MASON
BYNES
WATCH
Music for Meditation (2021)
for Double Bass and vocal track
Composers Feature Interview with Jason Heath, exploring the commissioned compositions in Jason's New Course. To purchase this piece along with the works of other commissioned bassists, follow this link for details about the course.
Songs for the People (2021)
for soprano and piano accompaniment
Performed by Shannon Cochran (soprano) and Christina Lalog Seal (piano) on May 16th, 2021 for Cincinnati Song Initiative Season Finale, "Let It Be New", in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
III. Now, oh now I needs must part, from Dowland Impressions (2021)
Three movement song cycle for mid-high voice and electric guitar
Performed by soprano Eliza P. Smith and guitarist Héctor A. Torrez González
Commissioned by Lumedia Musicworks
Nebula (2020)
for SSAATTBB choir and electronics
Composed, Mixed and Produced by Mason Bynes
Performed by Nightingale Vocal Ensemble
STARDUST: Songs of the Cosmos Concert- October 16th, 2020
For Rosa (2020)
for brass quartet (two trumpets and two trombones)
Performed by The Westerlies
Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT) 2020
The [WRECK]oning (2020)
for solo double bass
Performed by bassist Daniel Murray
Series presented by Bass Players for Black Composers
DRY (2019)
Director/Cinematographer: Claire Dejarnett
Original Song and Sound Design: Mason Bynes
Pleiades (2019)
an audio-visual "entrance" piece
Original Score and Sound Design by Mason Bynes
Seeking Persephone (2019)
an audiovisual work
Poetry and voice over by Kathryn I.W. Sparks
Original Score and Sound Design by Mason Bynes
Following Orpheus (2019)
an audiovisual work
Poetry and voice over by Kathryn I. W. Sparks
Original Score and Sound Design by Mason Bynes
Somebody Else (opb: The 1975) - Green Tones/ arranged by Mason Bynes (2018)
Incipient Sonority (2018)
for SSAA choir and handbells
poetry by Kathryn I. W. Sparks
Performed by Hamilton College's Hamilton Voices, treble voices (conducted by Charlotte Botha)
The House (2019)
for tenor and piano accompaniment (available for mid-high voice)
poetry by Gertrude Stein
Performed by Nick Alessi, tenor and Yukiko Nishimura, piano
Prayer to Persephone (2019)
for mid-high voice, piano, viola, and piano
poetry by Edna St. Vincent, accompanied by the Seiklos Epitaph
Performed by: Hilary Grace Taylor, soprano | Kathleen Crabtree, viola | Jing Xu, piano
LECTURES/MASTER CLASSES
University of North Texas College of Music Spring 2021 Commencement Ceremony
Mason joins Dean John Richmond and faculty in celebrating the class of 2021 as the keynote speaker.
"The Power and Beauty of Process" -- 2021 Master Class
In collaboration with Bass Players for Black Composers, Mason delivers a master class discussing the ways in which she finds power and beauty in her processes as an artist.
The Intersections of Music and Food -- Master's Thesis 2021
Recipe and score; ingredients and instrumentation; cookbooks and masterworks- these items are comparatively different, but share a similarity in the way they are created. Music and food share a history that isn’t explicitly detailed. Rather, it is shown through context clues- hidden in iconography, fables and treatises. The music of this recital is inspired by the music we make while cooking. Listeners are invited to enjoy a virtual and immersive listening experience that combines sound design and original music composed for acoustic performance.
LISTEN
ZEUS
This piece (2018) is written for chamber ensemble- consisting of three electric guitars, electric bass and drum set. Zeus was the king of the Greek gods who lived on Mount Olympus. He is the father of Persephone and lover of Demeter. This piece serves to express Zeus's superiority and electric strength as the olympian god of the sky and thunder.
Performed by:
Mills Chaiken, electric guitar
Roger Hunt, electric guitar
Ethan Ditthardt, electric guitar
Tyler Kysar, electric bass
Alex Souris, drumset
LOOKOUTS
Film (2019) directed by Claire Dejarnett. A man and woman seek refuge from the struggles of life in an abandoned watch tower.
PERSEPHONE
Persephone, goddess of spring, is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter. She was described by Homer as “the formidable venerable majestic princess of the underworld who carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead.” While in a garden, Persephone was stolen by Hades and taken to the underworld, where she became queen. The myth of her abduction is personified through vegetation. The growth of a new flower in spring and its death and retraction back into the earth during fall and winter serves as a symbol. This piece (2018) expresses both the beauty and harshness of Persephone’s life.
Performed by cellist, Kourtney Newton