Jack Hui Litster is a multi-instrumentalist and composer of concert music and film and TV score based in Ottawa. Jack plays percussion, keyboard, guitar, and guzheng (Chinese zither), and has performed across Canada and internationally. Jack’s music explores the deep emotions of lived experience, and blends his classical and popular music training.
As Composer-in-Residence for OperOttawa, Jack composed and produced his first opera “The Day You Were Born” and created an innovative online performance using videos of the cast members singing from their homes during the coronavirus lockdown. The opera deals with the rarely-discussed complex range of emotions that accompany pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood, informed by interviews Jack conducted with midwives and new parents and by Jack’s own experiences as a father of two young children. Jack’s second opera was premiered by OperOttawa in June 2022. Titled What Is Love?, this opera grows out of poetry from Kahlil Gibran’s beloved book The Prophet. Jack's third commission for OperOttawa has been to compose a requiem titled "Gates of Heaven: Requiem for a Life of Peace" which is dedicated to Canadian women leaders throughout history.
Jack began his musical career as a jazz drummer, then decided to broaden his horizons and complete a degree in International Development. In the non-profit sector, he spent ten years fighting for international human rights and collaborating with community activists from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. All the while Jack stayed engaged in the Ottawa music scene, notably with his retro-pop music duo The Ticket, a collaboration with Adam Waselnuk, as well as performing in diverse styles of music including folk, Afro-beat, jazz, and opera.
Jack has studied composition with Dr. James K. Wright as well as veteran film and TV composers Robbie Teehan (Elementary, Jessica Jones, Homeland) and Edmund Eagan (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, The Rick Mercer Report, Winds of Heaven). Jack recently completed his Master of Arts in Music and Culture at Carleton University where his thesis research explored the blending of cultures in the film score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In addition, Jack holds a Professional Certificate from Berklee College of Music Online (music business and film scoring), a Diploma in Jazz Performance from St. Francis Xavier University, and a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Ottawa.
In December 2022 Jack released his debut solo album, titled Shining Suns, a suite of eight cinematic songs in various genres which chart a journey of inner discovery and awakening. Since 2022 Jack has worked as composer and sound designer for several episodes of SPEAK Podcast, produced by BEING Studio. Jack also enjoys his role as Composer-in-Residence for Ottawa-based Voices Dance Project, for which he composed 40 minutes of music to accompany dance and poetry for the company’s first performance in autumn 2023. Starting in 2023 Jack joined the staff of Carleton University's music department as a Contract Instructor, teaching courses in film music and popular music.
Photo by Curtis Perry
