Secret Garden: We are happy to contribute to a music project with social meaning.

Editor-in-Chief Le Quoc Minh, Chairman of IB Group Vietnam and the Secret Garden band at the press conference on the morning of October 17. (Photo: THE DAI)

Not yet having time to rest after the long flight from Oslo (Norway) to the capital Hanoi , the legendary duo Secret Garden attended a media meeting on the morning of October 17 organized by Nhan Dan Newspaper and IB Group Vietnam to share about their most special performance ever on the evening of October 18 at the National Convention Center, My Dinh, Hanoi.

Spreading music for charity

The program "Secret Garden Live in Vietnam" is the 3rd concert within the framework of the international music project series for the community "Good Morning Vietnam" initiated and implemented by Nhan Dan Newspaper and IB Group Vietnam, after the success of 2 events "Kenny G Live in Vietnam" and "Bond Live in Vietnam".

The Green Wind Choir performs works by Secret Garden.

Not only is it a bridge to bring world- class music to domestic audiences, the Organizing Committee of “Good Morning Vietnam” also wants to promote the image of Vietnam to the world through the MVs of international artists participating in the program. Like previous years, all revenue from ticket sales for the concert will be used for charity purposes - a humanitarian purpose maintained by Nhan Dan Newspaper and IB Group Vietnam.

After two resoundingly successful events, "Secret Garden Live in Vietnam" is a milestone continuing the journey of bringing world-class music closer to the Vietnamese public of the Good Morning Vietnam project, while spreading humanistic values through the program's charitable activities.

Unlike the event two years ago, when artist Kenny G and the band Bond performed in Vietnam, this is the first time the legendary duo Secret Garden has come to Vietnam to perform. The concert "Secret Garden Live in Vietnam" is also the opening point for Secret Garden's World tour to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary this year.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Le Quoc Minh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association shared: “I asked the two artists of Secret Garden if they knew how influential their music was in Vietnam. They immediately replied that when following the statistics of record companies, Secret Garden knew that many Vietnamese people loved their music.”

“In Norway, two Secret Garden artists also read about the recent storm and flood in Vietnam and they were very grateful to participate in the international music project for the community 'Good Morning Vietnam' initiated by Nhan Dan Newspaper and IB Group Vietnam. Because according to the artists, in addition to bringing top music to the public, this program also has a charitable purpose of using all revenue from ticket sales for the concert to support people in flood-affected areas in Vietnam,” added Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper Le Quoc Minh.

Secret Garden group at the press conference.

Sharing at the press conference, artist Fionnuala Sherry said the band was very happy to be in Vietnam for the first time. The two artists knew how much their fans in Vietnam loved their music and had dreamed of performing in Vietnam one day. And now, that dream has come true.

Artist Rolf Løvland added that in Norway, they read and watched news about natural disasters and floods in Vietnam, and they felt that performing within the framework of the program "Good morning Vietnam" was very meaningful.

Talking about the time of their presence in Vietnam, when 2 years ago, the band was invited by the Organizing Committee of the program "Good morning Vietnam", but only accepted this year, artist Rolf Løvland said that this is a time of great significance for the band, because 2025 is also the 30th anniversary of their career.

Artist Fionnuala Sherry added that, on their first visit to Vietnam, the band was able to feel the warmth of the people here. "We are very happy to receive the enthusiastic support of the Vietnamese audience, and are also very happy to participate and accompany the meaningful charity and social activities organized by Nhan Dan Newspaper and IB Group. We are very happy to contribute to bringing meaningful things to the Vietnamese people" - artist Fionnuala Sherry shared.

A special connection in music

The organizers said that Secret Garden's performance in Hanoi will follow a common format and meet international standards in terms of stage and sound. Secret Garden will bring a collection of works that have made their name, divided into three main themes: nature; beautiful scenery, human relationships; culture.

