Burt Mason performs regularly with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, serves on faculty at the Juilliard School's Music Advancement Program and is Principal Trombone of the Chamber Orchestra of New York. He has appeared as guest artist with the NY Philharmonic and as soloist with numerous ensembles, performing worldwide. 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 has also appeared as soloist with numerous ensembles, performing throughout North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia.
Mason has performed under the baton of notable conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas, Alan Gilbert, Mstislav Rostropovich, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Skitch Henderson, Gustavo Dudamel and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, amongst others, in world-renowned venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Apollo Theater.
Mason began playing trombone at age 12, but he 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. He was also selected for the esteemed NAfME/MENC All-Eastern Band, the NYSSMA All-State Band and Orchestra and won several local music contests during high school. While in college at the Crane School of Music, Mason won the school's most prestigious performing contest, the annual Crane Concerto Competition, as a freshman. He has been featured as a soloist on a variety of recordings with the New York Staff Band on the Triumphonic label and has completed several recordings with the Chamber Orchestra of New York on the Naxos label.
As an advocate for Diversity in the Arts, Mason is founder and director of Ovation Concerts, an organization dedicated to balanced diversity in orchestral music. He has also appeared as a guest on WQXR's Conducting Business with Naomi Lewin to discuss the history and future of classical music and diversity in the orchestral field.
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 a 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. Mason is a Yamaha Performing Artist and Clinician.
