BUI TRIEU YEN
Senior Curriculum Advisor - Embassy Education Group - Head of Voice
Alexander Tu
Co-Founder of Soul Dance/Director of Performing Arts
Joseph Duong
Director of Music
Music is a powerful force. It has the power to bring us together, heal our souls, and help us process our emotions. I wholeheartedly believe that music education plays an important role in the development of a child. Through playing an instrument or singing, students gain skills that will enrich the rest of their lives. Not only will they learn the music of humanity’s great geniuses, but they will also develop other important skills and personal characteristics that are essential to their success in life regardless of the field they choose. Through music, I found myself, my community, and my voice in this world. Music education has changed my life for the better, and I am thankful to be a part of this wonderful community to give back what I was given through music education.
NGUYEN DO ANH TUAN
Director of Performance Arts – Department of Music
JENNY LUU
Director of Dance
NGUYEN DUC ANH
Head of Piano
NGUYEN LE MAI ANH
Head of Strings
DANA DIFILIPPANTONIO
Head of Percussion
HUYNH NGOC PHUONG NHI
Head of Hip Hop
I am really fortunate to be able to live and follow my passion for dancing in the direction of improving the art of transmission and valuing cultural values. I was able to express my love, connection, and personal bravery via my passion for dancing. Positive energy is being regenerated, wisdom is being opened up, and my body is becoming stronger, which is why I want to engage in dance training and inspire children. With my experience teaching and training students of all ages, I can declare that "Dance is not only a simple entertainment activity, but it also delivers great physical and intellectual value in the process of student development and perfection."
MARK BELL
FORMER SMPAA PRINCIPAL (2016 - 2018)
The Arts and participating in creating “art” are as important now, as ever, especially for what they teach us about ourselves and in our thinking and reasoning “outside the box” – in the realm of the creative brain – where many of today’s problems in society and with environmental degradation of all sorts might find resolution and increased harmony.
TED FARRADAY
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF EMBASSY EDUCATION GROUP - DIRECT LEADER OF SMPAA (2019-2021)
TERESA HALL
FORMER DIRECTOR OF DANCE (2019-2021)
Ted Farraday
Vice President of Embassy Education Group
Direct Leadership of SMPAA
Ted Farraday was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He holds a BA degree from Princeton University and an MA degree from New York University. Most recently, he was the Vice President for Education Programs at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan where oversaw both an arts high school for 500 artistically gifted arts students and a summer Arts Camp program for 2500 students ages 8-18. He is a member of the Board of the Arts Schools Network in the USA. He has over 40 years experience in education that include many years of teaching as well as administrative work. A former pianist and violist, Ted is a lover of classical music, especially opera. He has traveled and studied in Europe and South America and has always been committed to the importance of arts education for all students worldwide.
Joseph Duong
Director of Music Born in Vietnam, Joseph started his piano studies at a young age at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory. He continued his education at North Central University (MN, USA) and received his Master of Music in Piano Performance at the University of Central Arkansas (AR, USA), where he studied with award-winning Steinway artist Dr. Neil Rutman. Recently, Joseph was on the faculty at the University of Central Arkansas where he taught jazz and improvisation. Joseph has more than a decade of experience with music teaching and in management at the director level. As a performer, he has shared the stage with renowned artists such as John Elefante, Tom Varner, Angela Primm, BJ Putnam, and People & Songs, to name a few.ALEXANDER TU
Director of Performing Arts
Alexander Tú is a choreographer, artist dancer and educator with over 20 years of experience beginning with hip-hop dance and evolving to commercial street dance at industry standards. From 2004 to 2010, he was the executive director of Kaba Modern (University of California, Irvine) and of KM LEGACY (Los Angeles, California), and has been invited to perform at many prestigious venues throughout the US such as the ESPY’s awards, World of Dance and Hip-Hop International. Having completed his doctorate at Loma Linda University (California) under the Allied Health Professions, for occupational therapy, he taught hip-hop dance at Academy of Dance Studios (Tustin, California) and enjoyed working with children seeing their growth, development and understanding of movement in correlation to sound. In Vietnam, Alexander has been a judge on VTV6’s reality TV show ‘Star Academy/Học Viện Ngôi Sao’ Season 1; and together with Thanh Bui, he co-founded Dance Faculty, as part of Soul Music and Performing Arts Academy. He is also -Founder & Managing Director of The LYRICIST Dance Company with group LYRICÍST which was the first Vietnamese dance group to win Super 24 in Singapore in its history.
JENNY LUU
Director of Dance
From a very young age, Ms. Jenny Luu, SMPAA’s Director of Dance had a passion for Dance and working with children.
After graduating from the Ho Chi Minh Vocational Ballet School, Jenny was awarded a full 5-year scholarship to study at GITIS - RATI, the National Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow, Russia, where she majored in Professional Teaching Classical Ballet. After obtaining her Master’s Degree in 2008, Jenny returned to Vietnam to contribute to the development of the ballet and dance industry in the country. She has taught and trained many students to become professional dance artists. Some of whom have become soloists in the HBSO and dancers in professional dance companies.
In 2016, she started to learn the teacher training program of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD) and became the first teacher in Vietnam to obtain ISTD Teaching qualifications for both Imperial Classical Ballet and Modern Jazz.
NGUYEN DO ANH TUAN
Director of Performance Arts – Department of Music
Nguyen Do Anh Tuan is the Director of Performing Arts of the Music Faculty at the Soul Music and Performing Arts Academy (SMPAA) in Ho Chi Minh City. A summa cum laude graduate of the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Mr. Tuan is an accomplished arranger and composer. His major area of concentration while at Berklee was Composition and Contemporary Writing and Production with a minor in Conducting. Since his return to Vietnam, he has received the “Outstanding Conductor Award” at the Chorus Festival “Vietnam - Heroic Country”. He has participated in numerous productions of the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera. His compositions for the orchestra and other chamber ensembles have been featured and premiered in numerous concerts in Ho Chi Minh City. He has been the Musical Director of various notable events including the ASEAN “Be Our Rock and Pop Soul” Music Competition 2015, RED NIGHT - FIRE, LOVE, MUSIC, Gala “Xin Chao Vietnam”, “Art for Hearts” Gala event, “Bong Hinh” Ao Dai Fashion show and numerous productions of Soul Live Project, including the Trinh Cong Son music show “Toi Di Tim Toi”. He is the mind behind the success of the “Music in the Dark” series, where the audience experience live music in complete and total darkness along with the performers.
BUI TRIEU YEN
Senior Curriculum Advisor – Head of Voice
Bui Trieu Yen holds a Master of Arts (Vocal Performance) degree from the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory. She was senior vocal teacher at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory, Culture and Arts College, National College of Education – Ho Chi Minh City. She was a vocal trainer for quite a few television reality shows such as Vietnam Idol, Vietnam’s Got Talent, The Winner Is (Vietnamese version), etc and other popular Vietnemese singers. Currently, she is the Senior Curriculum Advisor at Embassy Education Group and Head of Voice at Soul Music & Performing Arts Academy. She is also a trained Master Educator with Kindermusik Vietnam.