The history of the formation and development of Vietnam music in general, and cải lương* in particular, recognizes the remarkable contributions of the Can Tho dwellers. Typically, there is composer Mộc Quán - Nguyễn Trọng Quyền who is honored as the progenitor of cải lương, with many epic plays. He is also the one who introduced the song “Dạ cổ hoài lang” (literally know as Night Drum Beats Cause Longing for Absent Husband) to the cải lương stage, creating a premise for the formation of the piece in the vọng cổ* mode. Another honorable mention is composer Ðiêu Huyền from Phong Ðiền district who is known as the “father” of plays that have entered the hearts of generations of admirers such as “Tiếng hò sông Hậu” (The chant of Hau river), “Khách sạn Hào Hoa” (Hào Hoa hotel) and so on.

During the resistance war, the composers of public theaters and art troupes such as Quốc Thanh, Chí Sinh... wrote stage plays right in the “rain of bombs and bullets” condition, contributing to promoting the Vietnam Resistance War against the U.S imperialists. “Tay súng tay bút” (Holding a Pen in One Hand, Gripping a Gun in the Other), “Tiếng hát át tiếng bom” (Song Drowns Out the Sound of Bombs) which are outstanding plays from the composers during the resistance war period still have their artistic and historical value intact.

In modern times, Can Tho also has many prominent authors and composers contributing to Southern ancient music. For example, the late composer Nguyễn Hoài Vân and other famous composers such as Nhâm Hùng, Minh Thơ, Lý Việt Hùng, Nguyễn Thành Kiên, Trương Huy Hoàng, etc. Their works range from composing the vọng cổ songs, writing new lyrics for đờn ca tài tử* version to writing cải lương play script. They all make a good impression and are well received by the audience.

Director Kiều Mỹ Dung, Vice Chairman of the Can Tho Theater Association, said “The Theater Association of Can Tho city currently has about 120 members, including about 30 composers. Our composers are good at Vọng cổ, Đờn ca tài tử, Cải lương, and sketchs. The force of composing Southern ancient music is growing strongly, with experienced and talented composers such as Nguyễn Trung Nguyên, Võ Hiếu Hòa, Thanh Trang, Hoài Minh, Trọng Huỳnh, etc. To motivate Southern ancient music composers and artists, we organize a composing camp and a Southern ancient music composition contest annually with the theme “Study and follow Ho Chi Minh's moral example”. Through these activities, the authors, composers, artists, musicians have the opportunity to introduce their works, or exchange and learn more experience from others”.

It is worth noting that the ancient music village in Can Tho has a force of middle-aged composers who are very passionate about the profession such as Trần Tuấn Kiệt, Huỳnh Văn Vũ... There are authors and writers who are not members of the association but still passionately produce great works, making a pretty good impression on the public. A typical example is Mr. Nguyễn Thành Nguyện, Director of Tây Ðô Vocational Training Center, known under the pen name Trần Nguyễn. Trần Nguyễn loves ancient music so he always strives to self-study and accumulates experience. Up to now, he has composed about 50 songs in vọng cổ mode that have been selected and performed by many famous artists. Most of his works are devoted to praising the beautiful country, the heroic revolutionary tradition of the homeland, the faithful people of the country, and so on. Trần Nguyễn’s songs are deep and touching, thus easy to get into people's hearts. Trần Nguyễn said: “I am passionate to become a vọng cổ composer because I am able to express my thoughts and feelings through writing songs. I am very happy that my songs are well received by the audience”.

In recent years, the authorities of Can Tho city have paid great attention to the preservation and promotion of traditional music, including Southern ancient music by developing appropriate projects and programs. In particular, building a team of composers and authors of Southern ancient music is an extremely important solution. Director Kiều Mỹ Dung, Vice Chairman of the Can Tho Theater Association, said: “The development of a team of composing Southern ancient music in Can Tho city over the past time is a good sign. In the near future, we will focus on searching for young talents and training them in composing Southern ancient music. Besides, we will organize some field trips outside the city, enhance exchange activities and increase the number of performances. Those activities will encourage, motivate and improve authors, composers, artists, etc.

Cải lương* (Reformed theater) is a form of modern folk opera in Vietnam. It is exceptionally famous in the Southern region of Vietnam.

Đờn ca tài tử* (Art of Đờn ca tài tử music) is a musical art with both scholarly and folk roots. Đờn ca tài tử is an indispensable part of the spiritual activity and cultural heritage of the people of Southern Vietnam.

Vọng cổ* (Longing for the past) is a Vietnamese song and musical structure used primarily in the cải lương theater music and nhạc tài tử chamber music of Southern Vietnam.