Charles Norman Mason
- This article is about the composer. For similarly named people, see Charles Mason.
Charles Norman Mason (born c. 1955 in Utah) is a musician and professor of musical composition and theory at Birmingham-Southern College.
Mason earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Miami and completed his MM and DMA in Composition at the University of Illinois in 1982. He then accepted a position as assistant professor of music at Birmingham Southern and was promoted to associate professor in 1987 and to a full professorship in 1995. He served as chair of the Fine Arts Division from 1993 to 2000 and since 2006 has served as chair of the music department.
As a composer, Mason was awarded the Samuel Barber Prize by the American Academy in Rome (The Prix de Rome) in 2005. He has also been recognized with a commission award by the American Composers Orchestra and with an individual grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has served residencies in Sweden, Alaska, New York and Florida and several of pieces have been performed by prestigious ensembles, including "Expressway", a piece honoring Elton B. Stephens commissioned and performed by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra in 2004.
Mason is also the executive director of the Living Music Foundation, an association of contemporary composers. His wife, Dorothy Hindman, as also a composer and BSC professor. In 2010 they jointly completed a commission for the Empire City Men's Chorus. "Prothalamia" is a 5-movement choral work based on the Latin Mass celebrating same-sex marriage.
Discography
- Mason, Charles Norman (2002) Hradčanská. Quindecim Recordings CDJ11222
- Mason, Charles Norman, "Expressway", track 4 on Kiev Philharmonic, Robert Ian Winstin, conductor (2004) Masterworks of the New Era, Vol. 3. ERMMedia ERM6704
References
- Huebner, Michael (May 23, 2010) "Birmingham composers Charles Mason and Dorothy Hindman to receive New York premiere today." Birmingham News
External links
- Charles Mason website