Dustin Woods, Head Director
Dustin Woods is a music educator and violinist originally from Nacogdoches, Texas. Mr. Woods comes from a family of musicians and educators that value excellence in music. His family instilled in him high musical and academic standards that he holds to this day. This greatly influenced his philosophy on teaching. As a teacher, Mr. Woods believes that students should be held to high individual standards and given all the tools necessary to succeed. He achieves this by seeing all of his students as individuals and accommodating the diverse abilities and perspectives that enter his classroom.
Mr. Woods was fortunate to attend the University of North Texas (UNT) where he was given numerous teaching opportunities. During his time at UNT, he was able to gain experience teaching through UNT’s String Project Program, UBUNTU Music Project, and Castle Hills Music Academy. Learning through these informative teaching experiences enabled Mr. Woods to begin his career with more independence and a greater foundation than many of his colleagues.
As a violinist, Mr. Woods has earned several notable accomplishments. At eighteen, he won a seat with the Longview Symphony Orchestra where he performed as a contracted violinist for two years. In 2017, Mr. Woods performed as a soloist at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Furthermore, in January of 2018, he made an appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York as a first violinist with True North Symphony. In the summer of 2019, he performed as concertmaster of the Chloé Trevor Music Academy. In the summer of 2022, he was accepted into the Sewanee Summer Music Festival held in Sewanee, Tennessee where he attended on a full scholarship. Mr. Woods has also had the privilege of playing violin for special events and programs through the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Woods is both humbled and honored to be the Head Orchestra Director at Dan F. Long Middle School and is looking forward to serving such a vibrant community!
Mr. Woods was fortunate to attend the University of North Texas (UNT) where he was given numerous teaching opportunities. During his time at UNT, he was able to gain experience teaching through UNT’s String Project Program, UBUNTU Music Project, and Castle Hills Music Academy. Learning through these informative teaching experiences enabled Mr. Woods to begin his career with more independence and a greater foundation than many of his colleagues.
As a violinist, Mr. Woods has earned several notable accomplishments. At eighteen, he won a seat with the Longview Symphony Orchestra where he performed as a contracted violinist for two years. In 2017, Mr. Woods performed as a soloist at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Furthermore, in January of 2018, he made an appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York as a first violinist with True North Symphony. In the summer of 2019, he performed as concertmaster of the Chloé Trevor Music Academy. In the summer of 2022, he was accepted into the Sewanee Summer Music Festival held in Sewanee, Tennessee where he attended on a full scholarship. Mr. Woods has also had the privilege of playing violin for special events and programs through the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Woods is both humbled and honored to be the Head Orchestra Director at Dan F. Long Middle School and is looking forward to serving such a vibrant community!
Gwen Chua, Assistant Director
Kai Tze Chua (Gwen) is a music educator hailing from Klang, Malaysia, a country known as the cultural melting pot of Asia. In pursuit of her academic goals, she enrolled in the prestigious University of North Texas (UNT) in 2020, majoring in Music Education. Exhibiting thorough consideration for her lifelong career, she invested two gap years after graduating high school. During this time, she taught as an elementary school substitute music teacher, simultaneously seeking private lessons with esteemed professors in the field of violin and vocals at University College Sedaya International (UCSI) in Malaysia. Throughout her five years at UNT, she served as a teacher in the university's String Project Program. In addition, Ms. Chua was also an instructor at Flower Mound Music Academy’s summer string camp in 2023.
Growing up amidst an environment rich in diverse cultures, Ms. Chua has developed a strong sense of compassion. While her teaching philosophy revolves around passion and content expertise, she places particular emphasis on student-centered learning. Ma. Chua aspires to create an engaging classroom that fosters interest and whimsy.
Growing up amidst an environment rich in diverse cultures, Ms. Chua has developed a strong sense of compassion. While her teaching philosophy revolves around passion and content expertise, she places particular emphasis on student-centered learning. Ma. Chua aspires to create an engaging classroom that fosters interest and whimsy.
