A concert for reconciliation reaches millions of people

“Citizens must be inspired to believe that peace is possible”

August 18, 2011  about Uncategorized

VietNamNet Bridge - “Citizens must be inspired to believe that peace is possible. A concert for reconciliation reaches millions of people, with the message of hope, so that those who hear will insist on an end to violence - insist not only to their neighbors, but also to their political leaders,” Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Maestro Charles Anbacher’s spouse said after the Second Annual Reconciliation Concert 2011 held in Boston (USA) in August 10.

Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Maestro Charles Anbacher’s spouse

What was the significance of the Reconciliation Concert last night in Boston? 

The world suffers from deep political and ideological rifts, from inequities, from terror inflicted on one people by another. How will we stop the violence? It’s not only by politicians meeting across negotiation tables. 

Citizens must be inspired to believe that peace is possible. A concert for reconciliation reaches millions of people, with the message of hope, so that those who hear will insist on an end to violence–insist not only to their neighbors but also to their political leaders. 

What was the reaction of the audience to the music and the message?

In my remarks before the music started, people listened without a sound, as I said that we in the US know very well that 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam. 

What we don’t know is that nearly four million Vietnamese were killed, including more than two million civilians. It’s time to commit ourselves to reconciliation, which was the vision of Charles and Tuan. Tuan and I then lifted out hands in the air, in a sign of friendship.

The audience clapped and clapped and clapped, for an unusually long time. Then the music started, and the effect was magical. I know from many comments and emails that it opened hearts and minds of those in the audience. The audience sprang to their feet at the end of the violin concerto with the 16-year-old soloist.

They were up again at the end of the symphony, and also after the encore. They were applauding not only the music, but also the concept of the power of music to heal. Tuan and Charles were like brothers in their vision of the importance of music to heal a hurting world, and the people could sense that.

At a personal level, was there also meaning?

In the course of our 25-year marriage, I watched Charles lead more than 70 orchestras, in dozens of countries. Many were at war, at risk of war, or just coming out of war: Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Serbia…. Americans generally think of Vietnam only in terms of war–the one that we lost. But there are many different kinds of struggle.

When my husband came to Hanoi, it was eight months after he was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor. He had been told that he had one to three years to live. Still he was determined to make that trip, even though he was so weak that he was lying flat on the floor of his dressing room during the intermission of the concerts. As it turned out, that second concert was his last full performance. He came back to the US, where he conducted parts of each of his planned concerts, completed his summer season September 1st, then died 11 days later. 

Would you say that this concert series is part of his legacy?

The Reconciliation Concerts are definitely one way people will remember Charles. But they will also be part of the legacy of Nguyen Anh Tuan, former chief editor of VietNamNet, and other co- sponsors of that first concert at the Hanoi Opera House in April 2010.
These are only two in a series that will be on-going, long after we individually are gone. Boston’s prestigious Free for All Concert Fund has agreed to ensure that the concerts are produced every year, reaching all around the world, to our Vietnamese friends and every point in between.

What was the reaction specifically to Mr. Tuan?

Tuan spoke beautifully at a post-concert reception, and I received emails after quoting him directly. He now has a Boston family, eager to visit his Vietnam home. I hope you’re ready for a lot of guests!

Swanee Hunt is president of Hunt Alternatives Fund, a private foundation focused on strengthening youth arts in all parts of Metro Boston, supporting leaders of national social movements, bolstering women’s leadership in conflict regions, combating the demand for purchased sex in the US, achieving political parity for women in high-level positions, and increasing philanthropy worldwide. She is the Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she founded the Women and Public Policy Program. From 1993 to 1997, she served as US ambassador to Austria, during which time she hosted negotiations to stop the war in Yugoslavia and convened women leaders from across Eastern and Western Europe. A frequent media commentator, she is the author of three books with Duke University Press. Her Witness Cantata (for five soloists, chorus, and instruments) has been often performed under the baton of her husband of 25 years - Charles Ansbacher, international conductor and arts entrepreneur. She is in Board of Trustees of the Free for All Concert Fund, an independent grant-making foundation, ensures that everyone from the Boston region - children, adults, families - will have regular and permanent access to the rich world of classical, orchestral music and related cultural events. Her world includes their three children, three grandchildren, a cat, a parrot, eight horses, and 76 bison (in absentia). Swanee Hunt travelled to Vietnam with her husband, Charles Ansbacher who conducted the first Reconciliation Concert held by VietNamNet in April 2010, five months before he passed away by fatal brain tumor.

