The First Journey
to Spain
One viola, a new country and the in-person audition that opened Ruby’s chapter in Salamanca.
A first step
Before Salamanca became home, it was a place reached with a viola case, a suitcase and a great deal of courage.
In 2025, Ruby travelled from Vietnam to Spain for the first time to take her COSCYL audition in person. These photographs preserve the quieter side of that decisive trip: leaving the airport, learning the shape of an unfamiliar city and making music before anything yet felt certain.
Leaving Vietnam. The journey began not as a holiday, but as a serious artistic step toward university-level studies in Spain.
Meeting Salamanca. The city was first encountered on foot, through its streets, courtyards and ordinary moments between preparation.
Playing for the next chapter. Ruby came to audition directly for the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León, known as COSCYL.
At the doors
of COSCYL
The first visit to the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León was the turning point of the journey. These photographs follow the days that led to the in-person audition: carrying the viola through Spain, finding music in the city, then arriving at the school gates with a future still unknown.
“Every artistic journey begins long before the first concert: with the decision to go.”
Ruby Ngọc Minh · Spain, 2025