Hua-Hsuan Tseng is a composer and cellist based in Los Angeles, CA. As an artist, she simply goes by Hua. Hua’s music covers a wide range of musical styles including classical, electronic, Chinese, and pop. Hua’s experiences in the Western and Eastern musical worlds extend her musical palette by exploring refreshing sounds, unique techniques, and colorful textures. Her impressive blend of these musical voices allows her to bring something new and exciting to each of her compositional techniques within her scoring process. We were delighted to catch up with Hua and discuss her work.
Hua-Hsuan Tseng, thank you for agreeing to this interview with Occhi Magazine. Congratulations on your career to date. How did you get into music?
I’m so excited about this! Thank you so much for having me! I started out as a kid playing piano. Like a stereotypical Asian parent, mine got in line with the idea that every child needs to grow up playing the piano. However, I never felt forced or pressured to play because I actually fell in love with it! A few years later I saw my brother starting to learn his second instrument, the violin. I told my mom that I wanted to learn a second instrument as well, but I decided to learn the cello because it is bigger than the violin! So my mom got me a cello and took my brother and me to the orchestra, where we would practice every Saturday.
You received your BFA in Cello Performance from the Chinese Music Department of the National Taiwan University of Art. You then received an MFA in Music Composition for the Screen at Columbia College Chicago where you were a recipient of the Graduate Award. Please share your experiences at both institutes and how they shaped your approach to music composition.
Throughout my adolescence, I trained to become a professional classical cellist. As you learn the basics, you begin your studies with famous classics around the world. Most of these derive from the Western side of influences such as Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, and more. However, the more I played, the more of an unsure feeling I had that this pursuit was not for me.
I always felt that, although I truly enjoy playing the cello, Classical music is not in my bones. I believed there was much more to discover in the musical realm. I started to ask myself, what is the “Taiwanese Sound?” What is it that makes it IT? What characteristics belong to this particular genre of music? And how can I manipulate them to create my sound?
Recognizing that I am not well versed in Eastern music, I decided to pursue more knowledge about the subject. I found out that the Chinese Music Department at the National Taiwan of Art has a position for majoring in cello, which I applied for and got accepted to.
After my studies, I was very excited to add to my musical arsenal. At this point, I discovered this newfound inspiration for combining Western and Eastern music languages at the same time. There are so many possibilities that I can endlessly try something cool and unique between the two genres to create my sound. Playing cello in a Chinese orchestra helped shape my unique sound and motivated me to experiment with more refreshing sounds. So, I applied and got accepted to the MFA Film Composition for the Big Screen at Columbia College Chicago. Studying film scoring really blew my mind. This is the first time that I feel there is no limitation in music-making. The music is not just limited to instrumental sound but can combine with electronic sounds. Now as a composer, I love to experiment with all the possibilities. I can shape whatever sound I want and find a unique musical palette for each project.
You worked for well-known professional composers such as Stephanie Economou, Allyson Newman, and Nathan Wang. Please tell us more about your collaborations and, to what extent, these experiences have influenced your artistic ingenuity.
It is my pleasure to work with such amazing film composers! They are like my mentors who guided me through the early stages of my career.
The most important thing that I learned from each of them is their workflows. The first thing I noticed is that they work with very short timelines. One must be incredibly organized and visionary in order to create the amazing scores they bring to life in such a crazy short amount of time. I found out all of them have their picky detailed organized workflow. Take naming the file as an example, this looks not a big deal for most everything, but this is something very important for them. If there is any mistakes, they have to spend more time fixing the problem. With limited work time, having an efficient workflow is essential for the composer because the rest of the time is for creativity. With more efficiency, the more creative you can be.
You’ve written for various media projects, of varying sizes and scopes. Can you walk us through the process of composing and how it differs, depending on the medium- ie, TV, Cinema or radio? Secondly, do you enjoy some mediums more than others?
Good questions! The main difference between the media mediums I would say is the deadlines vary drastically. In my experience, commercials have a much quicker turnaround than films. The content is expected to be put out shortly after creation and so it keeps the wheels turning at a very fast pace.
I did a lot of commercials projects before and the time they gave me is always super short. On average, I was given at most two days to finish the projects, including all the revisions. As opposed to the film scoring projects, where I had ample time to truly digest the material and create something genuine. The big difference between film and commercials is that I have to manage my time very differently in order to get all the cues down. If I have extra time, I would call some of my friends to collaborate.
You recently released your first EP and debut album, “HUA Dreaming.” You’ve described the album as representing your endeavors through a magical fusion of Chinese and Western music. Can you explain this further?
As a composer, I love to tell stories and share experiences through music. Especially, I love to combine Western and Chinese music and explore more possibilities between the two. This is because I am a cellist who has an academic background in both Western and Chinese Music, as well as having 10 years of experience performing as a cellist in a Chinese Orchestra. I always wanted to make an album based on my Western Cello and Chinese music experiences because I believe that they are so independently beautiful that they must be even more beautiful together.
Of the many accolades you have received, what is your proudest achievement as an artist, and why?
Since moving to LA. I’ve been very lucky to have some notable credits as both a composer and a cellist. As a composer, I have had the honor to have worked with amazingly talented artists such as Nathan Wang and Steph Economou. They have been like mentors to me and I cannot say enough nice things about them. As a cellist, the proudest achievement I have had the honor bestowed upon me is when I got invited to play in the metal band Hvile I Kaos. I never in my life thought I would play in a metal band, but this is happening right now! I will have my first show with them this upcoming July and I cannot wait for it. I hope to see you all there!
Where can our readers find out more about you and your projects? Note: please provide website and social media links.
The best to find me is through my website or Instagram:
Photo credit Jozsef Kardos.
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