Rusty Air in Carolina is a symphonic poem for electronica and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates.
[1][2] Rusty Air in Carolina was the first work conductor Robert Moody commissioned as music director for the Winston-Salem Symphony.
[3] Bates wrote in the score program notes, "When Bob took the helm at The Winston-Salem Symphony recently and asked if I might write a new piece for him, perhaps his own return to the Carolinas[-]inspired Rusty Air.
[1] Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it "a funky work" and said, "The piece develops a firm skeleton through a varied musical language."
Bloom continued, "The concept of using modern technology to depict the natural environment is an interesting one, and the piece's character ranges from bluesy to beautiful, the latter evident in lovely passage-work for strings and horns.