real-life investigation after a mysterious bottle falls from the sky.  

Two Finnish truck drivers make confessions while waiting for the lights to change in Traffic Jam whereas Korean haircuts are portrayed in A Perm.  

The screenings will take place in Hanoi on Sep 17 and Ho Chi Minh City on Sep 25.

Hanoi: Chez Xuan 41, alley 76, An Duonng, Dist Ba Dinh, Hanoi (near Sofitel Plaza Hotel)
Music 7-8p.m.
Vietnamese films 8-9p.m.
International films 9-10p.m.
Music 10p.m. til late
HCMC: Yoko Bar, 22 Nguyen Thi Dieu, Dist. 3.
Doors open from 7p.m. and films start at 7.30p.m.
Tickets, ranging from VND30,000 to VND60,000, are available at the venues.

Overseas Vietnamese students celebrated Kool Moon

Vietnamese students in the University of Queensland last Saturday presented a late Mid-Autumn show called Kool Moon 2011 in the university’s Schonell Hall for Vietnamese kids living in Brisbane, Australia.

Sponsored by the university and the Vietnam IAE Edunet, a Vietnamese educational consultancy, the event sold out 400 tickets within 5 days.

In his opening speech, Professor Alan Lawson, vice president of the Queensland University, said he highly valued the time-consuming preparation and impressive scale of the show, adding that the university expected to improve the relations between Vietnam and Australia through cultural exchanges.

The show started with a spectacular lion dance performance, followed by folklore songs and kids carrying lanterns on the stage, bringing back to the audience their childhood memories. There was also break dance performance, a comedy and a fashion show where students were dressed in the Vietnamese traditional ao dai.

Kool Moon, which is celebrated annually during the Mid-Autumn festival, was awarded “Event of The Year” by the University of Queensland in 2010.

Hanoi hosts concert and film events

Hanoi dominates the country’s entertainment events this week as it hosts a number of film and music activities.

Hanoi Opera House will present a concert by the Young Philharmonic Orchestra – Vietnam National Academy of Music (VNAM) under the baton of German conductor Christoph Poppen this week.

Famous compositions by Mozart, Beethoven and Mendelssohn will be performed by the orchestra, with a special appearance of Vietnamese pianist Dao Trong Tuyen, who is a lecturer at VNAM.

Born in 1956 in Münster (Germany), Poppen is a conductor, violinist, soloist and chamber musician who has held professorships at various German universities and music academies.

He has also been a guest conductor in many national orchestras and won a number of international music awards.

VNAM’s Young Philharmonic Orchestra comprises of over 70 young lecturers and outstanding students from the Academy, who in recent years have worked under many internationally renowned conductors as Nguyen Thieu Hoa, Claire Levacher (France), Peter Gülke (Germany) and Christian Schumann (Germany).

Every year the Young Philharmonic Orchestra gives a number of concerts, ranging from classical to modern works by world famous composers.

The concert will take place at 8pm September 21 at Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien, Hanoi. Admission is free.

The second German Film Festival to hit Vietnam’s 6 biggest cities from Hanoi to Can Tho opened in Hanoi last week.

With a one-month rolling schedule of screening in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hue, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh and Can Tho, the film fest that started in the capital city September 16 will conclude in the southern Can Tho city on October 17.

Hosted by the Goethe Institute, it will show a number of recent and successful films by both famous directors and young and rising filmmakers of German cinema, such as “Young Goethe in Love” (2010), “Run, if you can” (2009) or “November child” (2008).

The institute said it will arrange additional screenings in Hanoi of the most popular films as the event wraps up in the city tomorrow and moves to Hai Phong on September 22.

Last year, the first German Film Festival successfully drew more than 19,200 people to its screening across Vietnam.

Detailed information on free tickets, screening time and movie titles are available at http://www.goethe.de/ins/vn/prj/dfv/ffv/enindex.htm.

Film and dance aficionados in Hanoi will be regaled by another film screening event to open Wednesday this week.

The French Cultural Center L’Espace will play a series of films depicting the contemporary dance world and its leading artists and choreographers in France and Europe.

Featured in the films will be famous names like the choreographer Philippe Decoufle, Jacques Garnier, Jean-Claude Galotta, Carolyn Carlson, Maguy Marin, Angelin Prliocaj and Dominique Bagouet.

The event opens at 6pm at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien, Hanoi September 21 and ends October 3. Admission is free.

TA