Youth orchestra launched in city

The orchestra’s founders, Amberstone Media, HCMC Conservatory of Music, and the Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra – SPO, expect the SPYO will bring classical music closer to its young audience by rejuvenating this musical genre as well as contribute to the diversified music sector in HCMC.

The group gave a premiere, “Once Upon a Spring - The Very Best of Tchaikovsky” in HCMC on January 13 under the baton of its Executive Director, Fan Ting.

The concert featuring works by Tchaikovsky was supported by the Classical Music Society Hong Kong Vietnam, Soul Music & Performing Arts Academy – SMPAA, Hungarian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Renaissance Collection company.

The SPYO will offer a series of outdoor concerts in front of the municipal opera house every week to introduce and inspire the classic music to young listeners.

Artistic director of the SPYO is musician Nguyen Bao Anh who graduated from the Royal College of Music in London. The musician has appeared as a soloist and as the bassoon principal to several music festivals in Europe, including Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra (Germany), Carinthia Music Festival (Austria), Pablo Casal’s Music Festival (France), the British Youth Opera (UK).

Bao Anh is a versatile musician, not only as a chamber player and a soloist, but also as a guest principal Bassoon with various orchestras, namely in Seoul, Hong Kong, Macao, China, Malaysia, Thailand and his homeland, Vietnam. He has also appeared with the Opera Society of Hong Kong as Principal Bassoon consecutively since 2010.

He is currently also a Member of the Symphony Orchestra of Next Generation under Maestro Shi-nik Halm( Seoul), the Artistic Consultant Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra (Saigon Vietnam), Director of the Hong Kong Bassoon Academy and Bauhinia Musik Haus. Teaching Bassoon at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts(Hong Kong).