Bao Linh

Bob Dylan’s simple requests to come to Vietnam | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

LookAtVietnam - No
big welcome, just a normal hotel room with two windows, no filming or direct
broadcasting the show are among the requests of Bob Dylan when for when he
comes to Vietnam to sing in HCM City
on April 10.

Apart from the above simple requests, the famous singer
posed two important requirements: the quality of sound must meet international
standards and the seats cannot be classified as VIP or economy seats.

Accordingly, all audiences will sit on the grass at the
stadium of the RMIT International University
in District 7, HCM
City to enjoy Bob Dylan’s
songs.

Before the 2-hour show by Bob Dylan, Vietnamese well-known
singers – My Linh, Thanh Lam, Uyen Linh, Quang Dung, Duc Tuan and Tran Manh
Tuan - will perform songs by Trinh Cong Son.

Dylan said that he knew a lot about the life and music career
of Trinh Cong Son so Vietnam
is a significant destination in his tour to Asia and Australia.

Bob Dylan’s show in Vietnam is organized by Saigon
Sound System, Thanh Nien Media Company and Trinh Cong Son’s family.

Ticket prices are VND900,000 and VND2.5 million.

Bob Dylan’s tour to Asia-Pacific includes 25 shows, starting
on April 3 in Taiwan, to China, Vietnam,
Hong Kong, Singapore,
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland,
the UK, Switzerland, Germany,
Denmark and finishing in the
US
on July 20.

Seven years ago, it was announced that Dylan would come to Vietnam to attend the World Peace Music Awards
but the event was finally organized in the US.

Bob Dylan, 70, has been a major figure in music for five
decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an
informal chronicler, and an apparently reluctant figurehead, of social unrest.
A number of his songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The
Times They Are a-Changin’” became anthems for the US civil rights
and anti-war movements. His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political,
social and philosophical, as well as literary influences.

Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Backed
by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s
on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a
recording artist and performer have been central to his career, but his
greatest contribution is generally considered to be his songwriting.

Since 1994, Dylan has published three books of drawings and
paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a
songwriter and musician, Dylan has received numerous awards over the years
including Grammys, Golden Globes, and Academy Awards; he has been inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and
Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2008, a Bob Dylan Pathway was opened in the
singer’s honor in his birthplace of Duluth,
Minnesota. The Pulitzer Prize
jury in 2008 awarded him a special citation for “his profound impact on
popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of
extraordinary poetic power.”

Time Magazine ranks him among 100 most influential people of
the 20th century.

PV

Berlin Philharmonic to perform in Hanoi, HCM City | Look At Vietnam -

Twelve cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, one of the world top orchestras, will hold a concert at Hanoi Opera House on July 10 and HCM City Theatre on July 11.

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The twelve cellists include: Ludwig Quandt, Nikolaus Römisch, Dietmar Schwalke, Richard Duven, Solène Kermarre, Christoph Igelbrink, Olaf Manninger, Martin Menking, Knut Weber, Rachel HelleurDavid Riniker, David Riniker and Martin Löhr.

“Innovative, brilliant, humorous”, that is the message of the 12 cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic.

The ensemble, an unique group of musicians, has taken its place in the first row of the international musical landscape. More than one hundred contemporary composers have created works especially for the 12 Cellists. Their broad repertoire has impressed audiences around the world for the last 37 years.

Whether playing classical, jazz or avant-garde, the 12 Cellists produce an unmistakable, richly facetted mix of musical colors and unparalleled sound quality. The instruments they play contribute as well: all come from Italian workshops of the 17th and 18th centuries.

They accompany German Federal Presidents on official travels, and the Japanese Emperor welcomes them regularly. Their appearances in Hanoi and HCMC will be one of the highlights of “Germany in Vietnam 2010”.

MTV EXIT Live concert series in four cities – Hanoi, HCM City, Ha Long and Can Tho

MTV Exit has announced the details of MTV EXIT Live concert series in four cities – Hanoi, HCM City, Ha Long and Can Tho to be held in March and April 2010.

MTV Exit concert in Manila, the Philippines in January 2009 (photo: MTV)

The concerts, sponsored by the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign, aim to raise awareness and prevention of human trafficking and exploitation.

