Thomas Thuân Dang Vu was born in Saigon, Vietnam where he learned to play the dàn tranh (Vietnamese zither) in his youth. At the age of sixteen, he immigrated to the United States with his family, settling in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated summa cum laude, receiving his BFA in Painting. Immediately after college, he moved to New York City and began to focus his creativity on studying the gu zheng (Chinese zither). From his experience with the dàn tranh, Thomas quickly mastered the basics of the gu zheng with his first teacher, the world renown Wang Changyuan, and began to perform publicly as a member of the Overseas Chinese Instrumentalists’ Orchestra of New York. He has further enhanced his performance skills under the guidance of Nguyen Châu, former professor of the Saigon National Conservatory, and Min Xiaofen, master of the pi pa (Chinese lute). Thomas has performed at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York City, the New York Asian Festival, and the Montclair Performing Arts Center in New Jersey. His solo performances include numerous fundraisers and events around New York City, including the Summerfest in Chinatown - 2002 and the Earth Day Celebration at the United Nations. Thomas’ international performances include the Athenaeum Club at Pall Mall for the 2002 Nobel Prize Laureates and the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House in London. He has recently returned from Honolulu, where he played a solo concert at University of Hawai`i at Manoa’s Orvis Auditorium.
