Mai Thanh Nam (37 years old) is currently the only Vietnamese-American lecturer at the Ermont Conservatory in France. He teaches Latin American and African percussion. Recently, the director of the conservatory unexpectedly proposed to include Vietnamese bamboo flute in the curriculum and this task was assigned to Mai Thanh Nam.

Flute or drum?

Mai Thanh Nam said: “I was born into a family that followed the Phu Dong martial arts band. The younger generation was assigned to learn a traditional musical instrument when they grew up, and I was chosen to learn the flute.” Although I was not given the choice, Nam still liked this instrument, so he persevered and completed 10 years of intermediate bamboo flute training (Faculty of Traditional Music, Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music).

In 2007, Nam went to France to study to continue to try his hand at the flute. The position of the flute in the classical orchestra seemed to be the only direction that could help Nam develop his career abroad at that time. Therefore, Nam had to relearn everything from classical music thinking, solfege to cultural perception, language...

Also during his time studying abroad, Nam discovered that he was attracted to another musical instrument, the drum. Nam's feeling at that time was that "there are many drum systems that I find more interesting than the Western flute. World dances such as Samba, Tango... rely heavily on rhythm, so the sound of percussion is extremely attractive. The field of drums is very broad, learning a percussion instrument of a country can take a lifetime. So after learning the Western flute in the early stages, I switched to drums, specializing in Latin American and African percussion instruments."

To follow his chosen path, Nam entered the Polesup Conservatory in 1993, and at the same time studied musicology at the University of Paris VIII - Saint Denis. From the second year, he also studied pedagogy (teaching music). Nam still did not forget the bamboo flute. He practiced and looked for more opportunities to perform the bamboo flute in France.

When performing, Nam is both a drummer and a flutist. He participated in the programs “French Creativity: 4 Surprises for Viola and Vietnamese Percussion” in Paris in 2018; performed Brazilian percussion and bamboo flute at the concert “On the Border of Vietnam - Brazil - France” in 2022 at Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris) organized by the Association Le Cercle Premier.

Nam once brought the play “Kieu” to perform in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi with the French artist troupe Coi Nguon. This year, he was the only musician in the play Oriental Bar directed by Jean-Marie Rouart, which ran for three months at the Montparnasse Theater (Paris). Last June, Nam (flute and drum) along with artist Ho Thuy Trang (zither, monochord) and other artists specializing in Indian flutes and drums, Korean flutes, Japanese zithers, and Indian dance were invited by the Valencienne city government to work together and perform to announce a joint artistic product there.

Not alone but together

It was his efforts to study for a conservatory teaching degree while also studying performance that helped Nam get a job before graduating. Nam recalls: “I was in my final year of teaching at the conservatory when I was accepted to teach at the Ermont Conservatory. Because the conservatory is state-run, I had to go through two rounds of interviews with the director of the conservatory and the city hall. To teach, I needed a performance degree. People believe that a lecturer must also be a good performer to combine teaching methods with practical experience. I met both requirements and was accepted.”

The art scene in France is very vibrant but has to compete with local artists. Nam survives by teaching and performing at the same time. Whenever he has the opportunity, he introduces the Vietnamese bamboo flute to international friends. Once, a lawyer friend in Paris invited Nam to introduce the bamboo flute to his colleagues during a break in a meeting. It sounds strange, but Nam actually brought the bamboo flute into the court. He stood there introducing and performing, making the lawyers go from surprise to admiration.

As the first person to teach bamboo flute at the Ermont Conservatory since the beginning of this school year, Mai Thanh Nam is developing curriculum for all ages and levels, and aims to bring Vietnamese bamboo flute into many musical genres around the world.

“I do not use the bamboo flute to preserve traditional musical instruments, which many domestic artists have done. In my position, I think it is more appropriate to give the bamboo flute the opportunity to play many roles, to contribute more melodies to classical music, jazz, and world music. Western flutes are made of metal and are pressed according to notes, so when blown, they have a different color. My flute is made of bamboo, and when blown, the holes are pressed, so the sound feels more graceful and vivacious, and has its own attractive color.”

Huong Kieu