Vinh showed me a photo of his younger self with long hair, a look that feels genuinely unfamiliar. To me and many audiences, the image of the bald, high-energy conductor Dong Quang Vinh commanding the stage with his baton has become an iconic fixture.

Vinh considers himself a relentless conductor, leading his orchestra through up to 100 performances a year, averaging a show every three days. Each performance heaps immense pressure onto his shoulders.

Vinh and his "Suc Song Moi" (New Vitality) Orchestra are frequently present at high-profile receptions for heads of state and global VIPs. He recalls never daring to turn off his phone because commands from former Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh could arrive. Every time the phone rang, he would rack his brain to select pieces and rehearse with the orchestra to deliver the most impactful performances.

During the 2024 reception welcoming Apple CEO Tim Cook to Vietnam, Vinh had only a few days to prepare and brainstorm the repertoire. 

"If I just brought out available, stock pieces to play, I would feel terribly guilty. I sought every possible way to make them respect Vietnam. Ultimately, I came up with the idea of playing Apple's signature ringtone using Vietnamese traditional instruments and orchestrating it into a symphonic arrangement," he recalled.

Vinh stated that former Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh always handed him challenging assignments, sometimes calling him just a day or, in record cases, a few hours before welcoming an important delegation. 

"There were phone calls deep in the night, so I never dared to turn off my device. Former PM Chinh assigned us many tough themes, sometimes demanding traditional music, other times fusing traditional instruments with western symphonies. Consequently, I often had to stay up all night writing down every single note, because traditional music cannot be performed purely on improvisation," he shared.

For the performance reception welcoming former Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, Vinh selected the theme song from the Doraemon movie. He brought his two children onto the stage, one playing the T'rung (bamboo xylophone) and the other playing the flute. 

They dressed up as Nobita and Shizuka, wearing bamboo-copters on their heads and putting on kimonos to perform alongside the orchestra. The act received thunderous applause from both the Vietnamese and Japanese prime ministers.

A perfectionist mother

Vinh was born in 1984 and studied bamboo flute at the Vietnam National Academy of Music beginning in 1993. In 2004, he was sent to study Traditional Orchestra Conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, China, and graduated with distinction. Vinh then received a Chinese Government scholarship to pursue a master’s in Symphony Orchestra Conducting and graduated with the highest score in his class.

During his studies, he met pianist Mac Song Song. The two married and returned to Vietnam in 2013. Back home, the two artists founded the Suc Song Moi orchestra, gathering outstanding traditional instrument artists. The orchestra often appears at state banquets for heads of state or global VIPs.

Vinh’s father is Meritorious Artist Dong Van Minh, who crafts traditional instruments, and his mother is Meritorious Artist and dan tranh (16-string zither) player Mai Lai. Born into a family steeped in traditional music, Dong Quang Vinh admits he realized early on that there was no path for him other than music.

However, Vinh said he was under a lot of pressure from his mother. “My mother is a perfectionist. Every time I got a 10 in an exam, it was taken for granted, so she didn’t praise me. If I got a 9.5, she wouldn’t smile, and if it was below 9, she was quite unhappy.”

Later on, he realized he had to adjust to find a life balance. Previously, when focusing on a task, Vinh always treated it as his absolute top priority, completely disregarding all other matters. He said he is constantly in a state of work overload because, beyond conducting, he must compose and arrange scores for the orchestra. To secure one hour of rehearsal time for the orchestra, Vinh has to write music for three days straight.

Today, his family features not just two, but three generations playing traditional musical instruments. Vinh can master around 10 traditional instruments, with the flute, piano, and T'rung being his strongest. 

To him, knowing as many instruments as possible is ideal. His eldest son, now 11 years old, has not yet attended music school but can already play the piano, percussion, T'rung, and drums. His 9-year-old daughter plays the violin.

Tinh Le