”Drums and Voices” Musical Performance

17 and 18 Oct 2013, 8 pm
Au Co Arts Center

From Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam:

In celebration of 40th Year of ASEAN – Japan Friendship and Cooperation as well as the Japan – Vietnam Friendship Year 2013, the Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam proudly presents a musical performance “Drums & Voices” on Thursday 17 & Friday 18 October in Hanoi.

“Drums & Voices” is a special music troupe exclusively dedicated to celebrate the 40th anniversary of ASEAN & Japan and Vietnam & Japan relationships. It brings together 12 professional performers of traditional music from seven countries – Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Brunei and Japan.

As we can see Dong Son drums in Vietnam and hypnotic chants in the Asian region, drums and voices are most primitive musical instruments in the region, having fascinated human beings over millenniums with their intrinsic power and energy.

“Drums & Voices” is thus highly anticipated, for all of us as human beings, to bring dynamic, powerful and fascinating music whose rhythm emotionally beats our heartstrings and whose melody strikes our right chords harmoniously.

This attractive musical collaboration is, however, impossible to be achieved in one day. The participating musicians spent 4 weeks in total both in Thailand (June – July 2013) and in Vietnam (August – September 2013) to learn each other about the character, cultural background, and creative vision of their fellow collaborators.

To assist the orchestration of their collaboration, a Japanese famous music composer/director, Michiru Oshima also joins “Drums & Voices” as its music director. Equipped with awards for music composition for TV, animation and film, she smartly orchestrates the troupe to achieve “harmonious diversity” in their original music.

From Vietnam, two distinguished traditional music performers join the troupe. One is Merited Artist Mai Lien from Ba Pho Musical House, specializing in traditional percussions especially T’rung (a bamboo xylophone) & folk songs. The other is Merited Artist Minh Chi from Cheo Theatre Vietnam, specializing in Cheo and ethnic percussions.

Both Mai Lien and Minh Chi are highly celebrated for their superb skills and knowledge on Vietnamese traditional music and for their flexibility for international collaboration. Their participation made it possible for the “Drums & Voices” troupe to create uniquely arranged songs based on Vietnamese traditional music.

The other performers from the other countries include: Tsubasa Hori from Japan, who is a former member of the legendary Japanese drum troupe “Kodo” and herself is a composer/arranger, Academy Myanmar Pyi Kyauk Sein from Myanmar, who is a Pattalar (a Myanmar bamboo xylophone) player and an award winner for Best Music Award in Best Movie Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards 2012, to name but a few.

The “Drums & Voices” concerts will be held in all six ASEAN countries (Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Brunei) throughout October and November 2013, before performing at the Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Wednesday 18 December 2013.

Free admission but you are required to get free advanced tickets which will be distributed from 9:00 on Friday 4 October at the Japan Foundation (27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi/TEL 04-3944-7419, Opening hours: 09:00 – 18:00, no closed days).

For more information, visit Japan’s Foundation’s website.