Unlimited, a power rock band performed on 9 August 2008 a show with the HCMC Conservatory of music orchestra, a first-time ever in Vietnam. “It is something we joked about with a friend four months ago”, Pham Viet Thanh, the 25 year-old Unlimited leader and singer, says. “We were devising on how similar classical music and power rock are similar. Ï have studied the piano since I was a child and entered the HCMC conservatory of music at the age of 16. Our keyboard Nguyen Phuc Minh Quan studied the piano at the conservatory of music since he was a child as well. We moved to rock and heavy metal when we were teens. But I have never forgotten my background and strange though it may seems, power rock and classical music share the same rigor for harmony and composition. My friend is working for an event company and he took my word for it. So he contacted the symphonic orchestra, and when I look back, I realise that it did not take so long to organise. They were very receptive and interested by the whole experience, especially conductor Do Kien Cuong. He really understood what we were trying to do and he was also interested in combining both music. I think the audience really enjoyed it as well”.
The 3,000-people audience indeed enjoyed it, like Luan, a journalist for HTV : “It was fantastic, something I have never heard before. It is a delicate fusion of rock symphony where each style enhance each other ». The concert took place at the 116 Nguyen Du sports complex. All tickets were sold out one month before the concert. “This was a very good performance for us », Thanh comments. « We learned so much about classical music and also about rock music and above all, about ourselves. The composition and rehearsals were very enriching. We sent our songs to conductor Kien Cuong and he composed magnificent pieces for his orchestra. Some members seemed reluctant or surprised at first but it took us only three general rehearsals to adjust. At the end, everyone, even the skeptical ones, were very happy. The symphonic orchestra did more than accompanying us. They stood in a complete role and place in the composition. It would have been boring for them and for us otherwise. The passion for music was reuniting us. I hope we can do that again. »
Unlimited was formed in 2003 in Saigon. They participated in many rocks festivals in Vietnam (Rock Your Passion where they received the prize of the Fan Favorite Group, Rock Nights).
Most of the members graduated from college and have jobs. For the Unlimited Symphony show, they had to take day off. “But is is for a good cause », Thanh says. « Playing with a symphonic orchestra may take rock to a higher level of visibility and respect. People perceive rock bands and fans as crazy long-haired teenagers without education. This show proved them wrong and I hope that rock and power metal will be understood as solid and mature music. »
