Recently awarded a Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, 28-year old Mason Bates moves fluidly between the worlds of classical concert music and underground electronica. His most recent symphonic work, Omnivorous Furniture, for symphonietta & electronica, was commissioned by The Los Angeles Philharmonic and premiered in Disney Hall this November. The Biava Quartet gave the premiere of his most recent chamber work in New York's Alice Tully Hall, a string quartet commissioned by The Naumburg Foundation. 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 underground hip-hop in the San Francisco and Rome scenes. As Masonic, he has often appeared at clubs such as 111 Minna, Skylark, and Cloud 9 in San Francisco, or at venues such as Rome's Scarabocchio and Metaverso in Testaccio, the thriving electronica scene tunneled inside an ancient pottery dump. Studying music composition and English literature at Columbia University and The Juilliard School, he worked with John Corigliano, David Del Tredici, and Samuel Adler. He is currently busy with an electro-acoustic commission for Juilliard's 100th Anniversary.

Photo: © 2005 Mike Minehan