With the theme “Loving Vietnam 2024”, the special feature of the program is the participation of nearly 300 children from social protection centers, including those who will perform together. Conductor and founder of the Green Wind Choir - Nguyen Hai Yen shared with Thua Thien Hue Online on the occasion of this special event.

Conductor and founder of the Green Wind Choir - Nguyen Hai Yen

Can you say a few words about the Green Wind Choir from its conception, development, and the message that Green Wind aims to convey?

I graduated with a Master's degree in Symphony Conducting from the Vietnam National Academy of Music, but have been involved in teaching choir singing and conducting choirs for many years, from children's choirs to choirs of elderly men and women. Choir allows me to live many lives at the same time, being both a teacher and a conductor, living in music and connecting with many people of many ages.

In 2019, I participated in a very interesting choir project. I taught choir singing to about 70 people, young and old, regardless of gender, profession, religion, ethnicity... and ended with a joint performance with a choir from Australia. After this project, 4 members and I planned and founded a new choir together, which we named Green Wind. To me, Wind is like Music, even though we can't see it, we can feel it immediately whenever it appears. And Green is the green of leaves, of youth, of the purest, most natural things. That is also what Green Wind always aims for.

We want to use choral music to connect people together, to have a richer spiritual life, a soul that is always fresh and cool, bringing good values ​​to the community and to the living environment around us.

- Is it difficult to run a community choir with hundreds of members of different ages and jobs?

It is true that if you look from the outside, it will be difficult for people to imagine how to teach singing to hundreds of people, how to run such a large “organization”, but not the same age, not the same profession, many differences… But I think that we have the biggest thing in common: we love music, love singing together. And you know, when doing something for love, people will have a very high spirit of volunteerism.

I often joke that the choir is “very well-behaved”. That does not mean there are no difficulties. Because there are always difficulties. From uneven musical levels, to organization, the practice location must be large enough, must have a piano… Luckily, Gió Xanh has an ideal practice location with preferential rental prices. The executive board of Gió Xanh also works closely with me to take care of the organization, logistics, communications, finances… So, for the past 5 years, Gió Xanh has just gone through Sunday nights practicing together, going through shows, bringing concerts to other cities besides Hanoi , such as Ha Long, Da Nang, and this year Hue. We have grown up with Gió, and Gió continues to fly higher, further and is loved by more and more people.

The Green Wind Choir in a performance

It is known that since its establishment, Gio Xanh has organized and participated in many music events and created a buzz with the spirit of choral music to connect people and bring good values ​​to the community. To do this, surely the entire Gio Xanh collective not only practices actively but also has a strict spirit of discipline, right?

We always tell each other that, Gió Xanh is a community choir, come to the choir for joy, but must always be responsible for your joy. Therefore, the Choir Executive Board and I set out common rules of conduct for Gió members. Any member of Gió Xanh needs to know those rules and follow them. For example, when taking a break or being late, you need to inform the choir leader, you need to respect each other's differences, be conscious of protecting the environment by not using disposable plastic items, throwing trash in the right place, turning off electrical equipment when leaving the room, saving Gió's resources from each sheet of music paper... Those are not strict disciplines as you say, but rather a covenant with each other, and with each person. When you are in a community that respects common values, it will be difficult for you to let yourself go outside those values.

So I can say that, at Wind, everyone is free to express themselves, but everyone chooses to express the best version of themselves and is happy to be in that version. And isn't that wonderful?

- Many people come to Gio Xanh when they have a crisis of faith and encounter many difficulties in life. There they find themselves again, love life and love people more. What is it about Gio Xanh that has changed them like that, madam?

I think that music or any art helps us express our emotions, express our personality and thereby relieve our mental inhibitions and frustrations, soothe our wounds or at least make us temporarily forget the pressures of everyday life.

