Lan (first name) was born 1987 in Hanoi, Vietnam. She works in the fields of contemporary instrumental and electronic music, sound art and music theatre. She is the scholarship holder of Startstipendium 2018 from the Austrian Federal Chancellery (BKA). She was trained as a classical contemporary music pianist in Köln (with Pierre-Laurent Aimard) and Brussels, but recently she has focused mostly on her own compositions and sound installations, experimenting with modular synthesizers, prepared marxophone/zither, self-built electronics and various objects, etc.
Active as a sound artist, improviser, composer in Berlin, Vienna and Hanoi in many different projects, notably the composer-performer Duo Siedl/Cao, she has been touring and giving workshops for contemporary music and improvisation in Europe, Japan, Brasil, China, Taiwan, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Australia, Iran, Indonesia and Vietnam. Her works have been released on labels Moloko Plus, Impakt, Flaming Pines, Off Record, Acefalo Records and Syrphe. She has performed at Ars Electronica Linz, Emittermicro Berlin, Flux Festival Berlin, Brechtfestival Augsburg, FIME festival for experimental music in Sao Paulo Brazil, Hanoi New Music Festival, Strom Festival Cologne, Festival Frischzelle Cologne, PhonoFemme Vienna, Sonic Territories Vienna etc.
As a guest pianist/performer of Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin (KNM Ensemble), she has performed at Ultraschall Festival Berlin, Musica Electronica Nova Wroclaw, Poesiefestival Berlin, etc. She has earned a wide range of solo and ensemble experience in contemporary music festivals namely Darmstadt Festival for new music, Festival Ircam Paris@Manifest and in festival academies Klangspuren – Ensemble Modern Frankfurt, Impuls Festival – Ensemble Klangforum Vienna, etc.
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Education and Grants
2012-2014
Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln
Master of New Music in the class of Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Experimental Improvisation in the class of Paulo Alvares
Graduated Master of Music with Summa cum laude
2008 – 2012
Royal Conservatory of Brussels
Major in Classical Piano in the class of Boyan Vodenitcharov und Daniel Blumenthal
Contemporary Music and Improvisation Study with Dr. Bouckaert und Kris Defoort
Graduated Master of Music with Distinction
Graduated Bachelor of Music with Disctintion
The only receiver of merit-based scholarship from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.
Merit-based scholarships from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels for 2 consecutive years
Merit-based scholarships from the Vietnamese Government for 4 consecutive years
1996 – 2008
Major in Classical Piano at the Hanoi Conservatory
Baccalaureat in Classical Piano under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Tran Thu Ha and Nguyen Thi Lan
Annual merit-based scholarships from Hanoi Conservatory for 12 consecutive years
Stipendium vom Kumho Asiana Group for 1 year
Artistic Activities
2018 till now
Duo Siedl/Cao ist selected for the renowned program New Austrian Sound of Music 2018-2019 (NASOM) from BMEIA in the category Contemporary Music
Duo Siedl/Cao received grants from Austrian BKA und BMEIA for their tours with the Theater/Sound installation „The usual nexus“ in Iran, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Taiwan, at sites such as Koganecho Art Center Yokohama, Ming Contemporary Art Museum Shanghai, Taipei Contemporary Art Center, The Factory Contemporary Art Center Saigon, Hanoi New Music Festival etc.
Workshops for composition at Sungshin University Seoul, Providence University Taichung, Da-Yeh University Taichung, Mahidol University Bangkok, Chulalongkorn University Bangkok, Rangsit University Bangkok, Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music, Six Space Hanoi.
Solo performance/exhibition of Siedl/Cao with their interactive participatory sound installations at Extra Time Shanghai, Onto Art Space Wuhan, Heritage Space Hanoi, Then Studio Hue und Manzi Art space Hanoi,
The music theater „The fifth cardinal direction“ ist selected to be presented at Operadagen Rotterdam on the 24. May 2018 and at Musiktheatertagen Vienna on the 16. June 2018
Released CD “Optimistic Modernism” by trio Seidel/Cao/Siedl, on Moloko Plus label
Released CD “Modulus of resilience” by trio Cao Keller Siedl, on Attenuation Circuit label
Acousmatic composition “Meeting” is featured at Festival “Heroines of sound”, Berlin
Publication of acousmatic composition “Meeting” on Uchronia – a 3 CD Compilation of experimental music from Asian, Middle East and the diaspora, on Syrphe Label
Premiere of „iamb“ – Komposition for motorised marxophone, modular synthesizer and light sensor, at Flux Festival Berlin.
