Burt Mason
Bass TromboneBurt Mason is an associate musician of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Principal Trombone of the Chamber Orchestra of New York and Principal Trombone and Bass Trombone of Broadway’s Sunset BLVD. He has appeared as guest artist with the NY Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Brass, the New Jersey Symphony, the Utah Symphony, New York City Ballet, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Ballet Theater, The Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center (Formerly the Mostly Mozart Festival) and many others. Mr. Mason made his Carnegie Hall solo
debut in March 2018 performing Albrechtsberger’s Concerto for Alto Trombone in Weill Recital hall with the Chamber Orchestra of New York. He serves on faculty at the Juilliard School’s Preparatory Division, the Mason Gross
School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and the New England Conservatory Summer Orchestral Institute. He has also appeared as soloist with numerous ensembles throughout North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and
Australia.
Mr. Mason has performed under the baton of notable conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Kurt Masur, Alan Gilbert, Mstislav Rostropovich, Esa- Pekka Salonen, Skitch Henderson, Gustavo Dudamel, and Yannick NézetSéguin amongst others in world-renowned venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Royal Concertgebouw, Radio City Music Hall and the Apollo Theater.
Mr. Mason began playing trombone at age 12 but did not receive any formal lessons until he entered college at the
Crane School of Music (SUNY Potsdam). Despite this lack of formal training in his early stages, his natural skills as a trombonist placed him as a finalist in the first annual New York Philharmonic Young Performers Audition, selection
for the esteemed NAfME/MENC All-Eastern Band, the NYSSMA All-State Band and Orchestra, as well as winning several local music contests during high school. While in college at the Crane School of Music, Mr. Mason won the
school’s most prestigious performing contest, the annual Crane Concerto Competition, as a freshman. Mr. Mason has been featured as a soloist on a variety of recordings with the New York Staff Band on the Triumphonic label. He
has also completed several recordings with the Chamber Orchestra of New York on the Naxos label. Mr. Mason has recorded on several motion picture soundtracks including A Dog’s Purpose (Amblin Entertainment) and the 2019
Live Action Lion King movie (Disney), Space Jam 2: A New Legacy (Warner Bros) and Salem’s Lot (Warner Bros.), Da Five Bloods (Netflix), The Color Purple (Warner Bros.) and Haunted Mansion (Disney).
As an advocate for Diversity in the Arts, he is founder and director of Ovation Concerts, an organization dedicated to balanced diversity in orchestral music and appeared as a guest on New York ‘s Classical Radio Station WQXR to
discuss the history and future of classical music and diversity in the orchestral field. He is the Low Brass instructor for the LA Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) National Festival, a summer music festival led by
Gustavo Dudamel, which supports social change through music. Mr. Mason performs regularly with the Gateways Music Festival, Chinike!Orchestra, and other organizations with a mission of increasing diversity in the field of orchestral
and classical music.
Mr. Mason holds a BA in Music from the Crane School of Music studying with Mark Hartman, an MBA in Arts Administration from Binghamton University, and an MM in Orchestral Performance from the Manhattan School of Music studying with David Finlayson. He has had additional studies with Joseph Alessi and Weston Sprott.
Mr. Mason is a Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician.