The organizer of the 17th International Tchaikovsky Competition has invited Ta Quang Dong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, to join the jury of the piano competition in Russia.

This is the first time in its 65-year history that the prestigious competition has invited a Vietnamese to serve as a jury member.

Named after Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the competition has been held in Russia every four years since 1958 for pianists, violinists, and cellists aged 16 to 32 and singers aged 19 to 32.
With six specialties of piano, violin, cello, voice, brass instruments, and woodwinds, the 17th competition received 742 entries from 41 countries around the world. In the piano category, there were 153 entries from 23 countries.

Ta Quang Dong was announced to be one of the judges. Photo: Screenshot

Born in Vietnam in 1966, Dong studied at the Vietnam Academy of Music before continuing his studies at the Moscow Conservatory and the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music.
He has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Russia, Vietnam, and the United States, with broadcasts of his performances reaching national and international audiences.
Dong co-founded several international piano competitions and festivals in Vietnam. He served as vice rector of the Hue Academy of Music and rector of the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, with many of his students winning awards in international and national piano competitions.
Since 2019, he has served as Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Ta Quang Dong, a member of the jury of the piano competition. Photo courtesy of the organizer

According to Dong, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has a project to train artists abroad until 2030, approved by the Prime Minister, which provides scholarships for tuition and living expenses to study at leading art and music institutions in the Russian Federation.

Dong affirmed that the two countries have great potential for further cooperation. Under a Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Cultural Cooperation signed between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its Russian counterpart, there will be more cultural exchange programs between the two countries in 2023 and 2024. The latest will be the Russian Cultural Week, which will kick off in Vietnam on July 10.

This year’s competition wrapped up on July 1, with Gold Medal going to Sergei Davydchenko (Russia).