Singer-tutor Nguyen Phuong Nga will beone of the judges at the Autumn Music contest. Photo cucbieudien.gov.vn

A music contest will kick off on Saturday at the Viet Nam National Academy of Music (VNAM) with the participation of nearly 90 contestants from around the country.

Entitled Autumn Music, the contest is being co-held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Department of Performing Art and relevant bodies aiming to honour and discover talented musicians.

Returning after a 12-year hiatus, the contest includes piano and violin recitals, trios, quartets, quintets and opera.

The opera category will feature singers and teachers including Đào Tố Loan and Ngô Hương Diệp from the Việt Nam National Opera and Ballet, and Khánh Ngọc from the HCM Symphony and Ballet.

They have all won acclaim and performed leading roles in classical operas.

Loan and Ngọc have won the first and second prizes at the Singapore Lyric Opera ASEAN Vocal Competition.

“It will be very difficult for the judges to choose the winners,” said Nguyễn Phương Nga, deputy head of the Vocal Department at the VNAM.

“This contest is the most professional to be held at national level. It is an honour for me to be one of the judges.”

Nga is one of the 16-member panel. She won first prize at the national Sao Mai (Rising Star) contest in 2001.

Since then her students have also gone on to win awards, including Bích Hồng, Thu Hằng and Hoàng Ái Linh.

The panel also includes professor and People’s Artist Nguyễn Trung Kiên and Meritorious Artist and deputy director of the HCM Conservatory Tạ Minh Tâm.

The Autumn Music contest was first held in 1990. VNS