9/2015 – 2018
Guest pianist/performer at Ensemble KNM (Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin) with performances at Ultraschall Festival, Festival Musica Electronica Nova, Poesiefestival Berlin, Galeriewanderung Berlin, RadialSystem V, etc.
2017
The music theater „The fifth cardinal direction“ is premiered at Hanoi National Opera House, Vietnam
Duo Siedl/Cao was supported by BKA and BMEIA for their tours in Finland, Australia, Vietnam, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay with the program Zicla – new music for prepared zither, clarinet and electronics
Release of album KLANKBEELDJE with compositions and co-compositions from duo Mono.Ext for extended snare drum and piano, on Impakt Label Köln
Commissioned by (re)Shaping Jazz to come, and performance of music theatre “Baggage” in duo with Liz Kosack in Ausland Berlin
2015 – 2017
Performances at Festivals:
- Ultraschall Festival
- Festival Musica Electronica Nova
- Flux Festival Berlin
- Emitter Micro Festival Berlin
- Brechtfestival Augsburg 2016
- Hanoi New Music Festival
- Poesiefestival Berlin
- FIME Festival for experimental music in Sao Paulo Brazil
- STROM Festival Köln
- Festival Frischzelle
- Festival Ankunft Neue Musik Berlin
- Festival Kölner Musik Nacht
- International Kamermuziek Festival Schiermonnikoog
Co-founder/member of Projects/Bands:
- Duo Siedl/Cao: a composer-performer, sound artists group
- Osmosis Project
- Junk Orbit
- Mono Ext.
- Swiss Army Wife
- Cao Keller Siedl
Release on labels:
- Moloko Plus
- Impakt
- Attenuation Circuit
- Flaming Pines
- Acefalo Records
- Syrphe
- Off Record Label
2011 – 2017
Selected and participated at Festivals and Academies for Contemporary Music:
- Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik Darmstadt 2016, studied with Nicolas Hodges
- Impuls Festival Graz 2013, studied with with Ian Pace and Ensemble Klangforum Wien
- Festival Ircam Paris@Manifest 2012, studied with Sebastien Vichard from Ensemble Intercontemporain
- Klangspuren Festival im IEMA Ensemble 2011, studied with Ensemble Modern Frankfurt
Featured in radio/television broadcast:
- CD “Optimistic Modernism” by Seidel/Cao/Siedl was featured on SWR2 Radio Germany, WFMU from NYC United States, Radio Flora Hannover Germany, BBC Radio 3 UK, on newspaper such as Taz Kunstraum – Berlinmusik, Tonshift.
- Acousmatic composition “Meeting” is featured at listening station of Festival ” Heroines of Sound”, Berlin, Germany
- Acousmatic composition „Triptych No.3 – Wafitere“ is selected and featured at Women in Sound Festival, Goldsmiths University, England
- Radio broadcast of composition „V – Construction“ on Sonic Darts Radio Show on Resonance FM, England
- Radio broadcast of interview with Siedl/Cao on Wuhan Radio, China
- Interview and live radio broadcast on Suara Surabaya, Indonesia
- Interviews and Television/Radio broadcasts on Vietnamese national stations such as VTV1, VTV3, VTV4, VOV3, etc.
Prizes at piano competitions:
- Gold Prize at the ASIA Intl. Piano Festival and Competition in South Korea
- Second Prize at the National Autumn Competition (Concours d’Automne)
- 3rd Prize at the International Carl Filtsch Competition in Romania 2012
- Special Prize at the International Piano Competition in Hanoi 2010
Teaching experiences
Duo Siedl/Cao has given workshops on contemporary music composition and improvisation at:
- Monash University Melbourne, Australia
- BoxHill Institute Melbourne, Australia
- National University of Hsinchu Taiwan
- Äänen Lumo Helsinki, Finland
- Universidad de La Serena, Chile
- Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay
- Darbast Platform Tehran, Iran
- Sungshin Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea
- Providence University Taichung, Taiwan
- Da-Yeh University Taichung, Taiwan
- Mahidol University, Thailand
- Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
- Conservatory of Music, Rangsit University, Thailand
- Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music, Thailand
- Meridian Space Beijing, China
- Pertemuan Musik Jakarta, at SAE Institute, Indonesia
- Pertemuan Musik Surabaya, at Goethe Institute Surabaya,
Indonesia - Indonesian Institute of The Art Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- DOMDOM Center for experimental music Hanoi. Vietnam
- Six Space Hanoi, Vietnam
Cao Thanh Lan 