Today we’d like to introduce you to Quynh Le.
Hi Quynh, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My story starts off as a child of immigrants. My parents were refugees from the Vietnam War and could not afford or have the opportunity to learn music. So, in turn, they wanted to give their children something they never had, which is how I began my music career and opened up my business, Moonlight Music Academy with my sister, Lam Le. If it wasn’t for my parents taking me to my first music lesson at the age of 4, I would not be where I am today. The foundation that was created for me at such a young age really cultivated what I was going to do in my career. The first piano lesson with my dear teacher, Ms. Anne Bader, led to winning competitions at the young age of 9, which led to more opportunities to attend the prestigious Colburn School of Music in DTLA before entering college. The connections and amazing teachers in my life helped me grow into the musician and teacher I am today. For college, I was able to attend the amazing music conservatory, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and study the world renown teacher, Dr. Daniel Shapiro. During my college years, I was able to travel and play around the world in France, Italy, Costa Rica, and many other countries. I saw classical music differently. As I traveled and learned from different teachers around the world, I knew I wanted to become a teacher. With all the knowledge that shaped me as a musician, I knew I needed to share what I learned. I later decided to obtain my Ph.D. at the Claremont Graduate University studying with Dr. Jenny Kim & Dr. Grace Fong. I am the musician and teacher I am today, with the support of everyone in my life.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
With any career, there are always bumps in the road. I could confidently say that being a musician is not easy. Yes, I do agree that music is a job that comes from passion & creativity, but there is always a struggle of having a stable income and when the next paycheck will come. Internally, I struggled with deciding whether I wanted to be a performing artist or teach. You build up your career from the age of 4 to perform, but a lot of times, reality hits, and you need to adjust your career plan.
Being a young minority female business owner has many obstacles and challenges as well. As young Asian female owners, we are constantly trying to prove our worth and gain respect from our customers and peers. When we first opened our business, Moonlight Music Academy, my sister and I had to work multiple jobs, not taking any income from the music school, to keep it afloat. It wasn’t easy, but it was our saving grace when the pandemic hit. The income we didn’t take saved our business when the Pandemic hit in 2020.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Moonlight Music Academy?
Moonlight Music Academy is a music school that my sister and I started together. It was our passion project and dream to build a school. We teach lessons for different types of instruments (Strings, Brass, Woodwinds, Piano, Voice, Beginner Keyboard Group Classes). Our school hires professional/conservatory-
What sets us apart is our background and passion for our students. We try our best to empathize and think as if we were the student or parent. We draw from our own past experiences and try to improve to create the best learning environment. Because we were so supported and had such an amazing relationship with our music teachers when we were younger, we wanted to create the same positive environment for other students. Moonlight fosters the community to love, to explore, and to play music at an artistic level. We believe that learning music should be an inspiring, supportive, and rewarding experience. By providing people with the tools for music creation, we want to support music making for many generations.
We are extremely proud of our brand, which was created by our dear friend and fellow musician George Ko. He helped us develop our brand, from the website, logo, color scheme, and overall aesthetic. Throughout our lives, we have been inspired by music that had Moon imagery and wanted to translate that in our brand. George brought that to life. Every detail from the color to the logo, has a meaning. We actually have a detailed story about the brand on our website. https://www.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
If I had to pick one quality that describes our business and success, it is being able to cultivate a community. Without the community that we created at Moonlight Music Academy; we would not have the success we had today. We have a community of amazing teachers, students, and parents that have supported us since the day we first opened. It’s not just a school but a community that supports each other. That community helped us connect with the surrounding schools in North Orange County, and those students in turn, came to our Moonlight for lessons. We are truly blessed for what has been fostered in the past 4 years. Our success has gained us a 2nd location in the next coming year, 2023.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.moonlightma.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonlightmusicacademy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoonlightMusicAcademy/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdbqYPiPurgwZ-JAUjdrYiw
- Other: https://www.quynhlepiano.com/
