New Single with Chanticleer Released Today

Mason’s ethereal a cappella work “Die Lorelei”, written for the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble, Chanticleer, is released today. The single is taken from their new album “On A Clear Day” which will be released on April 21.

“Drawn from the large cycle Sirens, this setting of a Heine poem tells the story of the famed Lorelei, a siren singing atop a riverside rock. The strophic form of Heine’s poem is reflected in the music, which nods to his century’s musical conventions, but the piece dissolves into a trance at the mention of her “strange, powerful melody.” As the melancholic narrator tells us, both fisher and boat are never seen  again.”  Mason Bates

Listen to the new single on all major streaming platforms.


Philharmonia Fantastique in BBC Music Magazine

Mason speaks to Tom Stewart from UK’s BBC Music Magazine to talk about Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra ahead of its European premiere with Aurora Orchestra at London’s Southbank Centre. 

“The music erupts from a glittering, primordial soup of sound, the players racing up and down the harmonic series and, on screen, a stave stretching out ahead of the audience like the famous opening of the Star Wars films. Bates’ music is slick and shiny – it’s an exciting, action-packed score with nothing to scare anyone off and plenty to keep young ears engaged.”

Tom also speaks to Animation Director, Jim Capobianco on his role “Usually the animation comes first and the music comes next, but for Philharmonia Fantastique we were collaborating all the way through because we had to work together to tell the story without any dialogue.” 

Mason: “As I was writing the music, I was constantly communicating with Jim about what visuals he thought could work. There’s a moment when Sprite goes inside the flute and Jim asked how she got there – did she trip fall or did she climb in out of curiosity? It felt like a minute detail, but he was trying to figure out the motivation of the character which helped me create a sound and a motivation for it in the score.”

Read the full review in BBC Music Magazine’s April issue

Symphony Magazine: League of American Orchestras

Symphony magazine, the signature publication of the League of American Orchestras, featured Philharmonia Fantastique in its latest issue. The article ‘Head of the Class’  discusses how educational programming and concerts are “reimagining a bright future for the genre—and for next-gen music lovers.”

“Since returning to live, in-person performance, more and more orchestras and their creative teams are upping their education-concert game. The last two years have seen a renaissance of original, robustly produced educational programs. Philharmonia Fantastique is a delightful romp, handsomely animated, and, to musical initiates, sneakily edifying. The harmonic series has rarely been so charming.”

Bates says “This piece is a serious endeavor, in the vein of Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges or Mother Goose Suite, which use vivid orchestration to conjure a world of wonder. “It’s really important to us that it reach people of all backgrounds and ages.” 

Read the full article on the Symphony website.

Mercury Soul at Saint Joseph’s Arts Society

Mercury Soul returns to the luxe cathedral space of the Saint Joseph’s Arts Society for a night of performances from world-renowned DJs and classical artists on Friday April 7th at 8pm.

Enjoy speciality cocktails while exploring this stunning cathedral-turned-club designed by the renowned Ken Fulk, with groovy alternations of DJ sets and popup classical performances.

Sets by DJ Masonic (Mason Bates), DJ Justin Reed (illmeasures Chicago), and special guest DJ Gavin Hardkiss are interspersed by performances of Renaissance chorales by Gesualdo and Lotti and music by modern masters Arvo Pärt, Aphex Twin, John Cage, and Philip Glass conducted by Arun Saigal.

For more information and tickets visit Mercury Soul.

Stream The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs on Amazon Prime via Marquee TV

The new production of Mason’s Grammy-winning Opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs is now available to stream on Amazon Prime via Marquee TV! Watch the performance from East Coast premiere with The Atlanta Opera conducted by Michael Christie and featuring John Moore.

Live performances of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs continue in April with Utah Opera and in September with San Francisco Opera. 

Full performance dates: 

Utah Opera:

Saturday May 6, 2023 – Utah Opera

Monday May 8, 2023 – Utah Opera

Wednesday May 10, 2023 – Utah Opera

Friday May 12, 2023 – Utah Opera

Sunday May 14, 2023 – Utah Opera

San Francisco Opera:

Friday September 22, 2023 7:30pm 

Sunday September 24, 2023 2:00pm 

Wednesday September 27, 2023 7:30pm 

Saturday September 30, 2023 7:30pm  

 Tuesday October 3, 2023 7:30pm  

 Saturday October 7, 2023 7:30pm 

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs deemed a“must-see” event

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs saw its Canadian premiere by Calgary Opera last week, conducted by Michael Christie, and was deemed a “must-see” event by The Calgary Herald. 

“[A] splendid libretto by Mark Campbell and an imaginative musical score by Mason Bates. Filled with unusual effects, big choral numbers, powerful solo monologues, and ear-catching orchestration, this is an opera that captures attention from the outset and never loses focus or flags.”

“Here the brilliance of the production, and manner of how the show is put on, carried all before it, producing an immediate standing ovation at the end.”

“For those apprehensive about the very idea of modern opera, there is nothing to fear here. Everyone will be swept up in the dynamism and power of this production, and the music falls gracefully upon the ears. It is the “must-see” event in Calgary at the moment.”

Read the full review on Calgary Herald’s website. 

