Vanessa Vo is a leading ambassador of Vietnamese music to the rest of the world.
Trained in Vietnamese folk traditions and the European classical repertory, her primary instrument is the dan tranh, a zither-like instrument, and the đàn bầu, an expressive one-string instrument. She uses her experience in improvisation and knowledge of many traditions to create new gardens of music in which to play.
Vanessa Vo and Dr. Alexander Cannon, a musicologist and member of the Western Michigan University music faculty, discuss the instruments, the history, and the emotional aspects of Vietnamese traditional music. Ms. Vo also explains how traveling and performing with musicians around the world has influenced her composing and has encouraged her to blend traditions in a new way. She performs Wednesday night in the Dalton Center Recital Hall.