With a minimalist stage setting style, honoring the storytelling through sound, Vietnamese audiences will be led through a poetic journey of enjoyment. From "wordless" melodies rich in imagery to hybrid songs of classical, Nordic folk - Celtic, suitable for the sophisticated enjoyment space of Vietnamese audiences during the autumn days of Hanoi. Director Pham Hoang Nam revealed that the stage in Vietnam will have special things that cannot be found anywhere else during the band's world tour.

Sharing about the stage of the show in Vietnam, the two artists said they were very surprised and sent their thanks to stage director Pham Hoang Nam when they set foot on the stage and saw the great harmony with the music of Secret Garden, and the two artists felt very happy about that.

Artist Rolf Løvland said that the two artists have a special connection in creating music. "Before, I used to compose only Pop music, but Fionnuala asked me to compose in many other genres, and between us there is a special connection that can accompany each other for the past 30 years" - he said.

Fionnuala Sherry added that the works they bring to the audience are like dialogues between two artists, and the audience is the one listening. Each performance is different because the emotions of each performance are different, and that difference comes from the audience.

Talking about trying Vietnamese music, the two artists said they had listened to it but had not had the opportunity to try playing any Vietnamese musical instruments or pieces. They had played music from some Asian countries such as China and Korea but had not had the opportunity to try Vietnamese music. "Our music has a strong influence from Nordic music, but is also somewhat close to Asian music. We hope that in the future we will have the opportunity to collaborate with Vietnamese artists so that the music will be performed in many different versions," said artist Fionnuala Sherry.

Editor-in-Chief Le Quoc Minh shared at the press conference.

Editor-in-Chief Le Quoc Minh said that from now on, the Organizing Committee has prepared the list of artists for “Good Morning Vietnam” for next year. But obviously, arranging a suitable schedule for the artists is not a simple matter.

“With Secret Garden, it took us 2 years to arrange a schedule to perform in Vietnam. Vietnam is also the first destination in the band's 30th anniversary tour. Secret Garden's music is very special, it can relieve difficulties and dispel fatigue in life. And with their melodies, we found that nothing is more suitable for the scenery of Ninh Binh. The MV will be filmed here with mountains, rivers and majestic nature,” said Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper Le Quoc Minh.

Mr. Nguyen Thuy Duong, Chairman of IB Group Vietnam shared about the music night.

Mr. Nguyen Thuy Duong, Chairman of IB Group Vietnam revealed: “Our most difficult problem is how to spread music along with cultural and historical values, as well as how to arrange the schedule of performing artists in Vietnam. But fortunately, the previous two seasons of “Good Morning Vietnam” were extremely successful, which contributed to strengthening the artists’ confidence in the program.”

The Secret Garden band presented a violin as a gift to the program's organizers.

Secret Garden consists of two members, Fionnuala Sherry (female) and Rolf Løvland (male) formed in 1994. Secret Garden maintains its position in the mainstream music stream as one of the best-selling artists of the Universal Classics & Jazz label with 113 platinum albums worldwide, over 3 billion streams, 311 weeks on the Billboard New Age chart....

Their song “You Raise Me Up” (2001) was covered by many of the world’s top singers and bands such as Josh Groban, Westlife, Il Divo… and more than 1000 other artists. It is also one of the most recorded songs of the century.

In 1995, Secret Garden made history by winning the Eurovision Song Contest with “Nocturne”, breaking the 40-year history of this prestigious European competition by awarding the prize to a work and an ensemble for the first time. Since then, during the past 3 decades of their career, Secret Garden has nurtured the love of global audiences through 12 albums, starting with “Songs From A Secret Garden” (1995) and most recently “Songs In The Circle of Time” (2024).

“Secret Garden Live in Vietnam” will take place at 7:30 p.m. on October 18 at the National Convention Center, Hanoi. This event is part of the annual international music project for the community “Good Morning Vietnam” initiated by Nhan Dan Newspaper and IB Group Vietnam.

NDĐT REPORTER GROUP

Source: https://nhandan.vn/secret-garden-chung-toi-hanh-phuc-vi-duoc-cong-phan-vao-mot-du-an-am-nhac-co-y-nghia-xa-hoi-post915967.html