Andy Mason is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound and visual artist, and educator.  Beginning as a drummer from an early age, he later became an accomplished pianist, guitarist, and vocalist, freely crossing genres in original compositions.  Mason often performs as a pianist playing jazz, blues, and more, but also explores more experimental work. His sound/video piece Feeder, Hummingbird Variations was included in a 2021 exhibition in Rome, Italy, and he’s recently been collaborating on multi-media musical theatre works, one of which (Medea Redux) was featured by the National Theatre of Greece for the Greek Play Project 2021.  Andy’s work was also featured in multiple “Composers Now” concerts in NYC between 2014 and 2018.

Andy has an MFA in Sonic Arts and an MM in Composition from Brooklyn College, where he studied composition with multi-Grammy winning Afro-Latin jazz artist Arturo O’Farrill.  While there, he held composer residencies with Big Band, Jazz Ensemble, Conservatory Orchestra, and Guitar Ensemble, and won the HISAM award for imaginative cross-cultural exploration, as well as the Noah Creshevsky Award for Experimental Music.  Andy has released three CDs as a solo artist (A. Mason), opened for major artists (such as Chris Isaak), and once had the pleasure of making Ray Davies dance. He’s enjoyed decades of playing in rock & roll, jazz, blues, Afro-Latin, and Americana bands.

Andy is currently the elementary Choir Director at the Cooper School in Charleston, and an instructor at the Charleston Jazz Academy.    

Curriculum Vitae:

MFA, Sonic Arts, Brooklyn College 2022

Master of Music, Composition, Brooklyn College 2018

Press:

For Off Camera (2011):

"An expert pop outing full of deftly played, articulately written and crisply produced songs.  Imagine the cunning songcraft and vocal finesse of Squeeze's early-'80s records but with arrangements that favor a more traditional, almost parlor-style pop setting, and you have an idea..." 

     - Walter Tunis, Lexington Herald-Leader

Artist Statement:

Intuition and improvisation are important parts of my creative process. In my songwriting, I look for new ways to combine elements, engaging with various genres with love and respect. Common themes that inform me, both conceptually and lyrically, are the relativity of perception, the continuity of change, and the contradictions of life. I’m fascinated with how these drivers flummox our perspectives as humans, often in absurd or beautiful ways. Capturing a moment in time compels me, and similarly, the fleeting moment of design in the fluidity of the world describes much of my visual art. A deep admiration for nature, materials, craft, and a fair dose of sentimentality are all present in my work.