Kính T. Vũ
Assistant Professor of Music, Music Education
Kính T. Vũ is an assistant professor of music in music education at Boston University where he teaches music education initial licensure courses such as instrumental laboratory and secondary general music methods. Kính also teaches at BU’s Kilachand Honors College. He serves on university-wide committees as well as the music education licensure committee.
Kính’s research has appeared in publications such as Action, Criticism, and Theory; International Journal of Music Education; Journal of Music Teacher Education; International Journal of Inclusive Education; and Visions of Research in Music Education. Additional contributions to music education scholarship include book chapters in such volumes as The Oxford Handbook of Care in Music Education; The Oxford Handbook of Queer and Gender Studies in Music Education; If Colors Could Be Heard: Narratives about Racial Identity in Music Education; and Humane Music Education for the Common Good.
In 2020, Kính and Boston University music education professor Dr. André de Quadros published My Body Was Left on the Street: Music Education and Displacement (Brill–Sense), the first-ever volume linking the topics of forced human placement to music pedagogy. A few years later Kính, along with 4th District Company, produced Song of Earthroot (2023). This documentary showcased Kính’s journey from Vietnamese refugee (1975) to music (teacher) educator and the conundrums of negotiating identity in/through/outside (adopted) White US-America and ethnic Vietnam.
A notable contribution to the field of music education is Kính’s advocacy for Asian diasporas in music teaching and learning spheres. Alongside University of Puget Sound associate professor of music education Dr. Tina Huynh, Kính created and continues to host AAPI and Asian Canadian Music Education Gatherings. These gatherings are like conferences in which focus is placed on Asian diasporic identities, music pedagogy, and cultural celebrations (e.g., local or indigenized cultures). Gatherings to date include Orange County, California (2023), Saint Paul, Minnesota (2025), and a forthcoming event in Toronto, Ontario (2027).
Dr. Vũ earned degrees from Westminster College, PA (BM: music education); The Pennsylvania State University (MM: conducting); and the University of Minnesota (PhD: music education). Kính is the recipient of the 2024 Pennsylvania State University School of Music’s Distinguished Alumni award. Kính’s hobbies include exercising, traveling in Southeast and East Asia, and admiring sparkly objects.
Related Links
Kính T. Vũ on the Power of Music Education
Photo Credit: Tee Tran (2022)
