An American choir and chamber orchestra are poised to perform in UNESCO-recognized Hoi An Ancient Town early next week after giving two mesmerizing concerts as part of a program to commemorate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the U.S.

According to the Hoi An City Center for Culture and Sports, located in the central province of Quang Nam, the Phillips Exeter Academy’s concert choir and chamber orchestra are scheduled to perform in the front area of the Cau (Bridge) Pagoda, which is a cultural icon of Hoi An Ancient Town, at 8:00 pm next Monday.

The Hoi An old town lies well within Minh An Ward of Hoi An City.

Founded in 1781 and located in New Hampshire in the U.S., the Phillips Exeter Academy is a co-educational residential school serving 1,000 students in grades nine through 12, and the post-graduate level, according to the school’s website.

The upcoming concert is part of a program to mark the 20th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two nations (1995-2015).

During the event, the American ensembles will perform noted works of classical Western music and signature Vietnamese folk songs.

The 28-voice concert choir and the 24-member chamber orchestra are expected to enthrall locals and tourists with American and European selections written by such revered composers as Leonard Bernstein, John Philip Sousa, Scott Joplin, Dolly Parton, Mozart and Francis Poulenc.

The artists have also prepared two hallmark Vietnamese folk songs, “Trong Com” (a song about the Vietnamese tom-tom) and “Ly Keo Chai” (a song about fishermen casting nets).

The concert will wrap up with a joint performance by the American academy’s concert choir and Hoi An City’s singers and instrumentalists of the world-famous signature Scottish folk song titled “Auld Lang Syne.”

The concert is considered the onset of the 4th International Choir Competition, to take place in Hoi An from April 29 to May 3, the Center for Culture and Sports added.

The Phillips Exeter Academy’s concert choir and chamber orchestra also partook in two similar concerts organized at the Vietnam Cheo (northern traditional music) Theater and the Vietnam National Academy of Music, both located in Hanoi, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Members of Phillips Exeter Academy’s concert choir and chamber orchestra are shown in this file photo.

Vuong Duy Bien, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and Claire Pierangelo, who is currently serving as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, were in the audience at the Wednesday concert.

The Vietnamese deputy minister highly appreciated the harmonious performances jointly given by the two countries’ ensembles, which is symbolic of a positive move in the new growth of the two countries’ diplomatic ties and cooperation.

One of the Wednesday concert’s highlights was a Vietnamese folk song titled “Trong Com,” performed in sync by the two countries’ ensembles. The concert’s conductor, Rohan Smith, said that the song was the event’s most time-consuming, challenging feature, as the young American artists had to memorize and articulate the song’s lyrics in Vietnamese.

Artists from the Vietnam National Academy of Music are pictured performing iconic Vietnamese folk songs during the March 11, 2015 concert. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The American ensembles are set to put on more performances in Hue, in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City.

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