Quinn Mason Forges His Own Path as Composer—and Conductor

In Friday’s (2/2) Arts and Culture Texas (Dallas), Steven Brown writes, “Dallas’ Quinn Mason is crystal clear on his identity as a composer. ‘I specialize 110 percent in the orchestra,’ Mason says. ‘I grew up around the orchestra, and my mentors were professional musicians. The orchestra is where my heart is.’ That’s where Mason’s work is, too. The Utah Symphony will premiere his Sonorous, a trombone concerto, in February. He’s busy now with Every New Day, a piano concerto that new-music specialist Lara Downes will premiere with the New Haven (Conn.) Symphony in May…. A youth orchestra will treat Mason to the first performance of his music at Carnegie Hall, and other works of his will bubble up across the United States. Mason began studying the piano in school when he was around 10 years old…. ‘I started … creating music that reflected my own experiences in the world—but in a way that could connect with people who have never met me or who have never heard my music before,’ Mason says…. In his time left over after composing, Mason has kept cultivating his skills at conducting.”