Will Mason ’10

My name is Will Mason, and I'm a double-degree student from Falmouth, Maine. I graduated in December 2010 with degrees in Politics and in Contemporary Improvisation, an individual major of my own design.

Though I was originally a classical pianist, I decided to make drums my principal performance instrument midway through high school. My parents were not angry, just a little disappointed. At Oberlin, I studied under jazz drumming legend Billy Hart, as well as with Jamey Haddad and Paul Samuels. I also spend a lot of my time composing and tinkering with samplers and live electronics. Beginning in Fall 2011, I will be attending Columbia University, working towards a PhD in music theory.

I also pursued a degree in politics, focusing on comparative politics and political economy. I am an alum of the Cole Scholars program, a year-long intensive seminar focusing on electoral politics. As part of this program, I spent a summer working for Tom Allen's Senate campaign in my home state of Maine.

I have worked as editor in chief of The Grape, Oberlin's news and arts magazine. I also worked as an accompanist for the dance department. I also played drums in the indie-rock band Like Bells. We released two albums on Cleveland's Exit Stencil Records and performed nearly 100 shows on the road all over the Midwest and east coast. In the spring of 2011 I've been hanging around Oberlin, accompanying dance classes, working part-time for the Conservatory's communications office, and baking bread.

You can hear some of my music at myspace.com/willmasonmusic.