HBSO to organize major music festival late this month

According to the organizers, the festival, which has gone by the name “Arts Festival Autumn Melodies” and become a biennial event since 2013, will feature indoor and outdoor performances, exchanges, and seminars.

This year’s festival will cover various art genres such as symphony orchestra, ensemble music, dance and vocal music.

The first day of the festival will feature performances by local chorus and symphony orchestra, and a contemporary dance performance. On the second day there will be a seminar on Baroque music and a concert by 13 international artists from International Chamber Players and Fantasmi Baroque Ensemble in the US, who will play ancient musical instruments of the 15 and 16th centuries, said Nguyen Manh Duy Linh, head of the festival’s organizing committee.

On the third day of August 27, spectators will be able to enjoy a concert by young overseas and local Vietnamese pianists, including Nguyen Duc Anh from Germany, Gabriel Tran Phuong Nam from France, Nguyen Dang Quang from Hanoi, Tran Yen Nhi from Russia and Nguyen Tuan Manh from HCMC, and a performance by 12 artists from the Royal Norwegian Navy Band who are professional musicians in a variety of music genres from classical to jazz and contemporary music.

The fourth day of the festival will be a day of chamber music with the participation of Vietnamese violinist Bui Cong Duy from Hanoi and guest conductor from Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, Honna Tetsuji, a Japanese conductor who has won many international awards.

On August 29, the festival will feature a free outdoor concert by the Royal Norwegian Navy Band in the morning at the Opera House and a conference on contemporary music, followed by a concert by the Norwegian band and a contemporary dance performance in the evening.

A concert will be held on the final day of the festival to honor some masterpieces by Beethoven, Brahms and Bach with the participation of top-notch international violinist Stephane Tran Ngoc from France and under the baton of overseas Vietnamese conductor Le Phi Phi from Macedonia.

Speaking at a recent news briefing to present the festival, HBSO director Tran Vuong Thach said HCMC is in need of a cultural event on an international scale.

HBSO hopes the upcoming festival will contribute to the development for an international art festival for not only symphony orchestra music but other genres of art such as painting and sculpture, folk music and circus.

Tickets for the “Arts Festival Autumn Melodies” are available at the Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square in District 1. For ticket booking and delivery, call 08 3823 7419 or Ms Huong at 0989 874 517 or email info@hbso.org.vn. For online booking, visit www.ticketbox.vn, www.hbso.org.vn, or www.facebook.com/hbsovn. Admission costs VND200,000 (US$9) to VND800,000. Students pay VND80,000-150,000.