Pho Thi Kim Duc was born and grew up in a family with a tradition of singing Ca tru in Hanoi. Her father, Pho Dinh On, was a famous actor who was a choir leader at Kham Thien Ca tru group in Hanoi before 1945.
At an early age, she was taught singing and using musical instruments by her father. At the age of 7 she was quite skilled and at the age of 13 she began to perform with her father and brother singing in the Kham Thien group.
 

Kim Duc was known for singing the lyrics clearly, using the castanets well and having a good sense of music and poetry. She quickly became a famous singer in Hanoi.
After the successful August Revolution, Ca tru gradually fell into oblivion and the number of Ca tru singers was on the decline. Kim Duc could not earn a living by singing so she started knitting and making plastic products. In 1961, she worked at the Voice of Vietnam, where she was assigned to sing Cheo (traditional operetta) and recite poems. With an innate good voice and virtuosity in Ca tru singing, she quickly won the audience’s heart with her sweet, smooth and delicate melodies. Many times, she had the honour to perform Cheo and recite poems at the Presidential Palace when President Ho Chi Minh received international guests. For her great contributions to the art of Ca tru, she was awarded the title “Meritorious Artist” while she worked at the Voice of Vietnam.
 

Despite her advanced age, the memory of a golden period in her Ca tru singing career is still in deep in her mind. Talking about her career, Kim Duc said that although Ca tru singing was revived and recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage, its “soul” seemed unlike its original and the passion of Ca tru singers for this art also decreased.
Many people have asked Kim Duc to teach them Ca tru singing, but she accepted few of them, because she wanted to bequeath the art to those who were devoted to it. According to her, learning Ca tru is very difficult, because apart from ability, the students must have a devotion to the art plus perseverance and practice hard. It takes them several years of studying to become successful. She taught them very seriously and carefully, from the singing techniques to the sitting position, dressing, behaviour and conduct in life. She once said: “I teach few people instead of many, but I am careful in teaching so that they can inherit a genuine, not a mixed Ca tru.” That’s why many great names of Ca tru and Cheo in Vietnam, such as Meritorious Artists Xuan Hoach, Dang Cong Hung and Doan Thanh Binh have applied to study Ca tru with her.
 

Now, at the age of 81, besides teaching the students, Kim Duc has also joined the Trang An Ca tru troupe. Recently, she and her troupe successfully restored Bai Bong dancing, a famous royal dance of Ca tru that was popular during the Tran Dynasty in the 13th century.
She has also finished the compilation of a Ca tru textbook. It is a significant project in teaching and conserving Ca tru, especially in the context that this art is on the brink of being forgotten.