Published:  00:00 Thursday - December 09, 2010

Ngoc Dai and his group Dai Lam Linh will perform with Danish saxophonist Lotta Anker in a concert of contemporary music in Hanoi on December 10.

The concert will also include singers Thanh Lam, Linh Dung, and Ha Linh, the Thai Ha ca tru (ceremonial singing) troupe, and a 12-member string band from the Vietnam Conservatoire.

The programme aims to combine traditional and modern, Eastern and Western music, Dai said.

"The artists will perform as they tell stories in their own ways," said Dai.

"For instance, the song "Regret" will be performed three times, experimentally by Linh Dung and Thanh Lam, in a pop style by Ha Linh, and in Lotta Anker's version.

"I met Lotta last year and I like her very much," he added. "She listens my music too and I wanted to collaborate with her."

Anker arrived in Vietnam last week and has been rehearsing with Dai's band and material. Dai debuted his first symphony in 1979 before he had even graduated from the Vietnam National Academy of Music. He has written about 500 songs in various genres and released four CDs. His 2002 concert Solar Eclipse I was a shock to the Vietnam music scene and was recognised as a landmark of innovation and originality.

For this December 10’s concert, the stage will be designed by artist Dang Huy Quyen in a black-and-white motif echoing the yin and yang.

The concert, funded by the Danish Culture Exchange and Development Foundation, will take place at the 8pm at the Kim Ma Theatre, 71 Kim Ma Street.