Evan Le on the music night in Hue

In this second time back in Vietnam, Evan Le’s parents brought him to Hue to perform. Hue is also his grandmother’s hometown. Appearing at the performance with a confident air, seeming very mature for his age, Evan Le completely conquered the audience with his piano skills.

The 6-year-old boy’s little fingers gliding across the keyboard put the audience in awe from the first moments of the night. In addition to the "Sonata Mozart", "Mendelssohn Op.30 No.06" classics, Evan Le also showcased his skills with the piece "Bien nho” (Sea of Memory) by the late musician Trinh Cong Son and "Long me” (Mother) by composer Y Van.

With the song "Sea of Memory" by the late musician Trinh Cong Son, Evan showed everyone his extraordinary ability. Trinh's music is well-known as contemplative and philosophical. However, it seemed like the 6-year-old boy truly immersed his soul in the music. The audience was completely conquered by Evan's piano playing. In the performance, Evan also sang the song “Noi vong tay lon” (Joining hands) by musician Trinh Cong Son that he had just practiced in the United States before coming to Hue to perform.

After the performance, he bowed to the audience with poise. Evan also impressed the audience by his cute face and his innocence when talking with the singer Trinh Vinh Trinh. The boy politely greeted the audience and introduced in Vietnamese: "My name is Evan Le. I am 6 years old. I love playing the piano. Coming to Hue, I have visited the Citadel and the Huong River. They are very nice and very large. Hue food is delicious. I like to eat banh beo, banh khoai, and banh bot loc.”

Evan charmed the audience with his natural charisma, earning rounds of applause as he performed and talked.

A pilgrimage to Hue

Ly Co Le, Evan Le’s mother said that every year, she would like to bring her child back to visit their country to understand their origins. Many people had been eager for months on learning the news of Evan Le's performance in Hue.

According to the family of musician Trinh Cong Son, the program "Pilgrimage Night" was held with the desire to introduce to the local audience the musical talent of the child prodigy. However, Evan is still too young to play all night, and the program introduced to the audience the famous compositions by musician Trinh Cong Son.

The immortal songs of Trinh once again resounded in the night of pilgrimage, the night of music, such as: “Phoi pha” (Withering), “Chieu mot minh qua pho” (An afternoon promenade of solitude), “Con tuoi nao cho em” (What age for me), “Cat bui” (Sand and Dust), “Quynh Huong” (Scent of the ephemeral bloom),  “Bon mua thay la” (Four seasons of change), “Tuoi doi menh mong” (The vastness of age), “Diem xua” (Diem of the past), “Xin mat troi ngu yen” (Please let the sun sleep) through the performances of 13-year-old saxophonist An Tran - daughter of saxophonist Tran Manh Tuan, pianist Tuan Manh, Phi Phi and singers Lan Nha, Tan Son, Ngoc Mai. Trinh's music seemed to be harmonious in the cold winter weather of Hue. The harmony added to the listener’s feeling heart.  

Evan among fans

The music night was organized by the family of musician Trinh Cong Son in collaboration with the University of Medicine and Pharmacy - Hue University. The program was supposed to be held at the University of Medicine and Medicine with about 2,000 seats. However, the cold weather of Hue led to a change in venue right before the show. The preparation was quite strenuous, but the organizers, singers and artists tried to give the audience a free music program that was seriously invested in quality.

The show took place at the Provincial Culture and Information Center with about 1,000 seats. The venue was completely full, and the organizers had to add extra seats. In addition to the local audience in Hue, many people came from Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Binh Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City, etc. to Hue to see Evan perform. From Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh province), Pham Thi Hoa took her son Minh Tuan (6 years old) to Hue. "My son is also learning the piano and has been an Evan fan when he watched the boy perform on social networks. So when we heard that Evan was coming to perform in Hue, I arranged my work to bring my son here. Evan's piano skill is awesome! It was totally worth the time and effort to come here. Evan Le makes us Vietnamese proud.”

The costumes of the "Pilgrimage Night" were designed by Trinh Hoang Dieu, the sister of the late composer Trinh Cong Son. All of these designs were inspired by the music of the talented musician. They were not simply the ao dai, but were works of art with music and painting.

The program was part of the series of events organized by the family of composer Trinh Cong Son to build a Trinh Cong Son cultural space in Hue. Singer Trinh Vinh Trinh expressed: "We wanted to organize a music program to bring artists of Hue origin and other talents back to Hue. To organize the event in Hue, we met many hardships, especially in bringing the band from Ho Chi Minh City here. However, we and Evan’s family wanted to bring him to Hue, in the spirit of pilgrimage, in the spirit of "understanding the roots" like a composition by Trinh Cong Son.

Evan Le is a Vietnamese American. His full name is Evan Duy Quoc Le. He was born on May 31, 2011 in the United States. Dubbed as the "Piano Prodigy," Evan Le surprised the famous host Steve Harvey and the American people with his talent by playing the piano on NBC's "Little Big Shots" TV program in early 2016. Despite his young age, Evan confidently performed many classics of music geniuses Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Ginastera. In 2016, Evan returned to Vietnam for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City. 

Story and photos: Trang Hien