Mason Bates

In addition to his notable works Mothership, Anthology of Fantastic Zoology, and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, he composed the score to Gus Van Sant's film The Sea of Trees.

[7] He exhibited an early interest in creative writing at St. Christopher's School and received a letter from the Mayor of Munich in response to his poem The Village of a Million People, written after a visit to the German city.

[13] In 2001, Bates relocated to the Bay Area and studied under Edmund Campion in the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in 2008 with a PhD in composition.

[15][28] While gaining national prominence for his electro-acoustic symphonic music, Bates began experimenting with concert format in his curating projects in partnership with institutions such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Kennedy Center.

[29] Through his club show Mercury Soul, Bates became familiar with lighting, production, and staging techniques that create fluid, information-rich environments in social settings.

With composer Anna Clyne, Bates expanded the Chicago Symphony's MusicNOW series to include cinematic program notes, immersive production, and pre- and post-concert parties in partnership with the illmeasures DJ collective.

[30] After his residency with the CSO, Bates was named the first composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where he launched the new-music series KC Jukebox.

In 2018, the Metropolitan Opera announced the commission of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, with music by Bates and libretto by Gene Scheer.

[34][35] The opera is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel with the same name by Michael Chabon about a Jewish immigrant who writes comic books to earn enough money to save his family from the Holocaust.