Vietnam, Australia cooperate in music education

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Vietnam National Academy of Music (VNAM) will cooperate with the Australia Music Examinations Board (AMEB) in fields of training, performance and music exchange.

Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on December 3 at the VNAM, the AMEB will provide curriculum and experts to exam the VNAM’s students. Lecturers of the VNAM’s will have more opportunity to attend training courses given by AMEB’s system.

"This is the most exciting international partnership in the history of the AMEB," said Miky Tyler, Chair of the AMEB Board of Directors at the MOU singing ceremony. "As an iconic Australian organisation, we are proud to begin this association with the VNAM which represents the highest level of music education in Vietnam".

The AMEB is one of the most distinguished and recognised music examination boards in the world. This significant export move is in response to continuing discussions with the VNAM, following the AMEB recognising the need for consistent and high-quality music education across Vietnam.

As part of the partnership, the AMEB has already committed to over 500 examinations for year 2019 and a number of Australian teachers and examiners will come to Vietnam to train local teachers in the AMEB model and curriculum.

Dao Trong Tuyen, Head of Piano Department and Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Huy Phuong, Deputy Head of Piano Department, will take the lead in teaching the AMEB curriculum at the VNAM and oversee the significant move to allow their students to play some repertoire from AMEB publications in their formal exams.

The VNAM expects to launch a Music Centre that will teach piano using AMEB curriculum and examinations in 2020.

Lecturers and students from the VNAM and the AMEB will attend festivals, performances and competitions which will be held by the two organsiation respectively. The Australian partner will organise summer music camps and exchange programmes to help the VNAM’s lecturers and students to have chance to experience the AMEB system more comprehensively.

"The cooperation between the VNAM and the AMEB is a wonderful opportunity for us to approach a standard model of exam with 100 years of experience," said Le Anh Tuan, the VNAM’s director. "This is also evidence to the development and integration of VNAM with the professional music education of the advanced country in the region and in the world.

The AMEB is Australia’s leading provider of examination services for music, speech and drama. It emerged in 1918 as a national body with the purpose of providing graded assessments of the achievements of music students and examinations for students of speech and drama later.

Participants at the MOU signing ceremony are Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Craig Chittick and representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.-VNS/VNA