Musical autobiography of Meritorious Artist To Nga

Meritorious Artist To Nga.

Since her high school days, To Nga has been famous for continuously performing in school and provincial art programs. After finishing high school, with a passion for art, To Nga decided to continue studying at Ha Tinh College of Culture and Arts.

During that time, To Nga was soon known to the public and won many high awards in music festivals such as: Gold Medal of the National Professional Student Performance; Gold Medal of the Central Singing Festival in Nha Trang; Gold Medal of the Lotus Village Singing in Nghe An... After graduating from the first course of Ha Tinh College of Culture and Arts, with the achievements she had achieved, To Nga was introduced to study vocal music at the Hanoi Conservatory of Music (now the National Academy of Music). In the same year, she continued to take the entrance exam to the Military College of Culture and Arts and graduated in 1999.

To be able to pursue art, To Nga also had to overcome many obstacles from her family, especially her mother. Every mother wants her daughter to live a peaceful, easy life, to build a family early to be stable, but To Nga is not content like that, she always longs to go further in her singing career, wants to reach the horizons of her dreams. To Nga is lucky to have a father who always encourages and supports her daughter's passion for art.

To Nga could never forget the image of the past, when her mother firmly opposed her going to Hanoi to study at the Conservatory of Music, her father silently and quietly prepared his daughter's belongings in an iron box, saved up 200,000 VND and put it in her hand, waited until her mother was fast asleep, secretly took her to the bus station, pushed her onto the bus to go to Hanoi to study. 200,000 VND was the only amount of money he had, just enough for the bus fare to Hanoi. He understood his daughter's desire to excel in art, so he boldly "opposed" his wife.

To reassure her parents, when she went to Hanoi to study, To Nga immediately found a way to work to earn more income. She rented an ao dai, and every day she cycled to sing at a bar with a salary of 50,000 VND/show. That money, To Nga saved to pay for her own education and sent back home to help her mother take care of the family economy. With such perseverance, patience and passion, when she won third prize at the "Hanoi Voice" contest, To Nga's singing career took off when she was specially allowed to work at the Vietnam Music and Dance Theater.

In her 30 years of working, Meritorious Artist To Nga has released 14 albums, in particular, some of her MVs on the theme of war and soldiers such as "Cuc oi" and "Gui vao thuong nho" are very famous, carefully invested, leaving many echoes and emotions with viewers. And also after 30 years of standing firmly in the "art comedy duo", Meritorious Artist To Nga has just performed her first live show. For someone who has made a name for herself early and worked diligently in the arts like her, 30 years to have her own live show seems too late. However, To Nga said, the 30th anniversary live show is fate, a predestined fate, and even if she wanted it to be sooner, it would not have been possible.

To Nga used the song “The River of Love” to name her live show celebrating her 30th year of singing. For To Nga, this is a name that holds a lot of meaning. It represents her life, sometimes calm, sometimes buoyant, sometimes turbulent, wanting to scream and break away from the shore, sometimes burning with thirst, sometimes quiet, gentle, peaceful… But, no matter what level, that river is always full of emotions, always thirsting to dedicate its songs, beautiful things to life. That is the “love” of “To Nga’s river”.

It is a fact that people with hardships often tend to be sentimental, and To Nga clearly understands that logic. The more hardships she endures, the more aspirations and feelings she has for life and her career, and the more deeply grateful she is to this life when she escapes the whirlpool of fate to reach a safe harbor.

“The River of Love” is also a song that holds many personal memories for her. When To Nga was still a student at the Military College of Arts (now the Military University of Culture and Arts), she once went to see her teacher, musician An Thuyen. The musician saw To Nga’s swollen eyes and asked her what was going on. To Nga told the story of her boyfriend at that time being jealous, so she cried all night. Musician An Thuyen laughed and said: “Go home and tell her that girls from Nghe An are not flirtatious, but because the river and the boat are so beautiful, many people like them and even girls from Ha Tinh. Don’t be jealous for no reason.”

The next morning, musician An Thuyen called To Nga and said: "Come here, I have a new song for you." When To Nga came to see him, musician An Thuyen gave her the sheet music for "The Love River". But To Nga was not the first to sing this song, because in the past, it was not easy to have an arrangement and record it like it is now. So, two years later, during the Sao Mai competition season, a contestant sang "The Love River" in the competition. Musician An Thuyen listened and said: "No, this song must be sung by To Nga". Therefore, To Nga recorded and sang this song later. Although musician An Thuyen did not say that this song was for her, the musician's favoritism for his young student, along with her love for the song, made her sing it with all her heart.

Meritorious Artist To Nga at the press conference of the live show "The River of Love".

Musician An Thuyen is To Nga's respected teacher, who has always protected and supported her during her early years of professional singing. To Nga was also one of the first to sing some famous songs such as "Ca dao em va toi", "Neo dau ben que"... by musician An Thuyen. These are songs written to fit To Nga's voice. She has had a lot of luck and favor like that. Even musician Tran Hoan once "tailored" some songs specifically for her sweet voice. However, To Nga is a woman with many hardships and obstacles in life, so although her talent is considered the eldest among artists of the Central region's folk music genre, her career was not as brilliant as it should have been, but was always a beat behind, a step behind.

All the ups and downs of life and career are encapsulated and conveyed by To Nga through “The River of Love”. The reason why “The River of Love” is called a musical autobiography of her life is because the live show will depict all the twists and turns, the ups and downs, and the quietness until reaching a peaceful shore. In all the sadness, joy and happiness of life, To Nga relies on music to be comforted and shared.

To Nga did not set the goal of doing live shows to become more famous or sell more albums, she simply wanted to show gratitude to the audience who have been loyal to her, and she could fulfill her dream. And now, a To Nga is having the most beautiful life, as she wished, letting go of many burdens to be happy, a To Nga who always wants to burn herself for music, has prepared everything to tell the audience about a "Love River" in her musical autobiography.