Nguyen Huynh Thai Binh regularly performs with the Brass Band.

Born into a family with no one in the arts, but since childhood, Thai Binh has had a great love for music . Since grade 6, Thai Binh has been exposed to the Western trumpet and joined the church trumpet team, at that time, Binh was an "amateur" in trumpet. Originally a lover of hip hop style, fond of the fiery, vibrant atmosphere of rap, for some reason the sound of Western trumpet ensembles and the first impression from the hymn orchestra had a strange attraction for Binh, he always devoted himself to Western trumpet practice sessions, when entertaining, he also played trumpet ensembles and immersed himself in that music.

The first type of trumpet Binh used was the baritone, a Western trumpet that is easy to approach and suitable for his physique. As an "amateur", he and his friends taught themselves music and practiced breathing. At that time, his relatives saw that he loved the trumpet and still thought that playing it was for fun, for entertainment in his free time, and it was difficult to choose a career. According to his parents, he chose to study tourism to enter the world. When COVID-19 appeared, he had more free time and took advantage of it to learn more about Western trumpets. This was also the time when Thai Binh seriously tried his hand at alto saxophone and was completely conquered. The melodious sound of the saxophone became a sound that was attached to him with a youthful, intense love and helped him overcome the stormy COVID season.

Graduating at the right time of the pandemic, the tourism industry stagnated, Thai Binh decided to seriously talk to his mother - who had always worried that "he would suffer" because of music and did not let him pursue an artistic career, about his intention to enter life through music. He asked his mother to prove himself within 2 years, to see "what he could do from this job". Binh's father, who loves music but missed his passion because of food, clothing, rice, and money, also silently encouraged his wife to accept his son's choice. With his parents' consent, in 2019, Thai Binh studied intermediate music at the Hue Academy of Music, officially escaping the two words "amateur" when receiving formal training from the school. That was also the time when he followed the invitation of a friend to join the Hue Brass Orchestra, performing everywhere with musician Le Quang Vu, the head of the Brass Orchestra and other Western brass enthusiasts in Hue. Also from these performances, Binh's ability to play the brass became more and more fluent and mature.

In 2022, Binh began to receive invitations to perform saxophone solo. When he received the salary after his first solo performance, Thai Binh was filled with happiness, because he had never thought he could make money from his trumpet and his passion for art. This was also the time when Binh proved to his family that he was right in choosing to pursue music and was determined to follow a professional path. At the end of 2022, Nguyen Huynh Thai Binh appeared at the Winter Reunion program, the first big stage he participated in. But it was not until 2023, within the framework of the Academy's Community Music science project, that his family and friends truly witnessed Thai Binh with his passion on stage. He shared: "That day, I used the trumpet that my mother gave me to perform and the performance moved my mother. Since then, my mother, who did not want me to choose music as a career, has truly trusted and respected my passion."

Regarding music, Thai Binh had two teachers who guided and helped him, Mr. Tran Quang Yen of the Hue Academy of Music, who taught him his major, and Mr. Le Quang Vu of the Brass Band, who guided him in music theory, background knowledge, and core knowledge of music. Talking about Thai Binh, musician Le Quang Vu confided: “In the beginning, Binh was very shy and timid, playing the trumpet and sight-reading (reading and playing music at the same time) were still weak, but he had the qualities of a performer. He worked hard to learn on his own from books, websites, and learned from teachers and friends. Every time he performed with the Brass Band, Binh always respected the exercises and listened to the teacher to blend in with the orchestra while performing.” These qualities helped Thai Binh change a lot, developing well in his skills, performance style, and trumpet playing. Commenting on Binh's solo performance, teacher Vu said that Thai Binh's sound "expresses enthusiasm in a passionate, intense way, with a sweet, gentle tone, sometimes a bit languid..." The artistic nature of a saxophonist is increasingly evident in the young man's trumpet.

Having completed his intermediate program ahead of schedule, Binh continued his regular university program and is currently a second-year student at the Hue Academy of Music. He is working on a project on his own music product. As a son of Hue, he always wants to introduce his hometown to audiences from other provinces and international audiences. Aiming to complete the project by graduation, Thai Binh is determined to create solo saxophone melodies about the beauty and people of the ancient capital of Hue, leaving his own musical mark on the musical river of the ancient capital of Hue.

Pham Phuoc Chau