Artist Pham Ha My with a burning desire to spread Vietnamese values

Pham Ha My - a native of Nam Dinh, has devoted much effort to building and implementing many projects teaching vocal music, teaching Vietnamese, and organizing community engagement activities.

Finalists of the EV-Stellar 2023 competition held in the UK.

The name Pham Ha My is known to many Vietnamese and foreigners for her efforts to spread Vietnamese cultural values ​​overseas. Born and raised in Nam Dinh city, My showed her talent for foreign languages ​​and music from a young age. After completing primary school, My was one of the few students admitted directly to the English specialized class at Tran Dang Ninh Secondary School (Nam Dinh city). In 2005, My and her family moved to the Czech Republic to live. Approaching a new culture, at first, My encountered many difficulties in adapting. Ha My said: "When I came to the Czech Republic, I was not used to the culture and new friends. I missed the familiar street corners at Nang Tinh intersection, missed the road from Vong Cung Pagoda to the Provincial Post Office with the scent of milk flowers, missed the rhythm of lion, lion, and dragon drums every Mid-Autumn Festival... and even in my dreams, I still felt like I was in class with my old classmates at Tran Dang Ninh Secondary School...". Over time, with the encouragement of my family, My gradually adapted to the new life. After more than 1 year of self-studying Czech, My passed the entrance exam to the Gymnasium (a top school in Karlovarsky Kraj province, Czech Republic). After that, My passed the entrance exam to the ZUS Antonina Dvoraka Art School and the International Conservatory of Music in Prague. During this time, Ha My participated in the Sao Mai competition organized by Vietnam Television. Stopping at the final round of the European region, but that was the motivation for Ha My to continue striving on the musical path. In 2019, Ha My majored in Opera at the London College of Music (UK). The time in London continued to be challenging days when the young girl had to adapt to a new life. Ha My shared: “Going to London, without family by her side, life is expensive, especially there are few cheap rental houses. To cover living and studying expenses, I both studied and performed at music stages to earn extra income.”

With her reputation affirmed in the work of connecting the Vietnamese community abroad, recently, Ha My was honored to be invited by the Vietnamese Embassy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to perform in a music video serving the event of 50 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United Kingdom.

As things gradually stabilized, with the desire to spread Vietnamese culture and language, Ha My opened free Vietnamese language and vocal classes for children. In the initial stages of opening classes, the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic caused Ha My's direct classes to be temporarily suspended. Overcoming difficulties, Ha My changed the direct teaching method by organizing online singing classes. Currently, Ha My's singing classes are continuously opened, including students who are Vietnamese overseas and foreign children. In 2023, Ha My was the Head of the Organizing Committee of many meaningful competitions with the aim of connecting the Vietnamese community overseas and foreigners who love Vietnamese culture, of which the most typical is the EV-Stellar (European Vietnamese - Stellar) competition - a Piano and Vietnamese singing competition for European and Vietnamese children and teenagers. Initially, the competition was called V-Stellar, but later changed to EV-Stellar because most of the contestants were European citizens. In particular, the competition is part of a series of events celebrating the 50th anniversary of Vietnam - UK diplomatic relations (September 11, 1973 - September 11, 2023). The EV-Stellar competition includes the following categories: Piano 1 and Vocal 1 for contestants aged 5-12; Piano 2 and Vocal 2 for teenagers aged 13-20. The judges are all masters, doctors, and internationally qualified artists. Participating in the final round were 27 contestants who surpassed hundreds of contestants in the qualifying round. At the end of the competition, the Organizing Committee awarded four first prizes, four second prizes, five third prizes and two honorary prizes to contestants in four categories. Through the competition, many young musical talents, both Vietnamese and foreign, were discovered. In addition, the competition has contributed to connecting the Vietnamese - European community, promoting Vietnamese cultural values ​​through music to international friends. In addition to the Piano and Vietnamese singing contests, Hamy Academy, founded by Ha My, organized the EV-Stellar drawing contest with the theme “Vietnam-UK Friendship”. The contest is one of the highlights in the series of activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-UK diplomatic relations. At the end of the contest, the jury selected 7 outstanding works to serve the propaganda work, promoting the cultural beauty of the country and people of Vietnam to the international community.

Ha My's master's thesis on "Bringing Vietnamese music closer to Vietnamese children in Europe" was carefully done, including many documents with translated lyrics, recorded audio, and Vietnamese pronunciation, which will be a reference channel to help overseas Vietnamese preserve the Vietnamese language and music for the younger generation.

With her reputation affirmed in the work of connecting the Vietnamese community abroad, recently, Ha My was honored to be invited by the Vietnamese Embassy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to participate in a music video to serve the event celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Participating in the video, wearing traditional ao dai, standing in front of Buckingham Palace, Ha My feels proud to be Vietnamese, a daughter of Nam Dinh with a tradition of studiousness. With a passion for cultural activities connecting the Vietnamese - European community, Ha My's master's thesis is being completed with the topic "Bringing Vietnamese music closer to Vietnamese children in Europe" which is elaborately done, including many documents with translated lyrics, recorded, pronounced in Vietnamese, thereby serving as a reference channel to help Vietnamese people abroad preserve Vietnamese language and Vietnamese music for the younger generation. In addition, Ha My will soon open "eSchool" - a low-cost online school teaching according to the Cambridge general education system and in English. Previously, Ha My founded Hamy Academy, a low-profit social enterprise that helps students take international A-level, IELTS, and ABRSM exams - the world's leading certificates from the UK. In addition, Ha My continues to open free online English pronunciation and singing classes for children in Vietnam (aged 8-11). All social enterprise projects, when profitable, will be raised by Ha My to help poor children in Vietnam. Having been away from home for nearly 20 years, studying and becoming famous in a foreign land, Ha My always remembers the cultural traditions, land, and people of Nam Dinh - the land that nurtured her soul and gave wings to her dreams, helping Ha My achieve the successes she has today and have many opportunities to connect and contribute to spreading Vietnamese values ​​in the Vietnamese community abroad.

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