A group of 18 Vietnamese piano students aged 9-24 have excelled at the sixth Asia International Piano Academy Festival (AIPAF).

Hoang Ho Thu was among 12 students to win gold at the Asia International Piano Academy Festival.

The event took place on July 20-24 at the Ewon Cultural Institute, Cheonan, South Korea, with the participation of groups from eight countries and territories including South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and China.

The Vietnamese group, led by Prof Tran Thu Ha from the Vietnam National Academy of Music, won 12 gold, five silver and one bronze medal at the competition.

During the festival, concerts were held every evening in which participants were encouraged to take part. At the end of each session, a competition was held with jury members comprising of AIPAF professors.

Ha was one of 20 faculty members including professors and pianists from South Korea, Poland, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Russia, and Israel.

AIPAF\'s objective was not only to nurture each participants\' musical ability, but also to enhance cultural exchange and understanding among pianists of different countries and cultural backgrounds. It\'s hoped that the friendships formed during AIPAF will be life-long ones, said Chang Hae-won, president of AIPAF.

"In the past, the festival has been a huge succession in bringing together renowned pianists from all over Asia, and it has been our privilege to have these pedagogues share their views and opinions with us," he said.

Students had the chance to take master classes with renowned piano professors. That helped them relax and gave them confidence before they performed, said Hoang Ho Thu, 17. With Abegg variations by Robert Schuman, she was one of 12 students who won gold.

"I had an opportunity to talk with other piano students from Asian countries who are very intelligent, and learn from famous piano professors," Thu said, "that\'s been the highlight of the trip."

Prof Ha agreed. "The festival\'s mainly aimed at encouraging young students, the organising board created a good condition for them to study and perform."