Jason Buyag began studying the cello at age 13 and has since placed at Assistant Principal, Co-Principal, and Principal chairs at the school and regional levels.
As a middle schooler in Hawai’i, he was the Assistant Principal at the Central O’ahu District Honor Beginning Orchestra. He also served as Co-Principal for his school’s intermediate and advanced orchestras before moving to California.
After relocating during 8th grade, he was the Principal Cellist of his middle school’s orchestra. As an incoming freshman, he was immediately appointed as the Assistant Principal cellist of his local high school’s string orchestra, and now as Co-Principal. He was consecutively nominated to play in the CMEA Capitol Section Honors Orchestra, serving once as Principal cellist and twice as Assistant Principal cellist. Since 9th grade, he’d been playing with the Sacramento Youth Symphony’s Premier Orchestra, the highest-level ensemble in the program.
Watch Jason Bryce D.C. Buyag perform Hungarian Rhapsody Op. 68 by David Popper on the cello for the 19th Century Music Competition 2026 as part of the Charleston International Music Competition.