Tina Huynh

Assistant Professor, School of Music

(On Leave Fall 2024)

Tina A. Huynh teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in elementary and secondary music education. Her interests lie at the intersection of music in early and middle childhood, cultural diversity, and culturally responsive teaching. She has presented throughout the United States and globally on Vietnamese American refugee musical experiences of the past and present and on the inclusion of Vietnamese children’s music in the American classroom. Huynh is a member of the Palmer Research Group whose research focuses on culturally relevant and responsive teaching in music education.

Prof. Huynh is author of The Vietnamese Children’s Songbook (2023, F-Flat Books), a compilation of nine popular Vietnamese children’s songs and cultural practices. Her first film, Songs of Little Saigon (2021, First Light Productions), about the resilience of eight Vietnamese American refugee musicians throughout Orange County, California, won 14 awards and recognitions from national and international film festivals, including Best Documentary at the Asian Film Festival Los Angeles, Exceptional Merit awards for documentary and musical score at the Docs Without Borders Film Festival, and official selection at the Viet Film Fest 2021. Her second film, The Resting Place (2022), centers the Vietnamese community in Tacoma, Washington. Huynh is a Kodály and Smithsonian Folkways World Music Pedagogy certified educator.

ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

Huynh, T. (2025). Remembering Musical Childhoods: 1931-1975. Routledge.

Huynh, T. (2023). The Vietnamese Children’s Songbook. F-Flat Books.

Palmer, E., Vodicka, J., Huynh, T., D’Alexander. C., and Crawford L. (2021). “Grounded framework for culturally relevant and responsive music teaching”. Update: Research in Music Education

Ilari, B., Helfter, S., Huynh, T., Bowmer, A., Mason, K., Knight, J., Graham, W. (2021) “Musical activities, prosocial behaviors, and executive function skills of Kindergarten children”. Music & Science. doi: 10.1177/20592043211054829/ ID: MNS-20-0004.R2

Ilari, B., Helfter, S., Huynh, T. (2020). “Associations between musical participation and young children’s prosocial behaviors”. Journal of Research in Music Education.

Education
BA Calif State University Long Beach 2005
BM Calif State University Long Beach 2005
MM University of Southern California 2014
DMA University of Southern California 2019
Classes
Music of Vietnamese Diaspora CCS 156-A Spring 2025
Music Ed in American Schools MUS 140-A Spring 2025
Practicum in Music Educ/Bus MUS 327-A Spring 2025
Intro Elementary Music Educ MUS 394-A Spring 2025
Popular Music Pedagogies MUS 395-A Spring 2025

Contact Information

Music 206