Dr. Roydon Tse
Photo credit : Shalan and Paul
Chinese-Canadian composer Dr. Roydon Tse creates music that speaks across cultures, drawing from shared human experiences and reflecting on the challenges of climate change, the depths of grief, and the ever- evolving cultural fabric of our world.
Recent performers of his work include the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Macao Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Chor Leoni, and members of the United States Naval Academy Band.
His latest concerto, Restless World Anew, for the Dali Quartet, was co-commissioned by the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, exploring our relationshipwith the natural world. The Asian Youth Orchestra toured his ‘ Illuminate’ through 9 cities in China, Taiwan and Japan in August 2025, bringing it to venues such as Shanghai’s Oriental Arts Center and Tokyo’s Opera City Concert Hall.
These build on prior performances and commissions by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, Brussels Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Shanghai Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Brno Philharmonic, and musicians from the Minnesota, Paris Opera, and La Scala Orchestras. His vocal music has been presented by the Atlanta Opera, City Opera Vancouver, Canadian Art Song Project, iSing! Suzhou, Tapestry Opera, and l’Opéra de Montréal.
Roydon’s work has been recognized with numerous awards, including seven SOCAN Foundation Awards, the Washington International Composition Prize, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta’s Emerging Artist Award, Sir James Lougheed Award of Distinction, and the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prizes – making history as the first recipient of both the Protégé and Distinguished Artist awards.
Born in Hong Kong, Dr. Tse studied in the UK before earning degrees in composition from the University of British Columbia and University of Toronto. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Composition & Theory at the University of Saskatchewan.