Origins
Western music was introduced into Việt Nam during the French colonial period. Military bands, church choirs and amateur orchestras were established in Hà Nội and Sài Gòn and after 1900 concert tours by visiting orchestras, chamber ensembles and soloists became increasingly commonplace. However, during this early period western music was appreciated only by a select group of Vietnamese intellectuals.
Whilst a small group of Vietnamese musicians received rudimentary on-the-job training in light music and jazz at city dance halls, clubs and 'tea rooms' (quán trà), the French government paid scant attention to the development of music education for their colonial subjects. A Conservatoire Français d'extrème-orient, established in Hà Nội in 1927, was closed just three years later due to worldwide economic recession. A smaller Conservatoire de musique, set up in Sài Gòn in 1933, suffered a similarly swift demise.