Giang Son left the popular girl band Nam Dong Ke to follow her dream of being a composer.

Giang Son’s definition defying compositions have not only stormed a male bastion, they also stay true to classical and folk traditions.

Her new avatar as one of the nation’s strong composing talents in a traditionally male dominated industry is not a chance development.

Not many people know that she began writing music when she was 10, and wrote her first complete song at 16.

Her distinctive mellifluous songs that combine emotions, femininity and a unique style that blends traditional elements with contemporary and classical music have also been long in the making.

Son’s parents are both lecturers in cheo (a Vietnamese traditional stage art) at the Hanoi University of Stage and Cinematography.

Her father, Meritorious Artist Hoang Kieu, is one of the country’s eminent researchers in the art.

She inherited the passion for traditional arts from her parents, but her father guided her towards classical music through the piano.

The child protested strongly at first and still had her heart set on traditional arts, but it was not long before she fell in love with the piano and with classical music.

Years of practicing on the piano has sharpened her musical sensibilities and gives her a considerable edge in composing, she says now.

Son graduated in composition from the Hanoi Music Conservatory, and soon made an impression by winning the Excellent Young Composer award at the first student band festival in 1998.

Her musical career took off when she joined Nam Dong Ke as a singer and composer in 2001, leaving Hanoi for Ho Chi Minh City.

Four years later, at the peak of the band’s popularity, Son left it and returned to Hanoi. “I wanted to devote all my time to composing, my greatest passion,” she explains.

“HCMC is more professional in disc distribution and PR and is a more bustling music hub, but Hanoi is where high-quality products are made,” she says.

The recognition as a composer in her own right came soon after she parted ways with the band, becoming the only female writer to win the Bai hat Viet (Vietnamese songs’) Impressive Composer award in 2005, a prize given away annually by Vietnam Television (VTV).

In the same year, she published a 30-song book titled Co va Mua (Grass and rain), and after almost two years of hard work, released her debut album titled Giang Son, with nine of her own songs.

The album won critical acclaim and enthusiastic support from audiences across the country. It was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2007 Cong hien (Contribution) awards.

Several songs in the album, including Giac mo trua (The midday dream), are hugely popular and are featured in many singers’ albums. They have also become regular fixtures at musical shows and singing contests.

Giang Son has played classical music on the piano since she was five, and performed a wide range of music with Nam Dong Ke, but her later songs have a sparkling blend of traditional and contemporary elements.

“Many people think I’m following a fad in composing songs steeped in traditional elements, particularly cheo, but in fact, I’ve been exposed to traditional music and art since I was a child.

“A Vietnamese songwriter must know how to explore and make use of traditional elements to create good work,” she says.

The 33-year-old has written some 90 songs, but only 20 have been introduced to the public.

“The number is small, but there’s no need to rush. My main focus is quality, not quantity. Besides, the songs should come out at the right moment to achieve a certain effect. I always bear in mind that only songs that come from the heart can win lasting love and support from listeners,” the 33-year-old said.

Some of her other iconic songs include Chut nang vang bay (A little sunshine), Troi trong guong (Floating in the mirror), Pho khuya (The street at night) and Nen trang (White candles).

“Son is the sort of gifted young composer who is hard to come by,” says veteran composer Trong Bang.

“Her songs bring together fresh new sounds, alluring creations and traditional elements, breathing new life into the domestic music market.

“She will advance much further in the future,” Bang says.

Besides notable success in composing songs, Son has also tried her hands, successfully, at a much more technically demanding field: writing symphonies.

Some of her chamber music has been performed in other Asian countries.

Son, who recently completed her master’s degree, is now a lecturer at the Hanoi University of Stage and Cinematography’s Traditional Arts Faculty. She was also on the jury at Vietnam Television’s 2008 Sao Mai diem hen (Morning star - meeting point) competition.

Reported by Diem Thu