|
Mason Bates / Masonic, the young San Francisco composer and DJ who recently became the first dual recipient of the Prize de Rome and the Berlin Prize, moves fluidly between the worlds of classical music and electronica. Currently busy with both commissions and performance engagements, he has appeared at venues such as The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center, and Berlin's Volksbühne. Spanning the classical concert hall to the clubs and lounges where he DJs electronica, his music was recently described by the San Francisco Chronicle as "lovely to hear and ingeniously constructed." His recent symphonic work, Omnivorous Furniture, for symphonietta & electronica, was commissioned by The Los Angeles Philharmonic and premiered at Disney Hall, and it is since been performed by the American Composers Orchestra in New York and by The Oakland Symphony. His releases as Masonic are available at iTunes and other major internet distributors.
Active as a performer, he has played his concerto for synthesizer with The Atlanta and Phoenix Symphonies, and he also stays busy as a DJ of trip-hop, hip-hop, and electronica at spaces such as 111 Minna and Magnet in San Francisco. Members of The Berlin Philharmonic joined him at Berlin's Roter Salon, the famed club in the former East Side, for a concert of his chamber music and electronica, which he performed live with David Arend (MarsBassMan) on upright bass.
A variety of purely acoustic works complement his diverse portfolio, including a string quartet commissioned by The Naumburg Foundation and a many works for the voice. His strong interest in the theater has been highly informed by playwriting studies under Arnold Weinstein, Mark Adamo, and Kenneth Koch, with whom he produced several collaborations. He became composer-in-residence of the acclaimed Young Concert Artists in 2000, and he has written chamber music for YCA artists such as Alexander Fitterstein and The Claremont Trio.
Studying English literature and music composition at Columbia University and The Juilliard School, he worked primarily with John Corigliano, and has also studied with David Del Tredici and Samuel Adler. He currently works with Edmund Campion at UC Berkeley, where the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT) provides resources and expertise in electronic music. Now busy with a commission for The National Symphony, he lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
|
