Famous songs about Hanoi will be performed by the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and diva Thanh Lam during their fourth annual Toyota Concert Tour to Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City from June 7 to 25.

The orchestra will also play classical pieces by renowned composers such as Tchaikovsky, Georges Bizet, Smetana and Franz Suppe.

Vietnamese diva Thanh Lam will make her debut appearance with the orchestra under the Japanese conductor Tetsuji Honna, sing the Vietnamese songs ‘Nguoi Ha Noi’ (Hanoians) by Nguyen Dinh Thi and ‘Hoa Sua’ (Milk Flower) by Hong Dang.

“These are two songs of the most famous songs about Hanoi and this is considered a gift to the capital city in anticipation of its millennial anniversary celebration this October,” said Ngo Hoang Quan, director of the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra at a press briefing held in Hanoi this morning.

“It’s a great honour for me to sing in the Toyota Concert tour,” says Thanh Lam. “This is also the first time I will sing the song ‘Hanoians’ with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra so it’s considered a challenge of my professionalism but I know that I will try my best for the concert,” the diva added.

This is the 13th year Toyota Motor Vietnam, and now the Toyota Vietnam Foundation, has organised the Toyota Concert. In order to spread classical music to more Vietnamese audiences, the Toyota Concert was changed to the Toyota Concert Tour in 2007 and is now held annually nationwide.

“This not only helps to widely popularise classical music to Vietnamese audiences but it also supports the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra to upgrade and improve the quality of its performance to regional and international standards,” says Akito Tachibana, chairman of Toyota Vietnam Foundation and President of Toyota Motor Vietnam.

All ticket sales proceeds from the Toyota Concert Tour 2010 will go towards Toyota Scholarships for Young Vietnamese Musical Talents.

Toyota concert tour 2009 attracted a lot of music connoisseurs

Also according to Akito Tachibana, since 2009, in order to encourage young musical talents to improve their skills, they have decided to grant hundreds of scholarships worth a total of VND 300 million annually to outstanding students at Music and Art Centres in all over the country.

The tour will open with two concerts in Hanoi at the Hanoi Opera House on July 7 and 8 at 8pm, followed by concerts at the Hai Phong Culture Theatre on July 20, Trung Vuong Theatre in Da Nang on July 23 and Ho Chi Minh City’s Municipal Theatre on July 25. Tickets are available at the venues.