Eighty-five young music talents nationwide were granted 2017 Toyota Scholarships in Hanoi on December 26.

Recipients of the 2017 Toyota Scholarships

They are from the Vietnam National Academy of Music, the Hue Academy of Music, the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, the College of Northwest Art and Culture, and the Viet Bac Art and Culture College.

They include those from disadvantaged backgrounds or suffering fatal diseases who have done their best to pursue a career in music.

Among the recipients was Nguyen Anh Tuan, a 15-year-old student at the Vietnam National Academy of Music. He got Apert syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterised by the premature fusion of certain skull bones. He had experienced numerous operations over the past 15 years. Tuan has great passion for music. He made it into a seven-year piano jazz programme of the Vietnam National Academy of Music.

Besides scholarships, the organising board presented music schools with traditional musical instruments to support their teaching and learning activities as well as preserve and develop Vietnamese cultural heritage elements.

Le Thi Thu Hien, deputy head of the Training Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the programme has been carried out since 2009 with the aim of encouraging young students to study music and making active contributions to Vietnam’s music development.

Vice President of Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV) Do Thu Hoang said a total of 815 scholarships have been granted to excellent students over the past nine years. In addition, this programme has created chances for students to practise and perform with professional orchestras at major music events, Hoang added.

Each scholarship is worth six million VND (264.6 USD).-VNA