Musician Huy So and his valuable contributions to the cultural field

Musician Huy So is a native of Binh Thuan, received formal music training in the North and was sent to study symphony conducting at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (former Soviet Union). Having been involved in music since 1956, now at the age of 96, it seems that his passion for creativity is still constantly urging him.

His life is an example of pure, persistent, enthusiastic artistic labor with valuable contributions, very worthy of respect. He was born in 1928, in Phu Trinh, Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan, joined the revolution in 1945, and gathered in the North in October 1954. During his working process, he held many different positions: Head of the Art Troupe of Military Region 4 (1965-1970); Editor of Arts and Literature of Radio B - Voice of Vietnam (1971-1975); Head of the Thuan Hai Revolutionary Youth Union (1976-1980); Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Information (1981-1985); Vice Chairman of the Provincial Literature and Arts Association (1986-1990). During the resistance war against the US to save the country, he was assigned to serve the battlefield as both a manager and artistic director in the fierce Quang Binh fire zone. It was an honor to join the Inter-Zone 5 Art Troupe to return to Hanoi many times to perform for Uncle Ho. When he was an editor of the Voice of Vietnam Radio’s Military Affairs Radio Program, he directly composed, edited, and staged many musical performances that had a strong and timely propaganda effect, making a practical contribution to the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country. Some typical works of this period include: “Advancing to Khe Sanh”; “Heroic Con Co”; “Passing Through the Bridges”; “The Village Names Call Us”; “Labor Song”; “The Song of Those Who Go Far Away”…



Peace, he returned to his hometown in 1976, started building the provincial Youth Union from the early days of difficulties and shortages. Under his dedicated guidance and that of his colleagues, over time many generations of singers, dancers and musicians have grown in their expertise, becoming People's Artists and Meritorious Artists known throughout the country. Some typical names include: People's Artist Dang Hung (1936-2022), People's Artist Minh Man, People's Artist Thu Van. Along with the development of the team and the growth in artistic quality, the Binh Thuan Youth Union was upgraded to the Bien Xanh Youth Union Theater in 2009. When he was Deputy Director of the Department, in charge of art, he guided the next generation of artists to persevere with the motto: preserving and promoting the precious traditional art of the local ethnic groups, contributing to creating a unique "brand" of ethnic art of the province. One of the outstanding activities during this time was that the provincial CMN Troupe was sent by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to perform and serve the "Vietnam Cultural Day" in Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia), causing a great resonance, leaving a good impression in the host country.

As a composer and member of the Vietnam Musicians Association since 1967, he has nearly two hundred works praising his homeland, country, beloved leader Ho Chi Minh, praising the glorious Party, notably: Choir "My Homeland in the Windy Sands", "Call from the Sea and Islands"; Suite of poems by President Ho Chi Minh "A Whole Life of Restlessness"; typical songs: Singing about the Future Spring, Your Name Lives Forever, I Love My Small Island, Remembering the Glorious Party, I Go Planting Trees, Uncle Ho's Shadow in My Homeland...

In addition to music, he also composed literature and poetry, researched local culture, and participated in compiling the Binh Thuan Geographical Chronicle. Some of his published works include: The song collection “Forever like autumn” (jointly published - 1985); The song collection (with cassette tape) “Singing about the future spring” (1997); the short story collections “March Sun” (1987), “Legend of Lang Nuoc Noi” (1997), the poetry collection “Verses that go with the years” (2009). In the field of research, he has done quite in-depth research on Cham music, including Ri Cha Prong dance music, drum pieces serving traditional rituals of the Cham people in Ninh - Binh Thuan. This is the result of his practical visits to the Cham ethnic group and direct contact with the typical intellectuals and artisans at that time such as: Thien Sanh Canh, Truong Ton, Tai Mu, Dao Duoc, Dao Bo, Thach Tiem. In addition, his articles on the art of Bai Choi, Ho Ba Trao, and Nap dance have contributed to providing a lot of rich and useful information, especially valuable to the local folk art and culture research community.

As a journalist and member of the Vietnam Journalists Association since 1975, he has written hundreds of different articles, long and short, reflecting the progress of his homeland and country; praising examples of "good people - good deeds" shining in everyday life. He was awarded the Duc Thanh Literature and Arts Award for the first time (1992-1995), the fifth time (2012-2017) by the Provincial People's Committee; was awarded the Medal for the Cause of Vietnamese Literature and Arts (2002) and many other noble medals and awards. In order to recognize and honor his outstanding contributions to the field of culture and arts over the past 60 years, on November 28, 2023, the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam signed a Decision to confer the title of Meritorious Artist on veteran musician Huy So.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/nhac-si-huy-so-va-nhung-dong-gop-quy-gia-tren-linh-vuc-van-hoa-nghe-thuat-124959.html