Asian Zither Festival

Twenty-nine zitherists played traditional music at the four-day event, which also included exhibitions and talks by music professors, such as Japan’s Ishise Akiko and Viet Nam’s musicologist Tran Van Khe.

"Each zither includes the player’s soul and desires. Playing the music, you can dream of peace and happiness," said Prof Khe, who spent years researching the instrument.

The zither is a traditional Asian stringed instrument and is known as dan tranh in Viet nam koto in Japan, kayagum and komungo in Korea and guzheng in Singapore.

Kayagum and komungo are played with the fingertips while other zithers are played with plectrums.

"We should preserve, popularise and develop our traditional culture and music, including the zither, among the young generation," said Japanese zitherist Ishise Akiko, who spoke to the audience during the event.

The musician says she believes that through traditional music, young people can improve "their mind and soul".

"We hope this year’s festival will help create a new Asian music culture," said Prof. Lee Chae-suk from Korea’s Han Yang University, who performed at the first Asian Zither Festival in Hcm city in 2000.

"I now understand why the zither, which is a traditional multi-stringed instrument, and its music are still alive after all these years," said Nguyen Minh Chung, a second-year student at HCM City Technology University.

"I also could recognize that music can bring together people of different countries," he added.

Chung and his friends, who participated in the festival’s closing ceremony, said they were dazzled by the Japanese artists who performed folk songs praising love and peace accompanied by their traditional instrument, the koto.

They were warmly applauded when they spoke about the zither’s long history in Japan.

"I appreciated the talks by professor Tran Van Khe, who encouraged young audiences to love these instruments," said young worker Tran Anh Minh.

Minh also enjoyed performances by Vietnamese artists Hai Phuong, Tra My and Hong Nga, who played excerpts from nha nhac royal music, cheo traditional opera and southern Viet Nam’s tai tu traditional music.

Like many others, after joining the festival, Minh and Chung changed their minds about their favourite pop and rock tunes to the traditional music of the zither.

"The women also showed a very attractive style on stage," said Minh, adding that he fell in love with the art.