My little 'Hogwarts'

I remember once a colleague from Hanoi came to me and said frankly, "I'm a little puzzled that the Conservatory here seems a bit small, isn't it?... In my imagination, it should be much bigger and more impressive!"

I remained silent. A silence that he probably wouldn't understand.

But in my memory, that small place held a great deal of love.

Since I left "Hogwarts," countless generations of artists have spread their wings and soared into the world of art—the list would be endless. Anyone who feels connected to our beloved "Hogwarts," please speak up! Many of today's top artists also graduated from this small school. And now, the younger generation is boarding the express train of "Hogwarts" to continue their magical lessons with Professor "Dumbledore," Professor "Snape," Professor "Minerva McGonagall"... The Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music is a nursery for the spiritual world of the city and from the South Central region to the southernmost tip of Ca Mau, training artists of the past, present, and future. It sits modestly on Nguyen Du Street, opposite the spacious Korean Embassy.

The Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music before its reconstruction.

Photo: Archival material

I still remember those first days stepping foot into that beloved school (1998), when it was still in its original state, with architecture built during the French colonial era, formerly the Saigon National School of Music and Drama, established in 1956. I heard that it used to be just a small concert hall, and later three U-shaped buildings were added surrounding it. At that time, I still remember Professor Quang Hai as the Director of the Conservatory.

I had been studying there for a year when the school was rebuilt, still on the same modest site as in its early days. Except for the more spacious main concert hall, the walkways on either side leading to the back, surrounded by three U-shaped buildings, gave the feeling of being in the middle of an apartment complex with three buildings encircling the concert hall.

Back in my time, there weren't as many students as there are now, yet we already felt confined. These past few days, as the younger students entered their end-of-year exams, in that small space, the sounds of musical instruments and vocal exercises blended together into a kind of "contemporary" harmony that defied any avant-garde style!

Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music today

Photo: Vo Thien Thanh

I feel sorry for those kids. If only they could study and "train" in a spacious, airy conservatory of a scale commensurate with the size of a major city in the country and in Southeast Asia, a place that nurtures and empowers generations of artists... Oh! My dream.

These past few days I've been quietly taking the kids to our beloved "Hogwarts" school. They're entering their second semester exams. Seeing those little backs carrying violins, cellos, guitars, brass instruments, double basses... and the parents waiting for their children at the school gate, so many memories flood back, a mix of emotions that are hard to describe. Yes! That little place always holds such immense love.

I glanced through a few newspapers, and the phrase "development of the cultural industry" sounded very exciting! But for some reason, something seemed dull in my eyes. I don't know if it was my eyesight or the summer rain blurring the shadows of the tamarind trees on Nguyen Du Street, where my small school still nestles modestly as it has always been.

Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, my little "Hogwarts"! A place filled with immense love.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hogwarts-be-nho-cua-toi-185250701221203444.htm