People's Artist Ha Vy: "Singing is a profession that has no retirement age"

Her voice echoed throughout the border, giving strength to soldiers both during the hardships of battle and in peacetime. Recently, at the age of 68, she was honored to be awarded the title of People's Artist.

1. At the People's Artist (NSND) conferment ceremony that day, artist Ha Vy could not help but be moved and emotional. Recalling the past, she was extremely grateful to her superiors, colleagues and family for their care, support and creating conditions for her to be able to devote herself to her profession. "I joined the Border Guard force on September 3, 1973, and since then I have always been proud to be an "artist in green uniform". Although I have retired now, I always carry the spirit of a soldier, ready to perform and contribute anytime, anywhere" - artist Ha Vy confided.

Wandering with emotions, artist Ha Vy said that she officially came to music when People's Artist Le Doa selected her to join the People's Armed Police Art Troupe (now the Border Guard Art Troupe). The story is that when artist Le Doa traveled to Hai Phong to find singers for the troupe, she unexpectedly heard a beautiful, clear female voice singing for a conference, so she listened attentively and "chosen" the troupe. In the early days, Ha Vy learned to recite poetry from People's Artist Tran Thi Tuyet and then took basic music theory classes from People's Artist Trung Kien and Quy Duong. "When I was recruited to the troupe, I only knew how to sing by instinct. Therefore, the time I spent learning from great teachers helped me broaden my horizons, especially my belief in the path ahead," she shared.

In 2003, although her voice was already familiar to a large audience, Ha Vy still decided to study at the Vocal Music Department of the Hanoi Conservatory of Music (now the Vietnam National Academy of Music). She said: "In addition to innate talent and experience, singers need to be trained professionally and systematically". With constant effort and determination, she passed the entrance and exit exams with the highest score of that course. She went to school when she was nearly 50 years old, and her classmates were all her children and grandchildren, but she did not hesitate because of that. She was always a pioneer, diligent, making People's Artist Quang Tho exclaim: "Rarely have people become famous and diligently cultivate their musical knowledge like Ha Vy!".

2. As a member of the Border Guard Art Troupe, People's Artist Ha Vy's footprints are imprinted throughout the border areas and islands of the Fatherland. From the northern tip to Ca Mau Cape, from the mainland to Truong Sa archipelago, she always receives the affection, love and respect of the audience. With the main target audience being officers and soldiers of the Border Guard and ethnic minorities, she tries to perform songs that they can easily understand and feel, such as "Tieng gun da rang tren troi bien bien gioi", "Ngay mai anh de duong", "Hoa sim bien gioi", "Chieu bien gioi", "Hanh khuc ngay va dem"...

Artist Ha Vy closely followed the battlefields from the war to protect the southwestern border (1978), to the war to protect the northern border (1979), singing at the border posts, even the most dangerous places in the border areas of Ha Giang, Lao Cai provinces (1979, 1983), Cao Bang (1985). Long business trips came to her often, sometimes for a week, sometimes for several months. “Once I went on a business trip to Tay Ninh for 4 and a half months. At that time, my second daughter was not yet 2 years old, so I had to send her to her grandparents. When she returned, my daughter kept hugging her grandmother's neck, looking back at the picture hanging on the wall and then looking at me because she didn't recognize her mother. Looking at her with boils all over her body because of the heat, I felt so sorry for her, I had to hold back my tears" - the female artist shared.

Each performance trip is a memory, but perhaps the memory that Ha Vy has the deepest impression on is the performance trip to Truong Sa archipelago in 1989 with artist Ngoc Lan and artist Thanh Xuan. These were also the first 3 female artists of the Border Guard Art Troupe to visit Truong Sa archipelago. That year, the group of artists went to 5 islands of Truong Sa archipelago. On the way, the artists unfortunately encountered a big storm, thinking they would not be able to return to the mainland, but in the end, the spirit of soldiers and luck helped them overcome everything. “That year, Truong Sa did not have much fresh water. Every morning, the cadres, soldiers and artists in the troupe only had a bowl of water to brush their teeth and wash their faces, and to bathe, they had to wait for the rain. It must be said that in those years, Truong Sa was very short of “human breath”, so when the art troupes came to share, the soldiers were truly touched, they were attached to us and did not want to leave. Through some friends, I learned that Truong Sa today has had many changes and I wish to return to this sacred, flesh-and-blood place for the second time” - she longed.

3. Recently, in a television program, the audience was surprised to see the whole family of People's Artist Ha Vy appear, including her husband, who also works at the Border Guard Art Troupe - drummer Hoang Binh, and her daughter, MC Hoang Trang (Vietnam Television). The artist couple has accompanied each other on every journey, performing all over the border. Life is full of difficulties, but they still rely on each other to contribute to art. Ha Vy's passionate and emotional singing and Hoang Binh's skillful drumming have echoed throughout the mountains and forests of the border, encouraging cadres, soldiers and ethnic minorities in their work as well as in their lives.

At the age of nearly 70, People's Artist Ha Vy always aspires to do something meaningful for art and for life. Therefore, she and other artists founded the Hanoi Border Guard Traditional Art Troupe and had many meaningful performances across the country. She said that singing is a profession that has no retirement age, when you stop contributing, that voice is no longer there...

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