Friday, November 10, 2006
Vietnam-Cambodia Cultural Exchange Residencies
The historic Vietnam-Cambodia Cultural Exchange Residencies that Southwest Chamber Music initiated in 2004 in Vietnam and Cambodia have finally come to fruition as Southwest Chamber Music celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year.
In December, Southwest Chamber Music, a two-time Grammy® Award-winning ensemble, was the first American ensemble to begin long-term residency and cultural exchange programs with the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the Hanoi National Conservatory of Music in Vietnam.
The two-week residencies in Cambodia and Vietnam initiated the first year of a three-year project. Subsequent seasons will bring music of Vietnamese and Cambodian composers to Southwest Chamber Music concerts and educational events in Southern California.
Southwest Chamber Music performed concerts and master classes at the Hanoi National Conservatory as part of their 50th anniversary celebration, and capped the trip with a performance at the Hanoi Opera House on December 11th. Additional performances and master classes were held at the Chenla Theater in Phnom Penh, and a special performance on December 5 as part of the World Culture Expo 2006, co-produced by Cambodia and South Korea.
Concerts featured the music of Cambodian-American, Grawemeyer Award-winning composer Chinary Ung. This is the first time Dr. Ung's music was brought home by an American group, with the first professional performances of his music in Cambodia. Dr. Ung, who grew up in Cambodia and is the most prestigious Southeast Asian composer, is the catalyst for Southwest Chamber Music's trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. His music and his presence represent the symbolic healing of the past and look forward to a future with peace and harmony. Concerts also included music of Mozart, Barber, Harrison, Cage, Takemitsu and Mendelssohn, and included side-by-side performances with Vietnamese musicians. A work by Vietnamese composer Phuc Linh was also performed by Southwest musicians in Hanoi. Southwest Chamber Music's players participated in master classes in both cities, providing an educational component to this historic trip, as the first American ensemble-in-residence in both countries since the Khmer Rouge era and Vietnam War.
Funding for the American portion of this project comes from a generous grant from the James Irvine Foundation. The overseas portion of the Cultural Exchange Project has been funded through the generosity of private donors. For more information, please visit Southwest Chamber Music or contact us at 1-800-726-7147.
*Pictures from left to right: 1. Composer Chinary Ung and Conductor Jeff von der Schmidt in Cambodia, 2004; 2. Executive Director Jan Karlin and Artistic Director and Conductor Jeff vonder Schmidt on an elephant ride in Cambodia, 2004; 3. Director of the Hanoi National Conservatory Thu Ha Tran and Conductor Jeff von der Schmidt in Hanoi, 2004.
