Our Directors

Ms. Pin Chen
Director

Ms. Chen began studying the violin with her father at the age of 6 and has been teaching private violin and viola lessons since she was 14 years old. She graduated at the top of her class with a Master of Music degree in Music Education with a Conducting Specialization at Colorado State University, Fort Collins and received her Bachelor of Music degree in instrumental and general music education with Department Honors from Northwestern University. 

Ms. Chen is a former Vice President of Orchestra Education of the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA). She is a sought-after guest conductor, including the SCSBOA All-Southern Middle School Honor Orchestra and Beverly Hills Unified Honor Orchestra, as well as an adjudicator for festivals and competitions, including SCSBOA Festivals, Riverside City College Orchestra Festival, and Image International Music Festival.  

Ms. Chen is the President and Founder of Crescendo Young Musicians Guild (CYMG), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for music education, performance, and community service for youth of all socio-economic backgrounds and is a Teaching Artist of the Chamber Music program. Ms. Chen is listed in the Cambridge Who’s Who of Executives and Professionals and is an active member of the Music Teachers Association of California as a private violin & viola teacher. 

Ms. Chen is the Sinfonia Orchestra Conductor for the Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestras and has been a part of the PYSO artistic staff since 2010. 

Ms. Chen has been Orchestra Director at Arcadia since 2010 and teaching music in public schools since 2003. 

Fun Stuff:

Follow Ms. Chen on Instagram at PinChenMusic

Chenintro.mp4

Ms. Connie Tu
Assistant Director

A native of Taiwan, Ms. Connie Tu started her musical journey at age 7 when she was introduced to the electone, performed for recitals and participated in competitions in Taiwan. At 16, upon moving to the States, she switched her focus to piano and has been playing ever since. In addition to piano, she has also studied her secondary instrument, the violin.

Being an active musician, Ms. Tu has participated in different performance settings including The Chapman Orchestra where she was featured in the school’s annual Wassail concerts. The concerts were broadcasted on KCET television nationwide. Ms. Tu was also accepted and played in the esteemed Semper International Music Festival in Italy in 2016. 

Ms. Tu has been the Choir Director and the Assistant Orchestra Director at Arcadia High School since 2021 and has been teaching music in the public schools since 2019. Aside from her regular high school commitments, she is the director and founder of the Arcadia Unified District Choir - an invitation to all singers in the Arcadia community at the Elementary and Middle School levels. In 2023, Ms. Tu was awarded the "Outstanding Teacher Award" by the Arcadia Council PTA. 


Ms. Tu was the scholarship recipient of the President's Educator Fellowship and earned her Master of Arts in Teaching degree with her music teaching credential from the University of California, Irvine. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Chapman University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California.


Outside of school, you can find Ms. Tu spending time with her cat, RayRay. If not at home, she is probably at a local coffee shop sipping her latte. 


3 fun facts about Ms. Tu: