MONTANAPBS TO AIR "WITHOUT WORDS" IN FEBRUARY 2011

“Without Words” is a documentary film portrait of the groundbreaking collaboration between American and Vietnamese music students. It follows talented young scholars from both nations eager to share ideas and creativity in a land opening its doors to the rest of the world for the first time. The impacts of the cultural and musical exchange have a profound affect on everyone involved. This part of the world is intensely engaged and committed to training classical musicians, and supporting its endless survival. Montana’s Northern Tier students experience something of a shock: players half their age and quadruple their numbers, deeply committed to becoming great classical musicians.

“Music is the universal language of mankind”. Henry Wadsworth Longfellows’ immortal words are the inspiration behind a rural university in southwestern Montana to embark upon an epic journey to transform the world. Their destination is a nation that has a troubled past with the United States. More than three decades after a long, drawn out conflict with the U.S., Vietnam remains a developing country that rides a fine line between communism, capitalism, censorship, and corruption. The common language of music will change lives, and build relationships between countries with a troubled past.

Shuichi Komiyama, a celebrated musician and conductor, leads the 70 piece Montana State University Symphony Orchestra into something extraordinary: the first American university to perform in Vietnam in over 50 years. Komiyama brings international acclaim to MSU and the community of Bozeman. Born in Japan and formally educated in the United States, Komiyama is a versatile wind, orchestral, and jazz conductor who is an Emmy and Grammy nominated composer and performer. Komiyama’s envoy of musicians and staff comprises one of the largest contingents of Americans in history to peacefully visit Hanoi.

Bringing the human story behind the abstract statistics of politics and wars, this film sheds light on new frontiers and new alliances between former foes. The film underscores the stark contrast between the lifestyles of students in Vietnam, and their counterparts in Montana, and how the language of music can unify their life experiences.

Great young minds share in a free expression and interpretation of art in a part of the world tightly censored and closed for generations. Music, both as an academic discipline and a common language, is the focus of their humanistic mission. Through music, we discover common ground that lifts all people of the world toward something more promising. Through a juxtaposition of cultures that can only now take place, the musical dialogue leads to deeper understanding through experiencing one another completely, without words.