CSO Names Mason Bates and Anna Clyne as Composers-in-Residence

CSO Names Mason Bates and Anna Clyne as Composers-in-Residence

Mason Bates and Anna Clyne have been named co-composers-in-residence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; their residency will begin in September 2010 and continue for two seasons.

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NewMusicBox Staff

Mason Bates and Anna Clyne have been named co-composers-in-residence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Beginning in September 2010 and continuing for two seasons, their activities will include curating the CSO’s contemporary music series, MusicNOW, and acting as advocates within the Chicago community to further the understanding and appreciation of all music.

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Mason Bates
Photo by Mike Minehan

Mason Bates, born in Philadelphia in 1977 and now residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, has established a reputation in both the classical music community and the world of underground electronica creating music which frequently combines these two realms. At the age of 23, he became composer-in-residence for Young Concert Artists, and in recent years has been the recipient of both an American Academy in Berlin Fellowship and a Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome.

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Anna Clyne
Photo by Denise Anderson

Anna Clyne, born in London in 1980 and currently residing in New York City, composes acoustic and electroacoustic music frequently as part of multimedia experiences in collaboration with video artists and choreographers. In 2008, she joined the publishing roster of Boosey & Hawkes as part of their Emerging Composers program.

“Both Mason Bates and Anna Clyne are artists who write from the heart, who defy categorization, and who reach across all barriers and boundaries,” commented CSO Music Director Designate Riccardo Muti. “Their compositions are meant to be played by great musicians and listened to by enthusiastic audiences no matter what their background.”

Chicago’s first Mead Composer-in-Residence was Augusta Read Thomas who served from 1997 through 2006. She was succeeded by Osvaldo Golijov and British composer Mark Anthony Turnage, who established the precedent for a co-residency.—FJO