It’s taken me a while to write about this, but we got some very sad news here at Roots Music Canada late last month: Bic Hoang of Khac Chi Bamboo Music, died on June 26 after a four-year battle with cancer.
She was 60 years old, according to Vietnam.net.
Khac Chi was Vietnam’s premier traditional music ensemble before the husband-and-wife duo of Bic and Ho Khac Chi relocated to Vancouver in 1992 after a gig at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
Bic was the first woman in Vietnam ever to win first prize on the one-stringed zither the dan bau in the Vietnam Competition of Professional Instrumentalists.
She is also credited as the first woman ever to play the ko ni, a two-string stick fiddle whose silk threads are attached to a disc that is held in the mouth so that the mouth can serve as the resonating chamber for the instrument.
She was a regular performer for national and international radio and television in Vietnam and received frequent invitations to perform with the country’s top ensembles.
After settling in Canada, Bic and Chi sought to adapt their performances for western audiences, introducing crowd-pleasing antics like playing multiple flutes at the same time by fixing turkey baster bulbs to the ends of them and squeezing them under the arms or between their head and shoulders.
However, they remained true to their vision of playing only instruments that were indigenous to Vietnam.
“Bic and Chi faced numerous challenges while rebuilding their musical lives in Canada,” recalled pipa player and Silk Road Music founder Qiu Xia He in a eulogy delivered at Bic’s July 3 funeral.
“When I first met them, Bic worked two day jobs and a night shift while pursuing her musical career. Over the years, she conquered language barriers, mastered computer applications for business contracts and music composition, navigated agents, and managed busy travel schedules.”
Bic would go on to tour to 25 different countries, according to a post by Thai-Hoa Le of the South East Asian Cultural Heritage Society on a GoFundMe page set up for her family.
She would collaborate with the Prague Modern Ensemble, the National Traditional Orchestra of Vietnam, the World Traditional Instrument Orchestra of the Philippines and the Little Giant Chinese Music Orchestra of Taiwan.
Vancouver classical composer Mark Armanini, who is known for his compositions for Asian instruments, remembered Bic in his eulogy as an eager collaborator and intercultural ambassador.
In 1994, he began composing a double concerto for Bic and Chi called “Dance of Many Colours,” which they played on five Vietnamese instruments, he told the assembled mourners at her funeral.
“Throughout this process they both were incredibly patient, positive and eager to make the very best of this huge undertaking,” he said.
“We recorded the work with the Latvian National Symphony and conductor John Zoltek in 2003. Once in Latvia, Bic and Chi were soon on Latvian TV and in the Riga newspaper.”
Mark also recalled Bic’s lengthy involvement with the Vancouver Inter-cultural Orchestra (VICO), including her 2016 solo performance featuring her composition “River of Memories.”
“With the Vancouver Inter-cultural Orchestra (VICO), Bic soon
became a star,” Mark recalled.
“A standout musician with a standout instrument and a big smile.”
Qiu Xia called Bic “the sister I never had from my family.”
“Joyful and kind, she always offered a helping hand,” she recalled.
“When she spoke of her parents, brothers, sisters, and extended family, her bright eyes sparkled. She recounted many childhood stories, including her father’s encouragement to learn everything a boy would know, so she could stand strong among them as she grew up. Indeed, she stood out in the world with her unwavering strength. She even knew how to fix my bicycle! Thank you to her parents for raising such a kind sister with dragon-like strength!”
