Starscape
Music: “Starscape” Roydon Tse
Musicians: piano, violin, cello
Composer’s Notes: "Starscape" was inspired by the paintings of Van Gogh such as his well-known “Starry Night” (1889) and “Starry Night over the Rhone” (1888). This encounter with Van Gogh was not my first, but I was drawn to his paintings and noticed the juxtaposition of the fragile stars in the sky against a terrifying and slightly surreal nightscape. I was moved by his depiction of the universe’s beauty and desolation in balance, and sought to express that within this piece.
The form of Starscape follows a narrative from light to darkness. The piece begins quietly as harmonics on the strings cast a calm backdrop for the stars (evoked by the piano) in the distance. Further into the piece, the narrative intensifies as I imagined the stars coming closer towards the viewer - putting light and darkness in stark contrast with one another - and as a result the music grows into a fast and brilliant dialogue between the instruments. After a blaze of sound and light, the stars subside into the distance once more, and the piece ends with a fragmented quote from “Twinkle Twinkle” to complete the journey. I think a visual piece or silent film would be an appropriate pairing for this piece.
About the Composer: Dr. Roydon Tse (b.1991) is an award-winning Canadian-Chinese composer, pianist and educator. He is passionate about communicating to audiences from all backgrounds and his works for orchestra, chamber and vocal forces are inspired by the fusion of Eastern and Western elements, the visual arts and the environment.
Roydon has collaborated with ensembles and musicians across Canada, Europe and Asia. They include the Brussels, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Brno Philharmonic Orchestras, the Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Suzhou, Niagara, and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphonies, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Austin Civic Orchestra, Ensemble Mise-En, Vancouver Bach Choir, China National Orchestra Chorus, Piano and Erhu Project, Locrian Chamber Players, the Cecilia, Delgani and Bozzini String Quartets, and members of the Paris Opera & Teatro Alla Scala Orchestra. His works have been performed in 16 countries, in venues such as De Doelen (Rotterdam), Melbourne’s Recital Hall, Shanghai’s Symphony Hall, Schonbrunn Palace (Vienna), and the Kennedy Center. He was commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as their 2020/21 Nextgen Composer and is completing commissions for virtuoso sheng player Wu Wei, the Esprit Orchestra, International Double Reed Society, Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble, and the Verona Quartet, among others.
Roydon has won several awards, including five SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers, the Washington International Composition Prize, CMC Prairies Emerging Composer Prize, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta’s Emerging Artist Award, and the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Protégé Prize. He was named to CBC music’s top “30 under 30” Canadian Classical Musicians list and received the Weinzweig Award from the University of Toronto for exceptional potential in composition. Additionally, he has received support for commissioning from the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, SOCAN Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts.
A passionate educator, Roydon has taught composition to students of all levels and lectured at the University of Toronto, East Carolina University, Shanghai Conservatory and the Lunenberg Academy of Music Performance. As a musical ambassador in the community, he has worked for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Regent Park School of Music, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto, BC’s Health Arts Society and the Canadian Opera Company to mentor and bring music to youth.
Born in Hong Kong, Roydon studied piano and violin in the U.K. as a teenager and earned composition degrees from the University of British Columbia (B.Mus) and the University of Toronto (M.Mus, D.M.A). He is based in Toronto Canada.