Hanoi (VNA) – Talented Vietnameseand foreign classical musicians living in Vietnam and abroad are invited toaudition to join the Sun Symphony Orchestra (SSO) – a newly founded privateorchestra based in Hanoi.

With the ambition ofestablishing an international-standard orchestra in Vietnam, founding memberssaid they want to bring classical music – often regarded as elite and – closerto the public. At the same time, they want to attract talented musicians,especially Vietnamese, to be involved. Presenting Vietnamese classic music tothe world someday is another goal of the SSO, which is sponsored by one of Vietnam’sleading real estate developers, Sun Group.

The SSOintroduced its management board on September 21. French conductor and winner ofthe 2015 Antal Doráti International Conducting Competition Olivier Ochanine isthe music director and principal conductor. Famous TV emcee, concert producerand contrabassist Vu Anh Tuan is executive director.

Thefive-member board also includes President Tran Khanh, Vice President Le Thi Bich Tran, and general director Nguyen Thi Quynh Anh – all are successfulbusinesspeople with a great passion for on classic music.

 “Asa non-profit orchestra, revenue is not our main goal,” General Director QuynhAnh said at the launching of the SSO’s management board last week.

“We focusonly on how to create a proper environment to nurture and develop Vietnamesemusic talents, then we can offer audiences nationwide regular opportunities toenjoy classical concerts.”

“Especially,we have a long-term plan to bring world-famous artists to Vietnam to performwith the SSO,” she added.

Aiming tooffer the best possible resources for the SSO to develop as aninternational-standard orchestra, the management board also has revealed acostly plan to build a new Opera House near West Lake to serve as a home forthe orchestra.

Thefuture Opera House will be the first project in Vietnam by Italianarchitect Renzo Piano. Piano is well-known for his delicate and refinedapproach to building, displayed in museums and other structures around theworld including the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Shard in London, andthe Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Auditorium Niccolo Paganiniin Parma, and the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome.

Whenawarding Piano the “Nobel of Architecture” Pritzker Prize in 1998,the Pritzker Jury compared him to Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo andBrunelleschi, highlighting "his intellectual curiosity and problem-solvingtechniques as broad and far ranging as those earlier masters of his nativeland".

Speakingat the press conference, CEO of the Sun Group Dang Minh Truong said: “With thisbuilding project, we expect our new Opera House will be a new temple of art. Wehope it will be an iconic building of Hanoi, like the durian-shaped EsplanadeTheatre in Singapore or the sail-designed Sydney Opera House."

Commentingon the establishment of the SSO, Chairman of the Vietnam Musicians’Association composer Do Hong Quan said he was touched by the idea ofbuilding a new Opera House that will be home to new generations of talentedclassical artists. “So far, we don’t have any Opera House dedicated only to theclassical music yet,” he said.

Musicianswho wish to be SSO members should visit the website //sunsymphony.vn/ forfurther recruitment information.-VNA