A Vietnamese violinist and a French cellist from the Orchestre National de France will be guest soloists with the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) at the Baroque Ensemble Concert at the city's Opera House on September 20. Violinist Nguyen Huu Nguyen and cellist Sarah Jacob-Franck will play works by Bach, Boccherini, Vivaldi and Corelli. Nguyen joined the HCM City Conservatory of Music at aged 14, and three years later won first prize in the Vietnam Concours Autumn, a national contest which recognises outstanding young Vietnamese musicians. During a tour of Vietnam in 1991, Maurice Bourgue, a famous French oboist, auditioned Nguyen and took the necessary steps to recommend him to the French Consulate so that he could study in France. Nguyen was later admitted to the Paris Conservatory, where he won first prize in chamber music in 1996 and was nominated for first prize in violin performance the following year. He also won first prize at the Academie Maurice Ravel and Concours International de Musique de Chambre de Paris competitions. After completing his master's degree in chamber music at the Paris Conservatory, Nguyen was selected by the Orchestre National de France in 1999, and named the third violin soloist in 2003. Nguyen has played in many concerts in France and Vietnam . His concerts have been broadcast on Vietnam Television, BBC and Radio France. Cellist Jacob-Franck was admitted to the Paris Conservatory in 2003, and four years later, graduated with the highest honours. In 2008, she won first prize in the Paris Chamber Music Competition FNAPEC. In the same year, she performed in a Shostakovich concert with the Paris University Orchestra, and three years later played the Bach Cello Suites at Saint Crepin Church in Chateau-Thierry, France. Other well-known artists in Vietnam taking part in the concert in HCM City include Le Minh Hien, Tang Thanh Nam, Nguyen Truc Thuyen (violinist), Bui Anh Son (violist), Meritorious Artist Nguyen Tan Anh (cellist) and well-known South Korean pianist Joo Eun-joung, who won the Erika Chary Foerder prize in 2000 and the Allegro Vivo prize in 2001 in Vienna.-VNA