i193.photobucket.com - An exciting show titled Cracking Bamboo awaits music lovers tonight at the National Culture Hall at 8 pm, as part of the International Percussion Music Festival.
Cracking Bamboo blends contemporary European music with traditional Asian music and is a concept aimed at enhancing cultural exchanges between the two regions. In this case the connecting links are percussion instruments, which offer, more so than other instruments, possible reference points which permit western music to relate to traditional non-European music.
The show offers a platform for an encounter between percussionists with modern instruments from Europe and their forefathers, the traditional instruments of Southeast Asia, for a musical dialogue. Cultural Exchange Project Executive from the Asia- Europe Foundation Mr David Ocon Fernandez said “During the one and a half hour show audience members will see a colourful performance of new and fresh music using percussion instruments to combine traditional and contemporary music.
We encourage anyone interested in music to attend this unique show.” “The idea came from the artistic director of the project, Professor Bernhard Wulff from Germany, who wanted to establish an international music festival in Indochina, where musicians from Southeast Asia and Europe could meet and share knowledge and expertise while they work together in creating unique musical performances,” he said. “Actually this is the fi fth time that we’ve organised such an event;
we’ve held previous concerts combining traditional, contemporary and electronic music in the Philippines, Sweden, China and Ireland,” Mr Fernandez said. “However, this is the fi rst time we’ve featured percussion instruments and the reason we chose Indochina for this event is because the region has many traditional instruments and a wide variety of musical styles, so there is excellent potential for unique and interesting new music.”
“We’ve just performed fi ve concerts in Hanoi, Vietnam, which attracted large audiences. The feedback was all positive, especially from local musicians who had the opportunity to learn and develop their musical skills.” The concert is an opportunity for musicians to learn about other instruments and musical styles while helping audiences discover other cultures and enjoy performances by talented artists from around the world. The concert is organised by the French Language Centre and entry is 10,000 kip.
