More than 200 musicians from 30 countries and territories have registered to send their works to the Asia-Europe New Music Festival 2014 to be held in Vietnam for the first time.

The event is scheduled to take place in Hanoi and Ha Long city in the northern province of Quang Ninh on October 8-12, said Chairman of the Vietnam Musicians’ Association Do Hong Quan on August 7.

According to Quan, who is also head of the festival’s organising board, Vietnam is the first Asian nation to host the event, which will draw the participation of leading Vietnamese artists such as violists Bui Cong Duy and Linh Chi and conductors Le Phi Phi and Vu Nhat Tan.

The event is hoped to provide a good chance for the two continents’ musicians and artists, including those from Vietnam, to share experience and values of new music, he said, adding that it will also offer an opportunity for Vietnam to introduce its culture to international friends.

The festival will feature music of different genres ranging from symphony, concert, folk and national music and opera to chorus and new songs.

Initiated by the Unions of Composers of Russia and Tatarstan in 1993, the Asia-Europe New Music Festival has become a prestigious music forum in the world. The biennial event has so far attracted the participation of 45 countries and territories in the two continents.-VNA