Iain Masson (br.1981) is a freelance composer, conductor and workshop leader based in Birmingham.
He recently graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Composition from the Royal Northern College of Music, where he studied with Adam Gorb for one year, supplemented with conducting tuition under the guidance of Lancelot Fuhry. He also holds a BMus(Hons) degree in Composition from Birmingham Conservatoire.
During his time at RNCM, his work Little Suite for Strings was selected by the Goldberg Ensemble for public performance as part of their Contemporary Music Tour of the UK, and more recently his new chamber work PLUX 1 was premiered at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. In July Iain was awarded the Alan Rawsthorne Prize for Composition following the performance of his new work Swarm for String Orchestra.
As an undergraduate student, Iain studied at Birmingham Conservatoire with Thoma Simaku, John Mayer and Andrew Downes, during which time he had compositions played by the Brodsky Quartet, BCMG, Birmingham Conservatoire Sinfonia, the PELM Quaret, Birmingham Conservatoire Gamelan Ensemble, and the Kate Luxmoore Group. Iain conducted numerous premieres of student compositions as well as final recitals in the Adrian Boult Hall, and was a director of the Birmingham Conservatoire Composers' Ensemble in 2000-2001.
Iain has received numerous public performances of his music. In 2002, the acclaimed Brodsky Quartet premiered two of his miniatures for string quartet on BBC Radio 3's "In Tune" programme, and more recently the Goldberg Ensemble performed one of his works in a concert at the Cosmo Rodewald Hall, University of Manchester.
Performances of his music have also taken place in the Regent Hall London, the Adrian Boult Hall, Brighton Corn Exchange, Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham Conservatoire Recital Hall and the Lord Rhodes Room at the RNCM. International performances include the world premiere of Whoosh-ka!, featured as part of the Birmingham Conservatoire Tour of Ukraine in 2001, sung by Adam Linstead.
As a composer-in-the-community, Iain has been actively involved in the planning and facilitation of education projects and workshops around the country. In March he was invited to join the staff of Musicate.Org as a composition animateur, and in 2003 he worked as a Project Administrator and workshop leader with Diaspora, an independent organisation in the West Midlands. Iain has this year been working alongside the Halle Orchestra Education Team on their Family Concert Series at the Bridgewater Hall and was selected as the Trainee Composer for their "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" project at the Lowry, Salford.
Iain is currently working as a free-lance composer, animateur and cocktail pianist in Birmingham. He is Guest Conductor of the Alveley Village Band in Worcestershire.
Visit his website at www.iainmasson.com