As a young man in Vietnam, Chu Tran developed devotion, talent for conducting sacred music and a deep love for God
WARREN — When South Vietnam fell to the North in 1975, Chu Tran was a young man with a love of sacred music and a devotion to his Catholic faith. He spent his life in his homeland honing his passion as a choir director before arriving in Detroit.
Tran brought not only his voice and directing prowess but also his family, who helped round out the choir at Our Lady of Grace (Vietnamese) Parish in Warren. Since 2016, he has grown the choir into a thriving ministry through his patience and dedication to Christ and his Church.
Growing up in Vietnam, Tran said he never really listened to music on the radio or television. His exposure to music was the sacred music he heard at Mass. His parents were devout Catholics who taught him to love Jesus and his mother, Mary.
“My parents were very religious. They put God in front of a lot of things,” Tran told Detroit Catholic through an interpreter. “And as Vietnamese, we have special respect, and we venerate Mother Mary highly.”
That influence led his older sister, Kham, into religious life as a Sister of the Lovers of the Holy Cross, and Tran also spent four years in seminary.
“I was growing up in the family of sacred music,” Tran said. “I almost never sang secular music because my three older sisters sang sacred music. I didn't know much about music on the radio or TV at the time. The most important thing was I got four years in seminary learning to be a priest, so I got some Latin music or sacred music in the seminary.”
Both his family and seminary formation “impacted my life,” Tran said, adding, “Back then I got more involved and kept on singing.”
Though he discerned out of the seminary, Tran remained a member of the choir led by his older sister, who taught him how to be a conductor. A cousin helped Tran manage the choir, and eventually, without any formal training, Tran took over directing the choir. Eventually, he took some classes to learn music theory and how to conduct the choir.
While raising their family in Vietnam, Tran and his wife, Tuyen, were active in their parish. He worked as an accountant while also directing the choir of some 40 to 80 voices. His was one of several choirs in a parish with nearly 2,000 parishioners.
Once they came to the U.S. and settled in the Detroit suburbs, Tran, his wife, and their daughter Vy found their places in the choir at Our Lady of Grace.
When he arrived in Warren in 2016, the choir was in need of a leader, recalled fellow parishioner Christine Nguyen.
“He stepped forward to lead the parish choir at a time when no one else was available to serve,” Nguyen said.
Another fellow parishioner, Luke Tran (no relation) said he appreciated Chu’s leadership.
“He's probably got a charism for faith in God that a lot of people may not recognize,” Luke Tran said. “They just go to sing in choir; most people don't understand how his faith in God actually helped him in his choir directing and how his Catholic faith actually influences the way that he celebrates in the choir and does that kind of active service.”
There is no particular season or liturgical music that Chu Tran prefers. He sings sacred music for the preparation of gifts, Communion, and all parts of the Mass, year-round. No matter the holy day, Nguyen said, the Tran family leads the parish in prayer through their reverence, “helping create worship that draws the community closer to God.”
Most of the music the choir performs has been translated into Vietnamese, including popular Christmas hymns and other liturgical hymns, Luke Tran said.
“The idea is to lift the congregation up according to the liturgy. It is very good music,” he added.
Along with Chu Tran, his daughter Vy and son-in-law Chuang participate in the church choir. When Chu isn’t able to direct, Vy steps in to help. Tran’s sister, Sr. Anne Kham Tran, also continues her legacy in the church’s sacred music, Nguyen said.
“Whenever she is visiting Detroit and Chu is away on an extended trip, Sr. Kham graciously steps in to lead the choir, ensuring that the parish’s music ministry continues without interruption,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen said that in the decade that Chu has served the parish, the choir has grown and is thriving.
“Under his leadership, the choir steadily grew into a thriving ministry — so much so that one day it may no longer have enough seats to accommodate its members,” Nguyen said.
Luke Tran said that God brought Chu to the parish at just the right moment, and he appreciates Chu’s gifts as a choir director.
“He's rated as a very talented director. The way he listened to us, the way he trained us, I can tell he's got a very high knowledge of sacred music,” Luke Tran said.
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