VASCAM Recital 2018

Saturday, July 14, 2018 - 7 PM 

Việt Báo Daily News 

Westminster, CA

The recital features art songs completed by participants from both Advanced and Beginner classes of VASCAM 2018 Write-An-Art-Song Workshop that happened July 6-12 and taught by composer professor P. Q. Phan. Beginner class meets four evenings Monday to Thursday, and each member finishes setting a tune to a text of their choice in English or Vietnamese. Advanced class participants write both the melody and a simple harmonization for their piece.  

Professional musicians, Dr Bằng-Lăng Đỗ, a pianist, Bích Vân, a soprano, and Sean Buhr, a tenor, have a look at the music sheets on Friday afternoon, the day before the recital. They take a few hours to rehearse the songs for the first time in the presence of professor P.Q. Phan. The three artists perform the songs on Saturday evening in a recital that concludes the workshop. 

The recital is to honor and celebrate achievements by workshop graduates who work extremely hard for several days with an open mind to complete a task using methods they have never done before. 

The workshop and the ensuing recital are made possible by a team of highly professional artists: Dr P.Q. Phan walks participants through a scientific process that demystifies any creative concepts they may have, Dr Bằng-Lăng Đỗ provides an on-the-spot arrangement that highlights the English or Vietnamese text of each song, and soprano Bích Vân and tenor Sean Buhr who read and learn the new music quickly for a professional rendition--with Bích Vân being capable of singing proficiently in both English and Vietnamese.

The general purposes of this songwriting workshop are to bring home the value of creativity, to give community members a taste of it, and ultimately to raise awareness of the importance of art in our life.

Reception to follow. Free admission.