Former Richmonder gets Chicago Symphony post

The steadily rising career of a Richmond-raised classical music composer hit a new peak last month when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra appointed him a composer-in-residence.

Mason Bates, 32, begins his two-year term in September. He and the other resident, Anna Clyne, will curate a contemporary music series and work in the community to promote understanding and appreciation of music.

"It's a pretty extraordinary opportunity musically because of all you can do," he said. "It really fits in the trajectory of what I'm trying to do."

The appointment is the most recent in a string that has seen Bates work with orchestras from Mobile, Ala., to Rome. His work has been commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and performed across the country. The Richmond Symphony performed his composition "Rusty Air in Carolina" in May 2008.

Bates, working out of Berkeley, Calif., has become nationally known for mixing classical music and electronica.

"He knows [how to] combine something old and something new," said Hope Armstrong Erb, who worked with Bates in the choir at St. Christopher's School and on composition in private sessions.

She said he was the type of student who could see beyond the immediate demands of performance.

"He's definitely up there. You don't get a commission from the National Symphony unless you are."

Since graduating from St. Christopher's in 1995, Bates has earned degrees from the Juilliard School and the University of California at Berkeley.

Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or .