In this collaboration between VANGO Network and Vietnamese traditional musician Vân-Ánh (Vanessa) Võ, Music Bridge aims to motivate young artists in the art of music composition to contribute to the enrichment of the Vietnamese traditional music archive.
Our Goals
- Provide music workshops to engage and connects Vietnamese-American youth and young audiences from other communities in the U.S with their roots;
- Help interested youth to participate in performances and community activities to introduce Vietnamese culture and customs through traditional music;
- Connect master musicians and music experts to music students and traditional music lovers in order to share, teach, learn, and keep traditional arts and culture alive;
- Provide free music lessons to disadvantaged children in Vietnam as well as under-served communities in the Bay Area;
- Bridge young Vietnamese to the roots of Vietnamese culture.
Preserving Vietnamese Tradition Across the Pacific: A Conversation with Emmy® Award Winner Vân-Ánh (Vanessa) Võ and Music Bridge Ensemble
“Music is a lens through which we can visit another time or place. In general, music can tell us about the people and society of a particular time. Additionally, traditional music spans many generations and reflects the traditions and customs from many different regions.”
Vân-Ánh Võ – national champion of Vietnamese traditional music, Emmy Award composer, vocalist, and educator – will use traditional music to showcase Vietnam’s 4000-year- old cultural heritage in the context of 21 st century. There are many ways that Vietnamese musicians in Vietnam and outside are preserving traditional music. Various virtual media are used–YouTube, online forums, electronic exchanges between teachers in Vietnam and students in North America and elsewhere–and there are some new experiments in performance practice and composition that are used. Vân-Ánh Võ is an example of the latter– she has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Kronos Quartet, and performed at Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the 2012 London Olympic Games Festival. The sounds of the traditional instruments and folk songs will offer insights into the different traditions and customs of Vietnam’s three main regions: North, Central, and South.
Under the guidance of Vân-Ánh Võ and with demonstrations from her students from America, the audience will join us in playing traditional instruments to create music with their own twists. This hands-on experience will help the audience appreciate and understand more about the Vietnamese history, traditions, and culture.
Music Bridge Under 25
“Music Bridge – Under 25” is a project founded by world-renowned composer and virtuoso Van-Anh Vanessa Vo that aims to motivate and teach students in Vietnam under 25 years of age the art of music composition for the Vietnamese traditional instruments. Through this program, students will have the chance to explore and find their own artistic voices by composing etudes, short solos, long solos and/or solos with orchestra based on Vietnamese traditional music and folk songs. The winning compositions will become a part of the Vietnamese traditional music library and be played by generations to come.
Apply online at http://bit.ly/XoRVBA. No composition skills or experience necessary.
“Music Bridge – Under 25” is a collaboration of Our1World, Van-Anh Vanessa Vo, and the Vietnamese National Academy of Music, Department of Traditional Musical Instruments.
Music Bridge & VANGO Network Collaborations
2020
Songs of Strength – S.O.S. Workshop series – Interactive music workshops featuring immigrant voices and women empowerment. 2020.
Mekong: SOUL – In 2020, VANGO Network co-commissioned this new multi-media production that uses the music and traditions of the cultures along the Mekong River as the thread to weave together Southeast Asian peoples whose lives depend on the river.
Mekong: The Water’s Tales accepted for 2020 California Arts Council Grant – The California Arts Council announced a grant award of $20,000.00 to Vietnamese American Non-Governmental Organization (VANGO) Network as part of its Artists in Communities program. Click here for more info.
2019
Songs of Strength – S.O.S. accepted for 2019 Creative Work Fund Grant – VANGO Network was rewarded a Creative Work Fund grant to co-commission Songs of Strength – S.O.S., a multimedia production exploring the voices of immigrants who come from countries that outwardly oppress women, which will premiere at Cal Performances in March 2021.
Nine music workshop series (free-to-public) – Music Bridge Under 25 partnership with Vietnamese Educational & Cultural Association – Music recitals and workshops for underserved communities in the Bay Area. Sponsored by Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Music Bridge Under 25, California Arts Council, Vietnamese Educational & Cultural Association, and Chamber Music America.
Vietnamese Traditional Music in the 21st Century – August 18, 2019 @ 1pm in Hayward, CA. Click here for more info.
Women’s Voices – October 6, 2019 @ 3:30pm in Hayward, CA. Click here for more info.
2018
Twelve music workshop series (free-to-public) – Music recitals and workshops for seniors in Santa Clara County. 2018.
2016
The Odyssey – From Vietnam to America – Co-commissioned by VANGO Network in 2015, The Odyssey – From Vietnam to America is a multi-media production that shared the strengths and hopes that Vietnamese Boat People could find to surpass their most difficult time in life. The Odyssey has toured around USA, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
January 22-23, 2016 – World Premiere at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA.org)
2015
“The Sounds of Fire and Bronze” – An enchanting blend of jazz, traditional Vietnamese folk-inspired music and original scores. Click here for more info.
January 24, 2015 – “The Sounds of Fire and Bronze” Performance at Việt Báo (14841 Moran Street Westminster, CA 92683)
2014
Music Bridge Under 25 in Hanoi – Fundraising events for young musicians and artists in traditional Vietnamese music.
June 30, 2014 – “A 16 string Zither Concert” co-presented by the Conservatory of Music in Ho Chi Minh City, Traditional Department at The Rooftop Bar & Restaurant (Hanoi, Vietnam). Click here for more info.
2013
An Afternoon with Vân-Ánh Võ and Friends – VANGO networking event. February 16, 2013 @ 7:30pm in Fremont, CA. Click here for more info.
Music Bridge Under 25 in Hanoi – Fundraising events for young musicians and artists in traditional Vietnamese music.
March 28, 2013 – “Preserve Vietnamese traditional music” at The Rooftop Bar & Restaurant (Hanoi, Vietnam). Click here for more info.
2012
“The Sounds of Fire and Bronze” – An enchanting blend of jazz, traditional Vietnamese folk-inspired music and original scores. See below for more info.
September 26, 2012 – Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ talk about East-West Music and Its Instruments (in Vietnamese) at the Institute of Vietnamese Studies (15355 Brookhurst St., Suite 222, Westminster, CA 92683). For more info, call (714) 837-0047.
November 3, 2012 – “The Sounds of Fire and Bronze” Performance at Rose Theater Center (Westminster, CA)
2011
VANGO Network Health Education Initiative (HEI) Charity Concert – 2011. Click here for photos.