Professor Ho Thuy Trang was born in Ho Chi Minh City into a family with a rich tradition of music practice. At the age of seven, she went to the Saigon National School of Music and Drama, now the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, and graduated with honours in 1986, starting her career as a music teacher.
In 2003, Trang moved to France and settled in Créteil, a suburb city located in southeast Paris with a population of more than 92,000 people. It is typical of the multi-ethnic culture of France. As it is home to a large number of Vietnamese people, Créteil is a rendezvous of Vietnamese people living in France and Europe in general.
She went through a tough competition to receive a national degree from the French Ministry of Culture, establishing herself as one of three Vietnamese people so far to win the title “Vietnamese music professor” by the French Government.
Ho Thuy Trang has delivered lectures on traditional Vietnamese music in the cities of Marseille, Bordeaux and Lausanne (Switzerland), as well as at the conservatory in the suburbs of Paris.
By fully and enthusiastically participating in music festivals around the world, she became aware of the value of traditional Vietnamese music and the challenges of promoting Vietnamese music in foreign countries.
Tieng To Dong is the only Vietnamese cultural association licensed by the French Government to deliver performances, which is an undeniable recognition for a non-French folk art and music association.
From a folklore musical group
At the beginning of its establishment, Tieng To Dong had six members from Belgium, France, Switzerland and Vietnam. After a few years succeeding in establishing its position in the city’s flow of the art, in November 2006, the group was officially recognised as a cultural organisation (the official title of the French Government under Article 1901), with 15 members.
In 2010, the group’s members increased to 18 members, with many nationalities and types of folklore musical instruments, rather than only Vietnamese instruments. That diversity has helped the group reach out beyond the Vietnamese community to a wider audience.
Prof. Ho Thuy Trang also opened a dance troupe and a ‘cai luong’ (reformed opera) class, which are led by veteran artists Thanh Bach and Thi Mai.
Regarding the orientation for Tieng To Dong’s operation in the coming time, Prof. Ho Thuy Trang said that in addition to preserving Vietnamese folk music in France, she will work to promote the national Vietnamese music to the young generation of Vietnamese expats in France.
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Prof. Ho Thuy Trang - the founder of Tieng To Dong ethnic music group |
...to save the nation's soul outside the border
In reply to a question on why she joined Tieng To Dong, Pham Khanh Linh, a PhD candidate, said she was happy to perform folk songs and dances to international friends. She revealed that when she appeared on the stage with conical hats and lanterns, she heard, “Wow, this is Vietnam”, from the audience, which made her very proud and happy.
That is also the feeling of many Vietnamese who come to study and work in France and become members of Tieng To Dong, to relieve their nostalgia and feel the pride of being Vietnamese.
For them, Tieng To Dong is not only a place to practice folklore culture but also to promote the beauty of Vietnam.
In recent years, Tieng To Dong has been increasingly appreciated by the city’s authorities and has been invited to participate in many of Créteil's public art activities.
That motivated Professor Ho Thuy Trang to propose the idea of teaching Vietnamese folk music at music schools in France. Her proposal was approved, marking another great success of Trang and Tieng To Dong in particular.
