SiaM vol.46: e mình
08 PM – 10 PM, 29 & 30 Jan 2026
Ngụy Như Kon Tum Auditorium
VNU University of Science
19 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi
Non-ticketed event, recommended for audiences aged 8 and above.
Registration link
From the organizer:
“Composers living in different eras and countries across the globe all listen to the music of their own people—a miraculous, sacred spring that grants them strength and inspiration, teaches them of beauty and mastery, reminds them to love life and humanity, and helps them understand the wisdom and intelligence of the people found in folk songs…”
(Dmitri Kabalevsky)
By nature—”as the soil, so the tree”—after five years of navigating the vast landscapes of Western classical music across various eras and cultures, an ancestral call beckons SiaM back to our familiar roots, seeking a path for new dialogues.
“e”—in Vietnamese traditional music, refers to the essence and soul of a melody, a term believed to originate from the French “L’air” (the air), used to describe the distinct “flavor” and color of a piece. “mình”—is at once me, you, and us. e mình is a space where traditional music can “breathe” alongside, converse with, and naturally intertwine with Western classical music, creating resonances that are both fresh and deeply imbued with the indigenous spirit.
After a year of research and collaboration, e mình debuts with entirely new compositions inspired by Ca trù and Chèo—two musical lineages deeply woven into the cultural fabric of the Northern Delta. Far from simple melodic citations or a mere East-meets-West blend, these works place different musical systems into dimensions of dialogue where they reflect one another. They mirror each other in “Tam Kính” (Three Mirrors), where Ca trù maintains its original form, or coexist in “Bóng đào liễu”, where Chèo melodies are stretched, fragmented, and restructured through modern harmonies.
Bridging these two flows to resonate the essence of each—one characterized by the freedom, microtones, and improvisational agility of folk music; the other by the order, precision, and complexity of classical systems—𝐞 𝐦𝐢̀𝐧𝐡 does not seek to merely reproduce folk forms. Instead, it is a process of “sonic contemplation”—where tradition is revisited from the distance of space, time, and experience.
We invite you to listen with your memory, your imagination, through the silences and with an open heart—to touch the stream of heritage flowing within the pulse of today.
Program
A call for contributions
To realize a long-term project of this scale—investing deeply in research, composition, and rehearsal to prepare for a meticulously crafted performance—we always rely on the companionship and support of our community, both in spirit and resources. Therefore, while this is a non-ticketed event, we hope to receive contributions to help cover costs, empower the e mình project to grow further, and ensure the sustainable future of SiaM.
Specific information on how to support the project is available in the registration link. Furthermore, to mark SiaM’s 5-year milestone, we have prepared small mementos to express our gratitude to those who have joined SiaM in writing this new chapter and spreading artistic values.
We hope these experiments bring us closer to more listeners, allowing us to share our passion for music with kindred spirits—not only through classical music but also through the vibrant, rich traditional music of Vietnam.
The project is finitiated and organized by: Schubert in a Mug (SiaM)
Composers: Tống Đức Cường, Phó Đức Hoàng, Nguyễn Minh Nhật, Kiều Đức Anh
Participating artists: Meritorious Artist (MA) Thảo Hiền (Chèo vocals), MA Trọng Thủy (Chèo drum), MA Xuân Diệu (Đàn Nguyệt); Phó Thị Kim Đức Ca Trù Ensemble: Nguyễn Văn Hải (Lute), Phó Minh Quang, Nguyễn Bạch Dương (Singer), Nguyễn Thị Hải An, Phó Hà My, Nguyễn Lương Hiếu; Hoàng Hồ Thu (piano), Hoàng Mạnh Lâm (oboe), Trần Khánh Quang (clarinet), Liao Hsin-Chiao (piano), Victoria Filippova (violin), Hoàng Hồ Khánh Vân (violin), Phan Đỗ Phúc (cello).
Curators: Phan Đỗ Phúc & Ngụy Hải An
Communications: Trịnh Ngân Hạnh
Design: Huy Park
Advisors: Composer, artist Nguyễn Xuân Sơn; Director, MA Vũ Ngọc Minh
Partners: Tita Art, Zebra Entertainment, Việt Thương & Steinway & Sons, VNU University of Science, TicketGo.
Follow updates on event’s page.