The tour will start in Hanoi, at 7pm, March 27 at My Dinh national stadium, with the participation of Korea’s famous band, Super Junior, and Australian star, Kate Miller-Heidke. Vietnamese participants will include singers Ha Anh Tuan, Phuong Vy, Anh Khoa, Hoang Hai, Luu Huong Giang and hiphop dancing troupe Big Toe.

The show will go on in Ha Long city at 8pm, April 3, at Hoang Gia stage, with singers Ha Anh Tuan, Anh Khoa, Hoang Hai, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Hoang Nghiep, Hoang Yen and the Big Toe.

In Can Tho on April 10, the tour will continue at Outdoor Sports Centre at 5pm, with Ha Anh Tuan, Anh Khoa, May Trang group, Nam Cuong, Yen Trang, Yen Nhi and Thien Minh.

The American band, The Click Five, recipients of the Knockout Award at the MTV Asia Awards, will headline the final show at Military Zone 7 Stadium in HCM City on April 17. As avid supporters of MTV EXIT’s initiative to end human trafficking, the band is thrilled to return to Southeast Asia once again to lend their voices to this urgent cause.

The last show will feature Vietnamese singers Ha Anh Tuan, Anh Khoa, Phuong Vy, Luu Huong Giang and May Trang group. The MTV Exit show in HCM City is expected to attract more than 25,000 people.

Ha Anh Tuan will join all four shows as a singer and a show host. In a 4-minute video clip introducing MTV Exit, screened at a press conference about MTV Exit on March 23, Tuan spoke out against human trafficking.

The Click Five.

Rocker Anh Khoa exclaimed, “I’m proud and excited to be a part of the MTV EXIT campaign in Vietnam. I encourage everyone to attend these free concerts and be a part of history. Human trafficking happens all over the world and maybe just right under our noses. We are all affected one way or another. I hope the campaign will give everyone information to live safely.”

All concerts will be aired on VTV and YanTV. Tickets are free and delivered via various channels. For ticketing information, please go to www.mtvexit.org or www.hoahoctro.vn.

Concert footage will be used to produce a series of nationally-televised programs on YanTV, the campaign’s official music channel.

“We are thrilled to announce MTV EXIT Live in Viet Nam,” said MTV EXIT’s director, Simon Goff.

“The power and influence of music is a great force for change. By holding this concert tour across the country, we are harnessing this power; using it to inform and mobilise young people in the fight against human trafficking,” he added.

The MTV Exit (End Exploitation and Trafficking) concert series in Vietnam is part of the MTV EXIT campaign to fight human trafficking. MTV EXIT, which is produced by the MTV Europe Foundation in partnership with the US Agency for International Development and the Australian Government’s Agency for International Development, has held 15 concerts across Asia over the past two years, including Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Taiwan and the Philippines.

MTV Exit Live in Vietnam is produced in partnership with USAID, AUSAID, Phibious, Campaign Solutions, An Thuan Media and XPRC.

Air Supply concert stirs up local audiences |

Hoa Binh Theater on Friday night was gradually heated up by each song delivered by the band Air Supply. Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell sang and performed enthusiastically

Air Supply performs at Hoa Binh Theatre in HCMC over the weekend.
The two 60 year old gentlemen did not betray the audience’s love. Their voices seem not to be damaged by time. Hitchcock’s voice was melodious, strong and vibrant. Russell improved solo after solo on guitar. Audiences had a chance to see the familiar image of the two members of the well known band live on stage instead of on screen or video.

“I have been a fan of Air Supply since I was a child in the 80s. That’s why when the band comes to Vietnam, I have to come here to see them by all means,” said musician Quang Huy.

Many in the audience stood and shouted for joy and sang passionately with the band on some famous songs such as Goodbye, The Power of Love and Making Love out of Nothing at All. There was just an interesting music atmosphere between the audience and the band that erased all the space.

The band carefully explained the contents of each song before playing it to help the audience prepare. After the third song, Russell said “Hello Vietnam” and invited people to move closer to the stage. Members of the band even shook some hands with fans. “I come here to see and stay close to all of you. My dream now comes true to be standing here,” said Air Supply. The band’s friendliness contributed so much to the success of the concert.

