Who are the best zither players in Vietnam?

TT: Who are the best zither players in Vietnam?

TQH: The contribution of many traditional music professors such as Nguyen Huu Ba, Buu Loc, Vinh Phan, Ba Du, Nguyen Vinh Bao, etc. has created a number of new progressive young talents such as Pham Thuy Hoan and the Hoa Sim Group including Quynh Hanh, Phuong Oanh, Ngoc Dung in Saigon before 1975. Professor Nguyen Vinh Bao has designed and built many new zithers with 17, 19, 21 and 25 strings offering many beautiful low and high frequency sounds.

In Hanoi, female musician Phuong Bao teaches the zither at the conservatory and at the same time designs several new experimental instruments.

Currently in Vietnam, besides Pham Thuy Hoan and Hoang Co Thuy, there are three young and talented musicians: Hai Phuong (winner of National Young Talents award in 1992), Van Anh (winner of zither young talent in 1995), and Thanh Thuy (winner of zither young talent in 1998). In Saigon, the first Asian Conference on the zither was organized from 10 to 14 September 2000, with the participation of more than 200 zither musicians from Vietnam, Korea, Japan and Singapore. This has brought forward a lot of enthusiasm into the field of traditional music in the country, and could very well help grow the zither music in Vietnam.