You can draw, you can sculpt, you can dance, you can play musical instruments, or like at Gio Xanh, everyone sings in choir together. If you attend a Gio Xanh singing session, you will see that everyone seems to have turned back into “babies”. This “baby” is inside each of us, and is just waiting for an opportunity to be called out. Music, the connection between people, the communication in respect and love has helped each person return to their most primitive and innocent self and thus, feel the happiness from the things that are already available and very simple around them. Everyone may have their own problems somewhere out there, but when they step into this room, when they sing together, harmonize their voices to create a beautiful piece of music, only joy and happiness remain.

During this visit to Hue, the Green Wind Choir will invite nearly 300 children from social protection centers to participate, many of whom will perform together.

- In every region where Green Wind performs, we always invite children from especially disadvantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds to participate. Can you share more about this?

Green Wind is the first and only community choir in Vietnam to have ever held its own concerts. And in all our annual concerts, we reserve hundreds of seats for special guests. These are young people from social protection centers, shelters, children's villages, or disadvantaged audiences, people with disabilities... Because we believe that everyone is equal before music.

Being present in a high-quality auditorium, listening to good music and beautiful sounds can inspire children to be moved by beauty, thereby making the seeds of goodness grow in their extremely sensitive hearts. Right from the first concert, Green Christmas 2020, we did this. However, when accepting our invitation, mothers, teachers or managers of the centers were hesitant, worried that they did not know if the children were qualified enough to enjoy the choral concert.

People think that it is an academic art and difficult to understand and feel. After we convinced them, each center also selected a number of children to bring to the concert. The first year, we invited 162 children. I also personally went to teach singing to the children and selected 10 children to perform with Gio Xanh. And right after the concert ended, we received many thanks from the managers, mothers, and teachers at the support centers. The children who went to see the concert were all very excited, touched, and asked when there would be another one so they could continue. This is what made us believe that what Gio Xanh is doing is truly meaningful.

And every year, the number of donated tickets increases as more and more shelters learn about and want to bring children to enjoy the Green Wind concert. And so, we call on everyone to join Green Wind in “giving gifts” to the children, not a material gift, but a musical gift. Hundreds of members of the Green Wind contribute their efforts in practicing and singing, covering all expenses themselves. And the audience, wherever they are, can also “contribute tickets” with us to donate to the shelters. That way, good things continue to spread and bring joy and happiness to many people.

- So, in the concert program with the theme "Loving Vietnam 2024" in Hue at the end of this month, how many children does Gio Xanh plan to invite to participate? And how will the training process for the children be calculated?

Currently, we have contacted and received requests from 11 shelters with a total of 289 children wishing to come to the concert. Of these, 20 children will participate in the performance with Green Wind. I will be in Hue a week before the concert to teach singing to the children.

- And up to this point, have the preparations for the concert basically been completed, or have you encountered any difficulties, madam?

Regarding logistics, organizing meals, accommodation, travel, renting a theater... The Organizing Committee of the Concert "Loving Vietnam - Loving Vietnam 2024" has done a very thorough and meticulous job. We also received support from the leaders of the Hue City Party Committee, the leaders of the Hue Academy of Music, and assistance from friends in Hue. Newspapers and radio stations across the country have also reported and written articles about the Concert "Loving Vietnam - Loving Vietnam 2024" by Green Wind in Hue City. Regarding the program, we have increased rehearsals for the choir and band. In addition to the official rehearsals, the groups also organized additional rehearsals with each other. I am truly touched by everyone's enthusiasm and seriousness. Everyone has made efforts to bring the most beautiful and best musical gift to the audience of Hue City and nearly 300 children from Hue's shelters.

The audience and those who love Green Wind, love the path of Wind are also silently helping Wind to raise the children's dreams by asking Wind to send them concert tickets. There are still nearly 200 seats colored Green in the seating chart of the Perfume River Theater waiting to be donated by the audience. Yen and Green Wind are extremely grateful for everyone's companionship. And look forward to seeing the Perfume River Theater in Hue City filled on the evening of June 29.

Thank you and wish the show will be successful.

PHAN THANH (performed)