Proud of the city named after Uncle Ho

The campaign to compose the theme song "The Country is Full of Joy" was organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025).

Deep empathy

Musician Nguyen Quang Vinh, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association, commented: "Although there was no first prize, the two second prizes - the song "Singing about my beloved city" by musician Tran Xuan Mai Tram and "Following the sacred testament" by musician Nguyen Van Chung - are two meaningful and emotional works. The two third prizes - including "City of Smiles" by musician Huynh Huu Duc and "HCMC 50 years of sharing a joy" by musician Nguyen Duy Khoi - also left a deep impression on the souls of the listeners."

The three consolation prizes - the songs "City Connecting Bridges" by musician Ngo Duy Thanh, "City Forever in Our Hearts" by musician Pham Hoang Long and "The Crystallization of 50 Years of Journey" by musician Huynh Loi - are all stories of profound humanity, proud perspectives on the city named after Uncle Ho.

Musician Nguyen Duc Trung, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association (standing), in the second "Music Exchange" program at the Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper. (Photo: TAN THANH)

The award for "Most Favorite Work by Readers" went to the song "Proud to be Vietnamese" by musician Le Ba Thuong. Readers' votes were very close to the comments and evaluations of the jury.

People's Artist Ta Minh Tam, member of the Jury, highly appreciated the Organizing Committee's selection of 4 songs to introduce and promote at the 30th Mai Vang Awards Ceremony on the evening of January 8, 2025 at the City Theater. The program was broadcast live by VTV9 and streamed online on many digital platforms of the Lao Dong Newspaper and accompanying units. This is an advantage that not all creative campaigns have. Because the Mai Vang brand has 30 years of accompanying the cultural and artistic activities of Ho Chi Minh City.

"The Organizing Committee has posted the works participating in the songwriting campaign on the social networking platform of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper to introduce them to the public, and at the same time organized a vote for the most favorite song. This has received high interaction from readers and audiences, thereby creating a deep spread and sympathy" - People's Artist Ta Minh Tam emphasized.

More creative motivation

The award-winning musicians all expressed their joy and pride, saying that this will motivate them to continue composing good songs about Ho Chi Minh City.

According to musician Pham Hoang Long, the recent "Music Exchange" programs organized by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper were very exciting. This playground is truly a bridge between musicians, singers and young audiences, including many students from Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, Ho Chi Minh City College of Culture and Arts, Ho Chi Minh City University of Theater and Cinema... "I believe that the upcoming award ceremony will be a festival for souls who love songs written about Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification" - musician Pham Hoang Long expressed.

Currently, the Organizing Committee is working on a collection of 50 songs about Ho Chi Minh City. The project is invested with 2,000 copies of the book and MVs (including background music) of the 50 songs printed in QR code format on each page. The Organizing Committee will release and promote the songs on digital platforms.

Mr. Bui Thanh Liem - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Campaign to compose songs with the theme "The Country is Full of Joy" - said that the Organizing Committee aims to widely spread the songs to the community and has a plan to coordinate propaganda with the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association, Youth Cultural House, HTV, VOH... In the near future, music lovers will be able to enjoy the songs in the collection by scanning the QR code on each page of the book.

The musicians suggested that the Organizing Committee could organize an online singing contest with the same theme. This would be a playground to help the songs of the campaign reach more audiences, especially young people, when the judges are singers, musicians, and artists who have won the Mai Vang Award.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tu-hao-ve-thanh-pho-mang-ten-bac-196250403211704814.htm