We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Quinn Mason a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Quinn, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

My journey in music started at age 10 in public school Two things happened that put me on the trajectory: first, I saw my first live classical music concert. It was a field trip to see the Dallas Symphony Orchestra play ‘Peter in the Wolf’ and I remember the artist Sting narrated. I still remember the wonder and excitement ignited in me when hearing an orchestra live for the first time. It got me super curious in how to create my own music. That leads me to the 2nd thing. I began learning the piano in public school, as it was a required class. Being hands on with music like this really satisfied my curiosity and I made rapid progress, even so much as to stay after school and practice.

It was around that time, that I started teaching myself the art of improvisation and would often do so in place of practicing assigned pieces. I liked what I made up so much, I wanted a way to preserve it and show it to other people who might want to play it. Thus, I started teaching myself notation and music theory. I also studied a lot of musical scores gifted to me from mentors. It was a laborious process but one that paid off beautifully by the time I got to high school as I was able to write complete and coherent compositions at that point.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I had a long time to think about my role as a composer and what exactly I have to contribute to society. After all, my job consists of creating music from 12 notes from silence and trying to tell a story with it. However, the more I share and experience music (and watch others experience music), the more I realize I have a special skill to create memories for people. I’m discovering more and more that I have the power to tell stories without people having met me. A mentor once told me that we share music ‘soul to soul’ and that is entirely true. Once you inspire someone, they will go on to inspire others.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The sense of community that comes with music making has always appealed to me. I was someone who was given a lot of opportunities by the community when I was growing up and now that I’m out in the world, I feel a sense of duty to give back, not only to my own community but to others that will accept it. In that role, I’ve volunteered my time by speaking at community centers, retirement homes and schools, taught conducting to middle schoolers, given intro to composition to high schoolers and much more. This goes back to my first inspiration when seeing my first concert at age 10. By creating the opportunity for someone, who knows who you might inspire.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

It’s a bit tricky for the arts nowadays because of things like accessibility and funding. Back then, arts was plentiful in schools and many different corporation funded initiatives for arts advancement. Now, with budget cuts and unsure financial planning, not so much. In my work with youth, I do notice that there is a new generation which becoming passionate about the sharing and creation of arts. Whenever I speak to organizations, I always stress that the work begins in the schools, by creating the opportunities and igniting the fire. From there, with inspired minds, these people are motivated to find ways to share the gift of art they’ve been given and spread it in the community. This usually leads to the creation of new opportunities and more ways to inspire others. It begins somewhere, and these people grow up to become extremely valuable community members and leaders. We must spark the fire in them first.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.masonianmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quinnmasoncomposer/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quinn.mason.7
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mead1955/videos