A pair of musicians who once comprised
Vietnam
’s premier music ensemble brought the sounds of their native country to local seventh graders in February.
Khac Chi performed for over 2,000 7th graders in the Cabarrus and
Kannapolis
Schools
and at
First
Assembly
School
as part of the Cabarrus Arts Council’s Students Take pART in the ARTs! program. They also presented a public program, co-sponsored by the Concord Friends of the Library, at the Concord Library and performed for an enthusiastic audience of 200 students in grades K-8 at the Cabarrus Boys and Girls Club.
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Dressed in beautiful traditional costumes, the ensemble amazed students by playing more than a dozen exotic instruments. They played music from a variety of geographic areas of
Vietnam
, and included work songs, children’s songs and folk songs. A dozen students had the opportunity to join them on stage and learn a few notes on some of the instruments.
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Khac Chi was
Vietnam
’s leading ensemble when it arrived in
Canada
in 1992 for a performance at the Vancouver Folk Festival. Leaving behind their prestigious careers in
Vietnam
, Hoang Ngoc Bich and Ho Khac Chi decided to stay in
Canada
. In the years since then, they have built a new career and a stellar reputation based on musical virtuosity and an entertaining presentation. They tour regularly in the
United States
,
Canada
and
Europe
.
Chi, an award-winning composer in
Vietnam
, is considered the world’s premier virtuoso on the dan bau, a one-string zither. He was a professor at the Vietnam Conservatory of Music, the conductor of the conservatory’s traditional instrument orchestra and the leader of several touring ensembles one of which evolved into Khac Chi.
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