US - Viet Nam Relations

The Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra and the Creation of a Cultural Dialogue

Featuring 71 musicians from the Georgia-based JCSO, the performance took the audience on a vivid auditory journey, from the classical works of Johann Strauss II, George Gershwin, and Aaron Copland to iconic film scores like the Titanic Suite, The Godfather, and The Phantom of the Opera. The orchestra also performed two Vietnamese compositions: "Pizzicato Vietnam" by Dang Huu Phuc and "Huong ve Ha Noi" (Heading for Hanoi) by Hoang Duong. These pieces were specially arranged by musician Luu Ha An for the American orchestra, demonstrating a spirit of exchange and honoring Vietnamese cultural values on an international stage.

Ambassadors, leaders of agencies and departments, and guest of honor seated in the audience.

When the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra took the stage at the Ho Guom Opera House in Hanoi, they brought more than just instruments, scores, or technical prowess. They brought, more profoundly, a space for cultural dialogue—a place where music became the common language of two peoples, once separated by history, now joined in a rhythm of understanding and sharing.

While in American concert halls, symphonic music may symbolize the spirit of enlightenment and Western humanistic values, its resonance in the heart of Hanoi—a city of a thousand years of culture—imbues those sounds with a new layer of meaning. This was not just the music of Johann Strauss, Gershwin, or Bernstein; it was an echo of a dialogue: between the past and the present, between the "self" and the "other". Each melody, each chord, was an invitation for the Vietnamese audience to participate in an emotional conversation, one where music blurred the boundaries between performer and listener, and between two seemingly distinct cultures.

The artists of the orchestra and the leaders of the Vietnam - U.S. Association at the farewell party.

In the context of the growing cooperation and understanding in Vietnam-U.S. relations, this event testifies to the power of art as a form of soft diplomacy. It demonstrated a spirit of openness and mutual respect, where the two sides shared not only cultural products but also their methods of perception and creation. The Vietnamese audience, listening to the JCSO, did not just enjoy music; they perceived an image of a humanistic, approachable America that is ready for dialogue through art. Conversely, the Vietnamese audience—with their warm applause, empathy, and hospitality—played their own part in completing the symphony.

In the moments the music filled the hall, the distances of geography, history, and language seemed to dissolve, giving way to a common human space where art served as the bridge and people were the center of the connection. From American stages to Vietnamese concert halls, music has proven that as long as people are willing to listen, all differences can be understood and shared.

Artistically, the JCSO did not just bring American and Western symphonic staples to Hanoi; they actively integrated Vietnamese works into the program. This fusion of Gershwin and Bernstein with Vietnamese melodies created a rich aesthetic experience, embodying the spirit of cultural dialogue: two distinct musical traditions coexisting, respecting, and illuminating one another. Here, national identity was not diluted but rather refreshed within a global context.

"Melodies across Vietnam and the U.S." to celebrate the 80th Anniversay of the Vietnam - U.S. Society in the Ho Guom Opera.

The talented conductor Austin Chanu Alexander.

Socially, the JCSO's concert can be understood as an act of "soft diplomacy," a form of communication that transcends political stereotypes. Art, in this role, serves to build trust and understanding. Music, therefore, is not merely entertainment but becomes a discourse of memory, where both sides listen to the past and look toward the future with a spirit of forgiveness and humanism.

From another perspective, the JCSO's performance also suggests a new way of viewing the role of the artist in the 21st century. They are not just transmitters of art but creators of cultural meaning. Each composition is a message, an effort to reconnect people in a turbulent world. The event allows us to realize that music can be the "voice of peace"—where the language of art erases distance, awakens empathy, and promotes symbiosis between cultures. The JCSO in Hanoi, therefore, was not an isolated aesthetic entity but a form of connective cultural discourse. It carried the power of memory, humanism, and the belief that people, despite being born into different historical circumstances, can still meet in the breath of each melody and together create a new harmony for the 21st century.

When Symphonic Art Meets Vietnamese Folk Religion

Following the two nights at the Ho Guom Opera House, the Vietnam-USA Society hosted a welcome reception for the JCSO featuring a Hau Dong (Dao Mau - Mother Goddess worship) performance by artists from the Vietnam Cheo Theatre. This was a truly special moment of cultural intersection, signifying more than a simple "welcome". It held a depth of identity, difference, and the connective power of art.

Artist of the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra attentively watched the Hau Dong (Mother Goddess worship) performance by the Vietnam Cheo Theatre during the warm farewell event.

By greeting a Western symphony orchestra with a deeply indigenous cultural heritage, the organizers designed a unique encounter between two completely different "musical languages". If the symphony is the art of structure, rationality, and harmonious coordination between dozens of instruments—symbolizing Western discipline and universality—then hầu đồng is the art of folk ritual, rich in emotion, deeply spiritual, and marked by powerful individual expression, connecting humans with the supernatural world in Vietnamese culture.

The appearance of the giá đồng (spirit incarnations) delivered a unique, soft declaration at the JCSO welcome: Vietnam does not just receive culture, it actively "presents" its own identity with confidence and a spirit of equal dialogue. By performing a ritual that honors the mother, the woman, and the harmony of yin-yang philosophy before a symphony orchestra, the JCSO was truly welcomed by Vietnam not just with hospitality, but with the deep memory of another civilization—one where music is inextricably linked with faith and spirituality. This touched upon a shared humanity; despite originating from two different cultures, both share a belief in the healing and connective power of art.

As the sounds of the drum, the phách (woodblock), and the đàn nguyệt (moon lute) rose, the spirit mediums embodied the Holy Mothers and Holy Maidens, illuminating symbols of feminine power and tolerance. Across from them, the American musicians—accustomed to Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, or Copland—watched in stunned silence. They realized that the music here was not a game of technical skill but a ritual of life, of reverence for nature and humanity. They did not just "hear" the music; they "saw" it with their hearts.

An artist from the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra captures a fleeting moment of the Hau Dong performance by the Vietnam Cheo Theatre.

And most importantly, they would realize that this very difference can create a connection. The difference did not cause division; it became a catalyst for dialogue. Between the two poles of rationality and emotion, a harmony of difference was nurtured, where each side saw itself reflected in the other. This distinction did not create conflict but rather enriched the aesthetic and human experience. This is precisely why the musicians of the JCSO were so excited and deeply moved to directly experience that wonderful difference.

In the course of history, Vietnam-U.S. relations were once marked by the sorrowful notes of war and division. Entering the 21st century, those sounds are gradually being reshaped and blended into a new harmony—one where memory and identity are reinterpreted through the language of art. With its non-verbal nature and its ability to evoke collective memory, music can touch the deepest layers of human emotion, an area where political or diplomatic discourse is sometimes powerless. The moment American musicians and the Vietnamese audience shared an acoustic space, they were, together, rewriting memory with new colors. This memory is no longer weighed down by tones of suffering but is reborn in empathy, overcoming prejudice and the shadows of the past.

It can be said that the music of the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra echoing in Hanoi was not just a musical event. It became a symbol of a new era, one where history is written with humanity and respect for differences, all within a shared harmony of the human spirit.