Mason Bates (2004 Fellow) is a composer and sound artist whose work merges symphonic writing with electronic music and immersive media. His compositions have been performed by many of the leading orchestras in the United States, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Philadelphia Orchestra. Known for integrating digital sounds into live performance, Bates has expanded the boundaries of concert music, often appearing as a DJ in hybrid events that combine classical repertoire with club-inspired textures. From 2017 to 2020, he served as the first composer-in-residence at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Bates’s opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, created with librettist Mark Campbell, premiered at Santa Fe Opera in 2017 and was awarded the Grammy for Best Opera Recording in 2019. In addition to orchestral and operatic work, he is active in composing for multimedia experiences, including projects involving virtual reality and spatial audio. His recent works explore how contemporary technologies shape both musical language and the listening environment.