The fateful moment that changed the life of conductor Dong Quang Vinh

Childhood with music

Conductor Dong Quang Vinh was born into a family with a musical tradition. His father was a cellist, later switching to making traditional musical instruments, and his mother was a zither artist.

"The first musical instrument I played was the T'rung, made by my father. The first formal musical instrument I learned was the bamboo flute when I was 9 years old," said conductor Dong Quang Vinh. He said that choosing the bamboo flute stemmed from his love for swordplay movies, where knights often carry flutes with them.

"Until now, I still think that decision was very wise. Bamboo flutes are compact, easy to carry, do not require much care and playing them is good for breathing as a form of yoga," he shared.

Not only stopping at the bamboo flute, Dong Quang Vinh also learned to play the moon lute as a secondary instrument when he entered the Vietnam National Academy of Music. He explained: "I want to explore more, the wider the better. The bamboo flute belongs to the wind instrument, the T'rung belongs to the percussion instrument, and the moon lute belongs to the plucked instrument - each has a different soul."

Conductor Dong Quang Vinh was born into a musical family and learned bamboo flute from the age of 9.

Memories of performing in Japan at age 12:

The moment of discovering passion

Dong Quang Vinh said the moment he truly discovered his passion for music was at the age of 12 when he had the opportunity to perform on the Narita stage in Japan.

"The Japanese audience was so quiet that you could hear the buzzing of flies. The elderly even bowed deeply to greet a 12-year-old boy. I was extremely surprised by the respect they had for Vietnamese music," he emotionally recounted.

That experience completely changed the young Quang Vinh's perspective on folk music. "Before that, I thought folk music was complicated and difficult to approach, I had to learn a lot about this instrument, that quan ho tune, while light music was easier to catch my ear. But when I saw that Vietnamese music was so respected abroad, I was determined to pursue it to have more opportunities to bring Vietnamese culture to the world," he recalled.

Becoming a conductor and your own path

Dong Quang Vinh's career turning point came when he went to Shanghai, China to study at the age of 22. His first stage as a conductor was not in Vietnam but at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

The difference that creates the brand of conductor Dong Quang Vinh is that he combines Vietnamese traditional musical instruments with international symphony orchestras. This idea originated from his family environment, where he witnessed his father - a cellist who turned to making traditional musical instruments - and his mother - a zither artist - playing together.

"Since I was young, I have seen the wonderful combination of East and West. I have never seen any boundaries between music genres. I listen to rock, rap, symphonic music and analyze the beauty of each genre," he said.

Founder of the New Life Orchestra, conductor Dong Quang Vinh created a playground for music students and combined a variety of genres from symphony to rap and pop music.

Challenges in combining folk music with symphony

Dong Quang Vinh admits that combining traditional music with international symphony is challenging. "It's like designing an ao dai to wear with a vest, how to make sure it doesn't look wrong or silly. Combining traditional music with any other form is a big challenge," he compares.

To do this, the conductor must study very carefully to understand the nature of each instrument. "The Dan Day cannot play the semitones like the violin, so we have to use the violin to play those semitones. Or how to make the cello vibrate to produce sounds like the Dan Day. All of this requires many hours of thorough research," he explained.

However, the results were well worth it. He talked about his feelings when the Vietnamese melody "Beo dat may troi" was performed on the Tokyo stage combined with the Japanese song "Sakura ": "The audience gave a 15-minute round of applause. The Japanese are very demanding in their appreciation, they have seen many world-famous orchestras perform. The fact that they accepted Vietnamese culture like that made me burst into tears."

Japanese audience applauded for 15 minutes for the special performance:

New Vitality Orchestra - brainchild

In addition to conducting the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Dong Quang Vinh also founded his own orchestra called Suc Song Moi. He explained: "My main job in the government agency is to work with opera, ballet or symphony, but I still want to do something for Vietnamese music."

The New Vitality Orchestra provides opportunities for students and recent graduates to practice. In particular, this orchestra is not limited to any framework but combines many forms of music from Western symphonies to rap and pop music.

"This is like a pair of swords that work together for me. Sometimes I play with this sword, sometimes I play with that sword, sometimes I play with both, sometimes I sharpen the two swords together to make them sharper," he said.

Photos, videos: Documents, VTV

Conductor Dong Quang Vinh conducts a concert with a new 13-year-old solo artist . On the evening of August 17, many young artists of the VNAMYO Youth Symphony Orchestra - Vietnam National Academy of Music will perform for the first time as soloists under the baton of conductor Dong Quang Vinh.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khoanh-khac-dinh-menh-thay-doi-cuoc-doi-nhac-truong-dong-quang-vinh-2384566.html