Musician Buu Loc

MUSICIAN BUU LOC
(1911 – 1986)

Buu Loc is the son of Prince Nguyen Phuoc Ung Thong and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tan, third chief of staff, Thai Thanh district king (3rd prince of King Thieu Tri).

He was born in the year of Tan Hoi (September 11, 1911) in An Cuu village. His father was a famous gentleman with three musical instruments: Nguyet, Nhi and Bau; The mother is a person with a very skillful and noble voice. Growing up, Buu Loc studied the Nguyet with teacher Khoa Hai, the Ty Ba with Master Tro Ton, and the zither with Mr. Ton That Huong. Thanks to that, he played fluently in both Tranh, Ty Ba, Nhi, Nguyet. After the end of the Nguyen Dynasty, Buu Loc and Mr. Vinh Tran, Vinh Phan, and Nghe Toan were brought to Hanoi by Hai Trieu-Nguyen Khoa Van to participate in the National Arts Competition, resulting in Buu Loc being awarded the First Prize for Zither.

During the resistance war against the French, Buu Loc and his family moved to the South to live. From 1957-1963, he was invited to teach the zither and lute at the Saigon National School of Music. He together with his mother Vinh Tran (son of King Thanh Thai), Vinh Phan (son of Tuyen Hoa district king), musician Gia Cam and singers Bich Lieu, Thu Tam, Bich Van, Tuyet Huong founded the Hue choir “Huong Binh” “. After the unification of the country, musician Buu Loc still collaborates with the cultural programs of the Voice of the People’s Radio of Ho Chi Minh City. He is often invited to the jury of traditional music competitions.

The nature of musician Buu Loc is very kind and humble. His daily life is pure, close, always witty and humorous with everyone, so he is respected by artists and generations of students. Even in the difficult period (1975-1985), Buu Loc’s small house was a place for people to meet and meet with guests, not a day without music and poetry. Musician Buu Loc also has a talent for composing ecstatic and elegant Hue songs, which are still recorded today.

Since 1975, when the country was reunified, artist Buu Loc was invited to accompanies for poetry programs of the Voice of the People’s Radio of Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh; was invited to participate in the Jury in the graduation exams of the Ho Chi Minh City School of Music and often attended many Hue chamber music activities with fellow musicians and artists from Hue on cultural exchanges-art.

In 1985, artist Buu Loc was invited to Hue by the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee of Thua Thien Hue province to attend the 10th anniversary of the liberation of Thua Thien Hue along with other famous artists such as poet Bao Dinh Giang and musicians. Nguyen Huu Ba, poet Luong An, writer Tran Cong Tan …

The next Music Group’s death anniversary, October 16 in the year of the Tiger (1986) was also held at the house of musician Buu Loc (different from the previous years, it was usually held at the house of musician Nguyen Huu Ba). Friends and students attended in large numbers, everyone was happy to see him solemnly in a national costume to greet him sincerely and cordially… Who would have thought that the predestined relationship had come to an end. More than ten days later, the master artist of Hue folk music art peacefully gave up his mortal body to let his soul follow the wind to his ancestral homeland to the Huong Ngu region.