The fourth Hanoi International Guitar Festival will be held between November 18-20, 2022 at the August Cinema in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem District.

Vu Duc Hien, a representative of Emotion Guitar, performs at the press conference on October 20 about the Hanoi International Guitar Festival 2022. Photo: The Hanoi Times

The event is co-hosted by SSM Group Limited Liability Company (SSM Group) and Emotion Guitar with Kinh te & Do thi (Economic & Urban) Newspaper as the event’s major media sponsor.

Judges of the event include popular artists and guitar makers such as Masaki Sakurai and Kozo Tate from Japan, Nutavut Ratanakarn and Suthisak Bom Sincharoen from Thailand, Henrique Munoz and Elena Ortega from Spain, Jonhannes Moller from Sweden, and Vu Duc Hien from Vietnam.

According to the organizers of the event, the classic guitar has become a cultural trait of the people of Hanoi. 

Guitar-based musical pieces by artists like Ta Tan, Hai Thoai, and Van Vuong have long been iconic among Vietnamese people.

Classic guitar is the instrument that displays the elegance of the Hanoi people and the trend of playing class guitars has long been popular among the people of the city.

The Hanoi International Guitar Festival 2022 is expected to inspire more people to play guitar, promote the culture, art, and people of Hanoi to the international community, and enable art lovers to help preserve and advertise national traditions, the organizers said in the press conference on October 20.

Ho Quang Loi, former Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association said that cultural and artistic activities must be developed along with socio-economic growth to protect the fundamental values of the nation and Hanoi.

“Hanoi has organized many international artistic events, which proves the city has done well in regard to its international integration. The upcoming International Guitar Festival will be a big boost to the city,” Loi said.

The event will spread the love of the guitar to the people of Hanoi and Vietnam as well as the international community, Le Hoang Anh, Deputy Editor in Chief of the Kinh te & Do thi Newspaper, said.

The audience will have a chance to watch, listen and feel the beauty of guitar and guitarists so that they are inspired to grow further, he said, adding the event will promote guitar playing among local residents.

With many years of experience in guitar playing, Vu Duc Hien, a representative of Emotion Guitar, said that he hopes for more performances to be held in the future so more people will know and love to play guitar.

“Many famous guitarists have come to Vietnam and many people have attended the performances. It proves Vietnam is now well-known in the global guitar community and it is quite inspiring for me to join the organization of the upcoming Hanoi International Guitar Festival.”