About Jason Tse
Jason Tse is a composer and that focuses on creating emotional impressions of stories, characters, and worlds inspired by folklore, mythology and urban legends. Composing for various small ensembles and duets, Tse has explored a variety of styles and techniques to convey narratives of different worlds. Tse has also composed short film soundtracks, pop music, and a micro-opera.
Jason is also an educator that teaches ukulele privately in the Honolulu area as well as an ukulele lifelong learning instructor for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Kapiolani Community College. He currently works as the manager and teacher at the ukulele store Ukulele Puapua, located at the Sheraton Waikiki.
In addition to composing, Tse served as the conductor of the UCR Highlander Pep Band, leading the band through two virtual ensemble projects during the pandemic. Tse also aided in the filming and production of several videos for the UCR Student Life Traditions Keeper Program to allow students to engage with the campus and feel involved despite the pandemic. He also served as a peer mentor for students unable to return to campus through the Freshman Collective and the Highlander Connections Program, leading groups of students through weekly activities.
Tse has presented music three times at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) Undergraduate Research Symposium. Two of the presentations were presented remotely due to the ongoing pandemic, the third presentation winning Best Presentation in the College of Creative Arts. The co-composition of the soundtrack for the UCR webseries “The Resistance” received “Best Original Soundtrack” at the UCR 2020 Filmworks Festival.
Tse has been awarded several times for his academic achievements, from the UCR Department of Music and the Graduate School of Education, received an Undergraduate Research Mini-grant to compose and produce a ukulele folk-pop EP, and received the UCR Dean’s Academic Distinction Award twice. During high school, Tse received the John Philip Sousa Band Award at the International School of Beijing.
Tse received his Bachelors Degree (BA) Magna Cum Laude in Music (Composition) and Education, Society, and Human Development (Student-Designed Comparative) at University of California, Riverside in 2021. He received his Masters in Music (MM) Composition at University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2023 and served as a Student Affiliate at the East-West Center.