Mason Bynes
Black Goo
ensemble percussion, violin, cello
duration 9:03 minutes
written 2023
commissioned by Art of Elan
premiered November 15, 2023, San Diego, CA
About Mason Bynes
Mason Bynes is a Boston based composer, vocalist, and multimedia artist from Sugar Land, TX. In a post-modern tradition, she pulls from various stylistic sources, blurring the line between traditionalism and modernism. Her goal in creating music and art is to bridge the gap between genre, performance setting, and venue- synthesizing genres, sound aesthetics, and visual curations to bring listeners together. She received her Master of Music in Composition from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and she also holds a Bachelor of Music in composition from the University of North Texas.
Mason’s curiosity fuels her pursuit of collaboration in a myriad of artistic mediums, including film, spoken word, music for acoustic performance, and even the culinary arts. In her 2021-2022 season, she enjoyed her first compositional residency with Boston Art Song Society, a prestigious presentation of her music at The Rosa Parks Museum on Rosa Parks Day, and a variety of premieres for voice, chamber orchestra, classical guitar, and wind quintet. Her passion for bringing listeners together has sparked a variety of commissions with various ensembles and composer led initiatives, including: The Westerlies & Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT), The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Ex-Aequo, Bass Players for Black Composers, and Lumedia Musicworks. Recently, Mason’s music has been featured with Bang On a Can, the North End Music and Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC), the International Society of Bassists, Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, BBC Radio 3, IDAGIO Live, and Green Leaf Music Podcast. She has also appeared in different interviews with Soundboard Magazine, Boston's The Scope, CBS, NBC -DFW and Fox 4News. Additionally, Mason was honored to have been the University of North Texas College of Music's 2021 Commencement Speaker.
In addition to serving on the film/tv composition team at Raging Cloud Studios, Mason also works as a Career Services Advisor at the Berklee Career Center. In this role, she enjoys serving her musical community by coaching Berklee's undergraduate, graduate, and online students from Berklee College and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee on how to seek alignment within their career goals as artists.
Mason continues to perform as a vocalist in the Boston area with a variety of ensembles, including The Boston Pops's Holiday Pops Singers. This season, she is looking forward to future collaborations with The Concord Band, Emmanuel Music, Washington Master Chorale, Boston Lyric Opera, and a world premiere of a new choral work with Philadelphia Chamber Music Society's "Singing Freedom" concert series. Mason is thrilled to present her music at the 25th African American Art Song Alliance Conference at University of California, Irvine this fall. Additionally, she is looking forward to the release of her compositions on various albums with ensembles like The Westerlies, and other local artists in the Boston area.
