Now that the 2013 Mùa Thu Cho Em concert series has officially wrapped up, we’d like to send a big thank you to the sponsors who were part of making the concerts possible. Please check out their information after the jump!
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Archive for the ‘From the Staff’ Category
Thank you Mùa Thu Cho Em Concert Sponsors!
Friday, October 25th, 2013Why I Give
Monday, August 26th, 2013
On June 8, the VNHELP Board of Directors held a special gathering to acknowledge the contribution of a few individuals who have consistently supported our Vietnam programs in the last five years: Mai Dolch, Van-Hanh Nguyen, Golden Pacific Investments LLC, Hop Duc Bui, and the Hitz Foundation. We especially paid tribute to Ms. Mai Dolch for her contributions to our causes since 2007. Her generosity has changed many thousands of lives in Vietnam. Nine schools were built for 1,400 students; three health clinics were funded to serve 50,000 patients annually; safe drinking water systems were installed for 37 schools with 10,000 students; and cataract surgeries were performed on 1,000 low-income patients to name a few projects that were made possible by Ms. Dolch. Mai Dolch shared her thoughts on her philanthropy and what keeps her giving. Her speech is excerpted below. We hope her message will inspire you as well.
Join the Fun! Come to the 19th Annual Mùa Thu Cho Em Benefit Concerts
Friday, July 19th, 2013
To all our dear friends and supporters, please join VNHELP again this year for our 19th annual Mùa Thu Cho Em benefit concerts!
The concerts are a great chance to catch up with good friends, feature a line up of entertainers who are sure to delight, and will raise funds for our many poverty-alleviation projects in Vietnam. They will be on October 5th in Santa Clara and October 12th in Fountain Valley. See the concert page on our website for more details.
Performers for the night include:
Mỹ Linh
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Blessed with a precise yet rich and emotional voice, Mỹ Linh has been singing professionally since she was sixteen years old. Her musical talents were recognized when she was still just a little girl performing at various children’s music contests. Since then, she has gone on to win numerous prizes domestically and internationally, the most noted being “The Golden Voice of Asia Award” in 1999. In 2006, she became the only Vietnamese artist to sing at Asian Divas night in Nagoya, Japan.
A masterful stylist, her elegant and accessible music blends funk, soul, R&B and jazz. Mỹ Linh’s music is firmly entrenched in Vietnamese culture while remaining open to international influence. Mỹ Linh made her debut in America on the VNHELP stage in 2002, came back to perform for VNHELP for a second time in 2011, and is back again by popular demand this year. *Mỹ Linh will only be appearing in the Northern California show this year. |
Bằng Kiều
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Bằng Kiều was born into a musical family with the love of performance arts running through his veins. He began playing music when he was a child and took up studying the Bassoon at the Hanoi Conservatory of Music in 1989, but eventually switched to becoming a vocalist after realizing his passion for singing.
Bằng Kiều has produced a number of popular songs, including Neu Ðieu Ðo Xay Ra, Trai Tim Khong Ngu Yen, Mua Tren Ngay Thang Do. With his eloquent voice, stage charm and many talents, Bằng Kiều always makes his stage appearances exciting and full of delightful surprises. Bang Kieu sang for Mùa Thu Cho Em in 2004, 2010 and 2011, and requests from our audience has brought him back for the fourth year. *Bằng Kiều will only be appearing in the Southern California show this year. |
Trần Thu Hà
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Trần Thu Hà is known as a vocalist with a colorful and eclectic performing style, singing with ease in everything from electronica and alternative rock to pop and indie.
At the age of 10, Thu Hà joined the Hà Nội School of Art and then studied Vocal Music at the Hà Nội Conservatory of Music. Her music has been well-received and recognized with a number of prestigious awards. In 2000, Thu Hà was voted favorite singer at the Golden Orchid Awards, and she has been consistently voted among the top ten singers in Vietnam by music critics and audiences since 1998. Trần Thu Hà joins Mùa Thu Cho Em for a third time this year after making her debut in America on the VNHELP stage in 2002 (with My Linh) and appearing in Mùa Thu Cho Em 2007. |
Quang Tuấn
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Quang Tuấn grew up in Da Lat, Viet Nam and is a popular singer among the Vietnamese overseas community. He began studying modern and classical guitar at the age of 13, but never considered himself a singer. Then the support he received from audiences for his sweet and melodic voice encouraged him to pursue singing as a professional career.
Quang Tuấn studied music performance at Golden West College. In 1992, Quang Tuấn took first place “Golden Voice,” a singing contest organized by renowned musician Duy Khánh. Quang Tuấn has released 4 albums, which includes Gửi người em gái (2000), Huyền (2001), 10 ca khúc Thanh Trang (2002) and Cánh Hoa Duyên Kiếp (2004). All of these albums have been highly successful and appreciated by both Vietnamese and overseas communities. Quang Tuấn’s especially admired by his fans for singing “Nhạc Tiền Chiến” (beautiful classic songs written before 1954) |
Teresa Mai
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A native of California, Teresa Mai is a second generation Vietnamese American soprano singer. Mai earned her Bachelor of Music degree from California State University of Long Beach where she performed with the Opera Institute. She later went on to earn a Master of Music degree at The Boston Conservatory of Music in Voice Performance and spent time studying and singing in Los Angeles, Austria, and Italy.
As a soprano, Teresa has performed in a number of starring roles, including Adele in Die Fledermaus, Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte, Euridice in L’Orfeo and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier. In 2011, Mai made her debut with Harmonia Opera at the Merkin Concert Hall in New York in the role of Nyobo in the Japanese opera A Story of Three Women by Sadao Bekku. Closer to home, she was crowned Miss Los Angeles Vietnam 2011 and was a top 10 finalist in the Miss Vietnam Continents 2011, where she was also won Miss Talent. |
Vietnam Travels: A Vocational Center, A Clinic, and Four Schools in Thua Thien Hue
Wednesday, May 1st, 2013
We arrived in Thua Thien Hue on April 15th. We hadn’t originally planned to visit Thua Thien Hue, but realized we could squeeze in a trip to the country’s former capital en route to Da Lat. We ended up having an extremely productive detour.
Vietnam Travels: The Vietnam – Japan Eye Hospital in Hanoi
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013Not a moment goes to waste when we’re in Vietnam. The night before we left Hanoi, we realized that we could squeeze in one more visit to the Vietnam – Japan Eye Hospital (VJEH), where a cataract surgery mission is taking place, before we had to be at the airport for our flight to Da Nang. So we decided, why not?
We arrived at VJEH a little after 10, later than expected because of Hanoi traffic. Even though we informed VJEH that we would stop by less than an hour prior to our arrival, Dr. Nguyen Vu Thien, who manages much of the hospital’s operation, was there to greet us.