VietNamNet/SGT

| Cuba rocks to huge peace concert

Havana is hosting the biggest open-air concert since the 1959 revolution, featuring some 15 top Latin American, Spanish and Cuban performers.
Hundreds of thousands of people - many wearing white - are attending the free event in Revolution Square, Havana.
Colombian singer Juanes, who organised the "Peace without Borders" concert, has received death threats from Miami-based critics of the Cuban regime.
But he has won support from 20 high-profile jailed dissidents inside Cuba.
The BBC's Michael Voss at the concert says there is a mood of excitement, as many residents of the isolated, music-loving island have never seen anything like it before.
AT THE SCENE

Michael Voss, BBC News, Revolution Square
It's absolutely packed here. There's never been a free open-air concert like it ever before.
When Pope Jean Paul II gave his historic mass in this same place just over 10 years ago, there was about 250,000 people here. We estimate there is double that number here now.
This is the centre of power here in Cuba. Normally when I come here, it is to cover the big May Day parades and there are red flags everywhere.
Now, everyone is wearing white. There are white flags, white shirts. That's the message - Peace without Borders.
He says people have travelled from across the island to attend.
Organisers said some 500,000 people were expected.
But our reporter says heat is a problem. He has seen a lot of people being carried away on stretchers.
"Together, we are going to make history," said Puerto Rican singer Olga Tanon, as she opened the concert with the love song, Es Mentiroso Ese Hombre (That Man is a Liar).
"We've been here since 0300 waiting for everyone, waiting for Juanes and for Olga Tanon," Luisa Maria Canales, an 18-year-old engineering student, told the AP news agency.
"I'm a little tired, but I am more excited."
While critics have complained that Juanes is endorsing the island's communist system, the dissidents say the concert is an opportunity for reconciliation.

In pictures: Cuban peace concert
Juanes said the show was about peace and tolerance, not politics.
"It's a message of peace, not only for Cuba. It's for the entire region," he said.
He added that preparations for the concert had not been easy, but "we have all got over our fears".
Our reporter notes that the location of the free concert is highly symbolic.
The headquarters of the communist party is in Revolution Square, along with a giant metal sculpture of Che Guevara's head.
The square was used by Fidel Castro to give five-hour speeches, and is also where Pope John Paul II held a historic open air mass in 1998.
Among the artists taking part on Sunday are Spain's Miguel Bose, Olga Tanon from Puerto Rico, the Cuban performers Silvio Rodriguez and Los Van Van.

Four countries unite in Christmas carols

Vietnamese singers and HCM City orchestra members will perform with their Canadian, Korean and Australian counterparts in a special music programme tonight at the city’s White Palace Convention Centre.


Holiday cheer: Maestro Simon Leung will join other musicians in the Global Echoes Christmas Concert. — VNS photo

The Global Echoes Christmas Concert will feature a combined performance of Canadian, Korean and Vietnamese choir and orchestra musicians, as well as soloists from Australia, Canada and Viet Nam under the baton of maestro Simon Leung.

The 94-member group will perform favourite pieces of Christmas music and popular songs of the festive season as well as highlights of Handel’s Messiah.

Born in Hong Kong, Simon Leung moved to Victoria via Ottawa and studied music at the University of Victoria and later worked with Paul Freeman, music director and conductor of the Victoria Symphony Orchestra.

He was the principal conductor of the Sooke Community Choir and the West Coast Chamber Orchestra, and is the founder and principal conductor of the West Coast Consort and Annual Victoria Summer concert.

Simon has performed in major cities in the US, Germany, Austria and Hong Kong, and is currently planning a choral concert tour with four performances in China including Beijing, Guangdong and Hong Kong next year.

Jointly organised by the Korean Association, the Consulate General of Canada and the White Palace Convention Centre, the Global Echoes Christmas Concert programme promotes international cultural exchange through music, according to Ly Cau Tay, acting general manager of the White Palace.

The programme will include three concerts with the grand opening tonight at 7.30pm at the White Palace in Phu Nhuan District.

A pre-concert buffet dinner at the centre will also be available from 5.30pm on the same day.

The other two concerts will take place at the HCM City Conservatory of Music and Saigon South International School tomorrow and Saturday, respectively.

Tickets for the concerts are US$10 and are available at the White Palace at 194 Hoang Van Thu Street in Phu Nhuan District. For tickets, call 0919058329.

(Source: Viet Nam News)