On his musical journey, Mai Thanh Son has collaborated with many contemporary composers, including: Vu Nhat Tan (Hanoi), Nguyen Thien Dao (France), Mael Baily (France), and Remi Gernet (France). At the same time, he won the Gold Medal at the Youth Music Competition in 1999, the Special Prize at the Ho Chi Minh City Homeland Melody Art Festival in 2000, many gold and silver medals for ensembles, and most recently, the Second Prize in the National Solo and Ensemble Competition organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Mai Thanh Son regularly performs as a soloist with prestigious orchestras at home and abroad, and is also frequently invited to participate in festivals and concerts around the world, demonstrating his talent and dedication to traditional Vietnamese music on the international stage.
As both a performing artist and a manager, artist Mai Thanh Son always wishes to bring traditional art forms to audiences in Ho Chi Minh City through performing activities. Preserving traditional culture in the strong flow of a dynamic economy like Ho Chi Minh City has brought Mai Thanh Son many advantages but also many difficulties.
Looking at it from a positive perspective, there are opportunities and a lot of work to do. But the difficult problem is how to get funding to do it, and we need to find solutions from both the government and businesses.
The passion and silent sacrifice of artists for their profession, for preserving and developing to maintain traditional art and culture are always imbued and burning brightly in the strong flow of a dynamic economy like Ho Chi Minh City.
Artist Mai Thanh Son shared that Ho Chi Minh City is a dynamic city, a place where cultures and people from all over the world converge, so people in Ho Chi Minh City are open and easily accept differences. Ho Chi Minh City's population is also young, so it is dynamic and likes to approach new things. If you do it well and attractively, it is not too difficult to reach the majority of the public. Therefore, favorable factors can also be identified to dare to explore.
Difficulties are numerous and always present and seem to be getting more difficult. Artist Mai Thanh Son shared: “In modern life, people often like to watch things that are simple, easy to understand, vibrant, and fast-paced, while traditional art forms require an understanding of ancient poetry and literature, and must be “still” and “meditative” to appreciate them. The biggest difficulty in our country is that children do not have access to traditional art forms in a suitable way, leading to their inability to appreciate them when they grow up. Not to mention the fact that the majority of young people like what is trendy and international and consider traditional forms to be backward and rustic…”.
Artist Mai Thanh Son said that financial autonomy leads to art units and media agencies choosing what makes money to do more than protecting traditional values that are difficult to generate funding for... Vietnam does not have cultural funds for artists to build their own projects and knock on doors to seek investment like in developed countries, so organizing performing activities for the city's public is very difficult: "Artists must both devote themselves to building the program, perform, take on all positions and invest money from their own pockets. Artists are inherently "emotional" so their finances are very limited. To go the long way, they need mechanisms, people who are sympathetic, empathetic and companions...".
Through the performances, the audience enthusiastically welcomed the traditional values that artist Mai Thanh Son and his team tried to express. That was the biggest motivation for the artists to continue making the next shows. “It is difficult to describe the joy and emotion when there were audiences who knew our difficulties, appreciated what we were passionate about and worked hard to do, and suggested financial support for the program. Many audiences were moved, with tears in their eyes, holding our hands to praise, encourage and thank the artists for conveying traditional art in such a close, cozy and soulful way… The audience who came to the program included students, middle-aged people and even seniors, and all of them seemed to enjoy it. I think that is part of the success of the program and what Son and his friends performed is not just for the elderly,” artist Mai Thanh Son shared.
Traditional music for Mai Thanh Son is his career, his passion, his path and his destination. Therefore, he is doing many things at the same time. For musiceducation in general and folk music in particular, Mai Thanh Son and some friends specializing in information technology have invested in software to support online music teaching. This project is long-term and requires a large investment capital. After the Covid-19 pandemic, the project encountered many difficulties and is still struggling to find a direction.
Besides, Mai Thanh Son is also building new models similar to the "Tinh Van Dien Ca" series of programs but with a different direction to build a community of traditional music lovers.
Regarding performance, Mai Thanh Son continues to connect with international friends to bring Vietnamese folk music, specifically percussion and the moon lute, to dialogue on an equal footing with world contemporary art. Together with his younger brother Mai Thanh Nam, who is teaching in France, the two brothers are nurturing an international music festival dedicated to percussion, wind instruments and dance. This is a common language and easily harmonizes with all countries in the world.
In October 2024, Mai Thanh Son and a Japanese jazz pianist will organize a piano festival for children. This is the first time he has organized a large-scale activity at the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Training and Experimental Literature and Arts. After that, he will continue to seek cooperation to organize similar festivals for children but focusing on traditional art forms.
Source: https://daidoanket.vn/nghe-si-mai-thanh-son-am-nhac-truyen-thong-la-con-duong-va-dich-den-10288038.html
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