Veteran violinist to take city stage

Viet Nam’s leading violinist Ta Bon, former deputy director of the Ha Noi Music Conservatory, is returning to the stage with an upcoming performance in HCM City.
Bon will appear with the HCM City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra, presenting Mozart’s Concerto No 3 in G major KV 216. Conductor Tran Vuong Thach will direct the 30-minute performance.
To open the one-hour concert, Bon will perform romantic solo pieces by Tartini. He will later perform with the support of pianist Ly Giai Hoa.
Later, Bon will perform Bach’s Concerto in D minor with his oldest son, violinist Ta Ton, a graduate of the San Francisco Music Conservatory and Houston University.
Bon’s daughter, dancer Ta Thuy Chi will also highlight the concert with a performance of Chinese dance. After completing three years of study in China, Chi became a teacher and choreographer for the HCM City Dance School.
The opportunity to perform with his family was Bon’s major motivation for the performance.
"I decided to perform in HCM City, where my family lives and works together," said the 65-year-old musician, a native of Ha Noi.
Bon’s love for violin originated in childhood, when his father, musician Ta Phuoc, the first headmaster of the Viet Nam Music School (now the Ha Noi Music Conservatory), began teaching him.
At the age of 12, he studied music in China. In 1958, he continued his study of music in Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory, later receiving the equivalent of an undergraduate degree.
He worked as a teacher and a manager for the Ha Noi Music Conservatory for years. In 1978, Bon’s reputation in the music world earned him his first invitation to serve as a judge at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, which was followed by two other invitations in 1982 and 1986. He also joined judged the JS Bach Competition in Germany in 1980 and 1984.
In 1994 he moved to live in HCM City and began working for the city’s orchestra, performing in many concerts at home and overseas.
For his contribution to the nation’s arts, Bon received the honourable title of People’s Artist from the Government.
The concert will be held on Monday at 8pm at the HCM City Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square. Tickets range from VND80,000 (US$5) to VND100,000 ($6) apiece and are available at the theatre’s box office. —VNS