Hanoi (VNA) - Aconcert featuring ethnic minority music will be held to introduce SeaphonyOrchestra - the first Vietnamese ethnic minority orchestra at Hanoi Opera Houseon December 12.

The concert entitled Vietnamese Ethnic Music Concert will featureabout 50 artisans, composers and musicians from many ethnic groups acrossVietnam. The artists will perform instruments such as the jaw harp, leafflute, dan tinh, dan goong, gongs, Baranung drum, Gineng drumand dan do and folksongs from Tay, Thai, Dao, H’Mong, Lao, M’Nong, Ede,Ja Rai, Se Dang and Cham ethnic groups.

The concert and Seaphony Orchestra is under the S.E.A Sound project which wasinitiated by Nguyen Nhat Ly and produced by Lune Production aiming to create aSoutheast Asian musical platform where ethnic minority music lovers gather tocompose and perform.

Ly and other musicians of the project including jew harp artist Nguyen Duc Minhand traditional musician Nguyen Manh Tien, who is working at the Thang LongSinging, Dancing and Music Theatre’s Traditional Ensemble have travelled tonorthern provinces of Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Lang Son, Dien Bien, Yen Bai and HaGiang and villages across Vietnam.

They met artisans and sought authentic instruments from various ethnic groupsto invite to join the orchestra. "We organised an orchestra based on allthe music, instruments and cultures of Southeast Asian ethnic groups,"said Ly. "We need to find young talents that can play instruments withskill. They don’t need to know music notes or have formal education at any musicalacademy. But they need to understand their own culture."

Aged 78, Lo Van La is the oldest artist of Seaphony Orchestra. Heperforms khen be, an important instrument for Thai people. Theorchestra consists of woodwinds, percussion and string instruments.

The woodwinds include jaw harp, leaf flute, dinh tak ta and Saranaiflute. The jaw harp make sounds similar to a human voice and the leaf flutesounds like a stream or bird singing. The dinh tak ta flute is playedwith a nostril.

"Seaphony is not only how we gather the artists from diverse regions ofVietnam," said jaw harp artist Minh. "It’s also our experiment toexplore the potential of the orchestra, as well as determining the influence ofmusic in our lives."

Minh was the only jaw harp artist in Vietnam to win Best Artist at 2006International Jaw’s Harp Festival in Netherlands. In Seaphony Orchestra, he notonly plays flute or jaw harp, he also stages some performances.

Three concerts themed Northwest Ethnic Music; Central Highlands Ethnic Musicand Cham Ethnic Music were held in Hanoi in March, June and September tointroduce experimental music works.

Tickets are now available via message on Seaphony’s Facebook fan page and atthe Hanoi Opera House.-VNA