NINH THUẬN — Traditional music of the ethnic Chăm should be preserved and introduced at community events across the country, speakers at a seminar in the central province of Ninh Thuận said on Wednesday.

The seminar was organised by the Việt Nam Institute of Musicological under the management of the Việt Nam National Academy of Music (VNAM) and the provincial People’s Committee

Meritorious Artist and musician AMư Nhân of the province said Chăm music is tyically performed at festivals and religious rituals in the Chăm community.

“It should be performed at community events across the country,” he said.

Meritorious Artist Đàng Quang Dũng of the HCM City Association for Literature and Arts of the Ethnic Minority Groups said: “Preserving Chăm music should focus on raising young people’s passion for the music and teaching them to play traditional Chăm musical instruments.”

“For years many traditional songs have disappeared following the death of old musicians, while young generations do not have much interest in learning the art,” said Dũng.

Seminar participants emphasised the need to research and collect old traditional songs to popularise them in the community, particularly youth.

AMư Nhân suggested that the Việt Nam Institute of Musicology and the Việt Nam Musician’s Association work together to print books of favourite folk songs in both Vietnamese and Chăm languages and publicise the books in Ninh Thuận and other provinces.

“The books are the best ways to attract young people,” AMư Nhân said.

Lê Anh Tuấn, director of the Việt Nam Institute of Musicology, said Chăm music played an important role in the Chăm community and had unique cultural value.

The music should be preserved, but the preservation work faces challenges, he said.

“Through the seminar, the provincial authorities, cultural experts and musicians have learned more about the music and they need to work together to develop and promote the art,” Tuấn said. — VNS