About Mason Bates
Composer of the bestselling The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier & Clay for The Metropolitan Opera, Mason Bates is imaginatively transforming the way classical music is created and experienced as a composer, DJ, and curator. With electro-acoustic works such as Mothership and multimedia projects such as the animated film Philharmonia Fantastique, Bates has become a visible advocate for the modern orchestra and imaginatively integrates it into contemporary culture.
His deep relationship with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he was appointed the nation’s first composer-in-residence, continues with recent performances of his Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Championed by legendary conductors from Riccardo Muti, Michael Tilson Thomas, Marin Alsop, and Leonard Slaktin, his symphonic music is the first to receive widespread acceptance for its unique integration of electronic sounds.
Named as the most-performed composer of his generation, Bates has also composed for feature film, including Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees starring Matthew McConaughey and Naomi Watts. He is also a passionate advocate impacting the next generation through classical/club shows produced by Mercury Soul and his educational ecosystem Sprite’s World, which reaches hundreds of thousands of students and teachers across the country.
2025-2026 Premieres
This season features the debut of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which was given a rare mid-season extension this February, in response to overwhelming audience demand and soldout final performances.
Based on the bestselling novel by Michael Chabon, the opera tells the story of two Jewish cousins in 1940’s New York who go into the comic-book business with the hope of making enough money to get their family out of Europe. In the process they create the superhero The Escapist, which becomes a cultural phenomenon across America, even while Joe Kavalier descends into madness. As noted by the NY Times and the Met Opera, “Kavalier & Clay attracted notably new and younger audiences: 35% were new to the Met, 50% were aged 50 or younger, and 30% were aged 40 or younger.”
In December, Grace Cathedral premieres Stable of Grace, for chorus and chamber orchestra, on its popular Christmas concerts as part of his yearlong residency at the revered institution. And in February at Washington DC’s Dumbarton Oaks, star violinist Anne Akiko Meyers premieres Arias for Violin & Guitar.
Grace Cathedral & Italian Residencies
Bates serves as this season’s Artist-in-Residence at San Francisco’s renown Grace Cathedral, joining a long line of notable artists including Bobby McFeren and Alonzo King. Activities throughout the year will include DJ appearances, fireside chats with Rev. Malcolm Young, and several Mercury Soul classical/club shows.
In addition to the Christmas commission, Bates will compose for the cathedral’s magisterial bell tower and create a new work for chorus and mixed ensemble, commissioned by Paul J. Sehkri, on Mercury Soul’s Nov 7 show.
Later this season, Bates takes up residency in Italy for performances with the Milan Symphony of his Piano Concerto and Philharmonia Fantastique, followed by a two-month residency at the American Academy in Rome.
Two new commissions will be unveiled as part of the residency: Stable of Grace for chorus and organ, and a new work for the cathedral’s magisterial bell tower. Bates will also create a new work for chorus, organ, brass, and harp on Mercury Soul’s Nov 7 show commissioned by Paul J. Sehkri.
Later this season, Bates takes up residency in Italy for performances with the Milan Symphony of his Piano Concerto and Philharmonia Fantastique, followed by a two-month residency at the American Academy in Rome.
Notable Performances
The Philadelphia Orchestra returns this season to Beijing with Spring River Flowers by Moonlight, a setting of the Tang Dynasty masterpiece by Rouxu Zhang. Scored for solo soprano, baritone, and orchestra, the piece was premiered last season during the Philadelphia Orchestra’s tour of China.
Grammy-winning trio Time for Three continues its tour of Bates’ newest work Silicon Hymnal with performances in Nashville, Louisville, and Sioux City. The work takes the from of multi-genre dance suite beginning with short electro-acoustic pieces that evolve to hefty concerto movements. Recent performances of the work include Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and orchestras in Brevard, Sun Valley, and Sioux City.
A forthcoming album of Bates’ music will be completed by Nashville Symphony Orchestra with performances of Rhapsody of Steve Jobs and Passage, which integrates fragments of JFK’s moonshot speech into a setting of a Walt Whitman poem about American exploration. The forthcoming album also features Nomad Concerto for legendary violinist Gil Shaham. Other notable performances this season include Devil’s Radio by the New York Philharmonic and Rhapsody of Steve Jobs with the Phoenix Symphony.
Continuing to delight audiences of all ages is Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra, for animated film and live orchestra. The work has become Bates’ most-performed work, with hundreds of performances in the past several years. A collaboration with multi-Oscar-winning Gary Rydstrom of Lucasfilm and Jim Capobianco of Aerial Contrivance, the work features a magical Sprite, who flies through instruments as they are played. Available on Apple TV, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms, the piece’s extensive performances are listed here.
Impact: Mercury Soul & Sprite's World
The magical intersection of creativity and technology informs Bates’ passion for innovative outreach and education. At a time of collapsing arts education nationwide, his hit animated film Phliharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra offers a hip inspiration for young people. The huge numbers of children it reaches every year make it one of the most impactful pieces of classical music ever created for young people in the canon.
Beyond the film itself, the educational ecosystem Sprite’s World explores the many elements of the film in greater depth. Sprite’s World now anchors the Kennedy Center’s digital education endeavor, which reached almost one million students and educators last year. With so many impacted by Sprite’s World, it has become a powerful platform for distributing innovative education materials as imaginative and un-didactic as the film itself.
Bates’ other vehicle for music outreach is Mercury Soul, a classical club show that has packed clubs around the country. Its home series in San Francisco this season continues the organization’s celebration of spectacular spaces, with events at Grace Cathedral, Asian Art Museum, The Battery, and other exciting venues. The show integrates classical sets in an evening of DJing and immersive production.
A diverse artist exploring the ways classical music integrates into contemporary culture, Bates serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
