Van-Anh Vo keeps Traditional Vietnamese Music Alive at Lincoln Center on July 26th

Written by Rich Monetti

Monday, 08 July 2013 02:50

In 1995 when the America resumed relations with Vietnam, Van-Anh Vo was selected among of a trove of artists to tour the U.S. and ease the transition. Having won the Vietnamese national championship on her instrument (The Dan Tranh Zither), she was an obvious choice. Touring the United States, she would meet her future husband and five years later settled with him in California. But as lucky as she now feels in her family life, she did have to adjust from being a nationally renowned artist in Vietnam to a near state of anonymity.

Van-anh Vo (VV): Regardless of how established I was in Vietnam, I became nothing. It was a shock.

Times Square(TS): How did you get past this?

VV: My husband gave me a lot of support. Family is very important, and if you have a partner who supports you, then you will make it happen.

TS: Let's go back to growing up in North Vietnam. When were you born?

VV: 1975.

TS: What was it like after the war?

VV: I remember the underground bunkers that were still everywhere in Hanoi. The government did not have money to cover all of them and some were left unattended. During the rainy season, children would jump out on the street to play and many accidentally drowned. I also remember all the household things we made out of old artillery shells.

TS: What was your introduction to music?

VV: My father was a musician and during the war he had to enlist. He played for soldiers on the battlefield so he didn't have to carry a weapon. When the war was over, he worked for the national theatre. We were so poor, and I know what it means to be a starving artist. Luckily, he got a better job as a director at the national theatre.

TS: He taught you?

VV: I was four and by six I started to play the zither. Just like that, music was with me and 30 years later it still is.

TS: Did you have exposure to other music besides traditional Vietnamese?

VV: The government controlled much of the art and culture, but we did hear the big composers like Mozart and Beethoven. Still, the focus was on traditional and I got into the national conservatory, which meant housing for those accepted.

TS: Did you get to hear the Beatles?

VV: We had ABBA.

TS: I guess that's not so bad. Tell me more about your higher education.

VV: In the U.S. you don't have the master's apprentice system but it's an honor to be accepted under a master in Vietnam. Unfortunately, it takes a while and traditionally the master only took a family member. I was not a family member so they just say no, but I didn't accept that fact.

TS: What did you do?

VV: I did a lot of things to earn their trust. Finally, one of the masters who was the most difficult, accepted me after three years. As soon as that happened, he shared everything. I became like family.

TS:Tell me about touring internationally.

VV: I toured in over 30 countries and I tried to get to know each country's music.

TS: When do you start making music here?

VV: The first three years, I didn't really do anything. I had gone from meeting presidents to being in a place where my music didn't work. Eventually, I met friends who thought my music was beautiful and connected me to several Vietnamese nonprofits, where I'd perform fundraising events.

TS: Traditional Music?

VV: Yes but, I started to write my own music because in Vietnam basically you play what they told you to play.

TS: Did this get you to a point of making a living?

VV: Not really but better than at first. I'm just fortunate that I have my husband. He doesn't ask me to make a lot of money. What he does ask is that I concentrate on the quality of what I do and be the keeper of the family.

TS: But you end up winning some pretty prestigious awards?

VV: I was invited to do some work on a documentary called, Daughter from Danang. After working with the producer and composer, they felt I helped them so much that they asked me to be a co-composer. I wrote the part on my instrument. It won the best soundtrack at Sundance in 2003 and was later nominated for an Academy Award.

TS: That's not bad. I see you design your own instrument.

VV: The way it's designed wasn't very good for opening the music outside the Vietnamese traditional style so I had to find a way to do that. The first thing I had to do was redesign the instrument so that I could play with other musicians without worrying about being out of tune. Then I had to make sure my sound could be grounded with their sound.

TS: Who actually made the instrument?

VV: It was really a process because people thought, why do you have to change it. But luckily, I found an instrument maker who understands my need to be open.

TS: Tell me about your three points – writing, teaching, and performing.

VV: The first thing is writing. I have to express my own voice. In Vietnam, "the right hand" is the machine that produces the sound but the soul, the colors and the emotions come from "the left hand," and you learn that from the master.

TS: Then performing?

VV: That's the way I can share my music and take an audience to a different world.

TS: And teaching?

VV: If I do not have students who can actually help me make Vietnamese music known to the world – I by myself will not be able to do that. Like when my master accepted me, I thought I would help to keep traditional music alive.

TS: Tell me about the show on the 26th.

VV: I will be playing with the Kronos Quartet. We will be performing all music that I have composed. My set will be about 30 minutes and start at 7:30

TS: Thank you.

VV: Thank you. Good bye.