Van Anh Vo

Who is Van Anh Vo?

Võ Vân Ánh, also known by the English name order Vân Ánh Võ and the stage name Vanessa Vo is a California-based Vietnamese musician best known for her work on the dan tranh zither.

Among her accomplishments are the 2009 Emmy Award-winning soundtrack for the documentary Bolinao 52, which she co-composed and recorded, and the soundtrack for the Sundance best documentary and 2003 Academy Awards nominee Daughter from Danang. Võ also co-composed and recorded for the recent documentary “A Village Called Versailles”, winner of the New Orleans Film Festival Audience Award.

Võ began studying dan tranh from the age of four, and graduated with distinction from and taught at the Vietnam Academy of Music. In 1995, Võ won championship in the Vietnam National Dan Tranh Competition along with the first prize for best solo performance of modern folk music.

In addition to dan tranh, Võ also performs as soloist on the đàn bầu monochord, the đàn tam thập lục 36-string hammered dulcimer, the đàn T'rưng bamboo xylophone, the klông pút, traditional trống drums, and Chinese guzheng.