Vietnam's first female conductor, Meritorious Artist Binh Trang, has just passed away.

Meritorious teacher, Meritorious Artist Binh Trang, the first female music director in Vietnam, passed away on August 31 in Ho Chi Minh City after a long illness, at the age of 93.

Portrait of Ms. Binh Trang in her youth - Archival photo

This information was provided to Tuoi Tre Online by the family of artist Binh Trang on the morning of September 1st.

Binh Trang, Vietnam's first female conductor.

Born in 1933, Ms. Binh Trang became involved in the revolution early on, starting in 1950. She was then sent to study at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Soviet Union), graduating with a specialization in choral conducting – a field rarely pursued by women at that time.

Upon returning to Vietnam, she successively taught at the Hanoi Conservatory of Music and the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, becoming one of the few female conductors in Vietnam at that time and even to this day.

Conductor Hoang Diep stated that artist Binh Trang was her "mentor" in choral conducting at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music since 1977. Because of this close relationship, Hoang Diep later succeeded Binh Trang in inheriting and developing choral studies at the conservatory.

When Tuoi Tre Online contacted her, Ms. Hoang Diep and her family were receiving delegations who came to pay their respects to artist Binh Trang.

"She was like family to my family; I was both her student and her adopted child. I was very aware of all the developments in her health over the years, but when my mentor passed away, there was still an unspeakable pain," Ms. Diep said.

Ms. Binh Trang is one of Vietnam's rare conductors - Photo: provided by conductor Hoang Diep

The writer Tram Huong once wrote a brief account of artist Binh Trang's life in an article titled "Autumn Symphony," and also made a documentary film produced by TFS titled "A Piece of Love."

The author has also just finished writing a manuscript about the extraordinary lives of the three artist sisters, Binh Trang.

The group includes Binh Thanh, the woman who once searched for the national flag; Binh Minh, a diplomatic attaché who accompanied Nguyen Thi Binh during the Paris Agreement; and Binh Trang, Vietnam's first female conductor.

All three are daughters of engineer and patriot Nguyen Van Duc, so they have a tradition of patriotism from a young age.

Ms. Binh Trang was a student at Marie Curie School, and later joined the resistance against the French.

"Outwardly, she seems very reserved, but inside she is full of pain and emotion," writer Tram Huong told Tuoi Tre Online. "Ms. Binh Trang was one of my daughter's first music teachers; she was very strict but taught very properly."

Ms. Tram Huong added that she is not knowledgeable about music theory, but from the perspective of a writer and a human being, she empathizes with the fate of Ms. Binh Trang.

"She was a talented, patriotic woman who experienced much loss and suffering in love and personal life due to the upheavals of the times," the writer said.

Meritorious Artist Binh Trang (1933 - 2025) held many positions: former deputy head of the Department of Theory, Composition and Conducting at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, former head of the Education Department and in charge of the orchestra at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music.

The artist has been awarded many prestigious honors: the 40-year Party membership badge, the Second-Class Resistance Medal, the Medal for the Cause of Education, the Medal for the Cause of Music , the Medal for the Cause of Vietnamese Literature and Arts…

She was also awarded the title of Meritorious Artist by the State, and is a member of the Vietnam Musicians Association and the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association.

In addition to teaching and performing, she also compiled numerous textbooks on choral conducting, and adapted and arranged many works for choir.

Her funeral was held at Lam Te Pagoda (212 Nguyen Trai Street, Cau Ong Lanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), after which her remains were cremated at Binh Hung Hoa Crematorium.

CENTURY BEANS

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nu-nhac-truong-dau-tien-cua-viet-nam-nsut-binh-trang-vua-qua-doi-2025090108461554.htm