Upcoming Performances Include:

Utah Opera:

Saturday May 6, 2023 – Utah Opera

Monday May 8, 2023 – Utah Opera

Wednesday May 10, 2023 – Utah Opera

Friday May 12, 2023 – Utah Opera

Sunday May 14, 2023 – Utah Opera

San Francisco Opera:

Friday September 22, 2023 7:30pm 

Sunday September 24, 2023 2:00pm 

Wednesday September 27, 2023 7:30pm 

Saturday September 30, 2023 7:30pm  

 Tuesday October 3, 2023 7:30pm  

 Saturday October 7, 2023 7:30pm 

Philharmonia Fantastique Wins a Grammy

Mason’s new album Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra released on Sony Classical in April 2022, has been awarded a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Classical.

Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra is a captivating introduction to the instruments, sounds and science of the orchestra with a masterful score and classy, creative animation. The album was performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducted Edwin Outwater.

“I’m very thankful to Shawn Murphy, Gary Rydstrom, Charlie Post, Michael Romanowski, whose work resulted in a Grammy for Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra. Their superb work recording, mixing, & mastering this celebration of the orchestra – at the height of covid – is evident in every minute of the album. The stunning isolation of the instruments required by distancing protocols actually gave us unprecedented control in the studio. Bravi!” – Mason Bates

Listen to the full album on all major streaming platforms and watch on Apple TV and Apple Music.

Upcoming 2023 Performances include:

March 4 & 5 – New West Symphony – CA, USA

March 8 13 & 14  – National Symphony Orchestra – D.C, USA

April 2  – The Cleveland Orchestra – OH, USA

April 11 & 15 – Utah Symphony – UT USA

April 16 – Aurora Orchestra –  London, UK

April 30 – Vancouver Symphony Orchestra – Vancouver, Canada

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at Calgary Opera

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs heads to Calgary tomorrow for its Canadian premiere with Calgary Opera, conducted by Michael Christie. 

Ahead of the upcoming performances, Mason spoke to Eric Volmers from the Calgary Herald to talk about he came up with the idea for his Grammy-winning opera, how it developed and the message behind it. 

“He’s this iconic figure we think of as a technologist, but his life is really the stuff of opera. He has obsession and passion, betrayal. He’s got obviously a very tragic death, an early death, that might have been avoided had he not had this Achilles heel or fatal flaw of trying to control everything, including his cancer treatments. He was trying to diet his way out of cancer which, unfortunately, is not going to happen. All of that attracted me: Bringing some of those topics we deal with in the 21st-century people – devices, communication, technology mitigating our lives – but in a way that would also bring in opera history.” Mason Bates

“The awards, acclaim and worldwide interest in (R)evolution suggest it could be well on its way to becoming a rare achievement in the world of contemporary opera.” Calgary Herald

Read the full article on the Calgary Herald’s website.

The premiere was also featured in The San Francisco Standard where the opera was described as “just as dazzling as the devices Jobs brought to life and as equally dramatic as the tech mogul’s life.”

Upcoming Performances:

Saturday February 4, 7:30pm 

Wednesday February 8, 7:30pm 

Friday February 10, 7:30pm 

Philharmonia Fantastique Featured in Animation Magazine

Mason’s Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra, has been featured in Animation Magazine, the no.1 magazine for business, technology, VFX and the art of animation.

The 25-minute concerto for orchestra and animated film, was directed by seven-time Academy Award-winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom (Titanic) and animation director Jim Capobianco (Ratatouille, Mary Poppins Returns), has recently been released on Apple TV app and is available to stream on Apple Music.

Read the full article on Animation Magazine’s website.

Upcoming live performances include:

January 29 2023 – Kansas City Symphony – Kauffman Center, Kansas City, MO, USA

March 4 2023 – New West Symphony – Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

March 5 2023 – New West Symphony – Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center, Camarillo, CA, USA

March 8, 13 & 14 2023 – National Symphony Orchestra –The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. USA

April 2 2023 – The Cleveland Orchestra – Severance Music Center, Cleveland, OH, USA

April 30 2023 – Vancouver Symphony Orchestra – The Orpheum, Vancouver, BC, Canada

April 11 2023 – Utah Symphony – Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, Orem, UT, USA

April 15 2023 – Utah Symphony – Abravanel Hall, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

April 16 2023 – Aurora Orchestra – Southbank Centre, London, UK

CBS News Profile

Mason joined Mary Lee on CBS News to talk all things classical and electronic music including Philharmonia Fantastique, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and Mercury Soul’s Symphonic Techno event.

“San Francisco is where it all came together for me,” said Bates. “By day, I was writing symphonies for the Phoenix Symphony or the LA Philharmonic. And then at night, I would get out and DJ in SoMa. I finally decided one night, I was sitting at the turntables at an old place named Varnish, which has since disappeared. And I thought, why can’t I have an orchestra play with these beats at the same time?”

“For Mason, he’s a DJ and he’s all out in the community,” said Red Curtain Addict founder Kari Lincks Coomans. “He’s so charismatic. He’s an innovator, and getting to work side-by-side with him for events with Mercury Soul has been so exciting. He’s always pushing the envelope.”

Watch online on the CBS website.