Pianist Tong Duc Cuong

Tong Duc Cuong (Cuong Tong) was born in 1987, he is a pianist, composer and music producer. The male musician was born into a family rich in artistic tradition, the son of the late musician Duc Minh so Cuong Tong learned piano from the age of 6.

In 1996, he studied at the Hanoi Conservatory of Music (now the National Academy of Music Vietnam) under the guidance of Meritorious Artist Nguyen Huu Tuan and Professor. Dr. People's Artist Tran Thu Ha. In 2008, he received a full scholarship from the Vietnamese State to study at the Chinese Academy of Music, receiving in-depth training in piano performance, composition, arrangement and jazz. In 2017, Cuong Tong graduated with a Master's degree in Piano Performance from the Chinese Academy of Music. He is a student of Kong Hongwei (Chinese Jazz icon) and the late musician Shi Wanchun (national treasure of Chinese modern music).

Working in parallel in both the Vietnamese and Chinese markets, he collaborated with many artists such as Quyen Thien Dac, Ngo Hong Quang, Hoang Quyen, Luu Quang Minh, Luu Duc Anh, Ngot band, Vinh Khuat…, Cuong Tong has been away for several years and Music Photos is the first product he introduced to the Vietnamese public.

November 2025 Cuong Tong released the 20-minute instrumental album "Music Photos" including 5 songs Love Waltz, Listening to the Sea, Fire, Autumn, Childhood Memories. This amount of time is just enough for Cuong Tong to tell the story of past memories of his childhood as well as a time of youth hidden in his mind.

In addition to Cuong Tong's piano, the album has piccolo/flute, violin, viola, trumpet, cello, contrabass, tuba, bassoon, trombone... performed by many artists. All create a photo session with warm, welcoming music. Listening to music, it doesn't feel heavy or too academic, on the contrary, it's easy to perceive, easy to convey positive energy, and rich in artistic value.

Releasing a purely instrumental album in the current Vietnamese context, Cuong Tong said he wanted to introduce to the audience the music he loves.

In addition, in January 2026, Cuong Tong collaborated with female Rapper Kimmese in the song "In the Heart of the Capital", a typical song in Kimmese's mini album called For My People.

February 2026 Cuong Tong collaborates with cellist Phan Do Phuc (Phuc Phan) in a project combining traditional music and symphonic music. He wrote the song Peach Willow Ball with Cheo material, this is also the initial work for a personal project called "Vietnamese Echoes".

Some awards and typical performances:

• 2007: First prize at the 2007 Fall Concour competition.

• 2008: Recorded piano solo for VTV1 and performed at Kirishima International Music Festival (Japan) under the guidance of People's Artist Dang Thai Son.

• 2014: Big board consolation prize at the Piano Competition; CCTV's 3rd National Violin (China).

• 2015: Performed in the concert “One Hundred Years of Chinese Piano Tone” and authored the adaptation of the Yellow River Concerto for six piano and twelve hands.

• Performing and collaborating with international artists such as Kong Hongwei (Golden Buddha), Feng Mantian.

• 2016: Organized solo concerts including Lost, Prelude, Silk Road, highly appreciated by experts.

• Performed many times with the Chinese Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra and the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra.

Outstanding works

Cinematic music – film, television and games in the Chinese entertainment market:

• Movie Hoa Bi: Tinh Tai (2024) – Harmony and arrangement of the song "Praying for the Next Life"

• Movie Ten Magical Days and Nights (2020) – Music director, Soundtrack producer.

• Movie: Young God of War Zhou Yu (2020) – Soundtrack production; Composed and arranged the song "Tu La Truong".

• Movie Road to Summer: Twin Spirits (2019) – Composed and arranged the song “An Tuyen”

• Movie: The Valley of Hell Flowers (2019) – Composed and arranged the song "One Life Prayer"

• Film Van Trieu Vinh (2018) – Music production.

• Big Hero Movie (2018) – Music production.

• Movie Three Kingdoms: The Undefeated Warrior (2021) – Soundtrack & theme song.

• Ma Y Than Chuong (2019) – Sound mixing and arrangement for 3D stage musicals.

• SQUAD (2017) – Composed international FPS game music.

Music and educational projects

• 2022: Co-author of the piano fantasy "Flying on a Blue Day".

• 2024: Member of the authoring group of textbooks "Music Grade 12" and "Music Topics Grade 12".

• 2025: Released the mini album "Music Photos" including 5 instrumental works (Love Waltz, Listening to the Sea, Fire, Autumn, Childhood Memories) - each work represents an emotional element (Metal, Water, Fire, Wood, Earth).

Art philosophy

Tong Duc Cuong's music is a combination of Asian emotions and Western arrangement thinking, between stillness and movement, between sound and silence.

Music concept

“Music is where memory and present meet – where silence becomes a form of melody.” With a multidisciplinary artistic vision, he built Zebra Entertainment into a creative center - a place for music production, education and research, aiming to connect generations of artists, between tradition and innovation, between music and life.