Department: Music
Charles Norman Mason
Professor of Music
Office:
Hill 114
Contact Information:
Birmingham-Southern College
900 Arkadelphia Rd
Birmingham, AL 35254
Office Phone: (205) 226-4957
Office Fax: (205) 226-3058
E-mail: cmason@bsc.edu
Brief Career Background:
CHARLES NORMAN MASON has received numerous awards for his compositions including the 2005 Samuel Barber Rome Prize Fellowship, the 1998 Premi Internacional de Composició Musical Ciutat de Tarragona Orchestra Music prize, the International Society of Bassist composition competition (Media and Bass), first Prize in the Atlanta Clarinet Association Competition, National Endowment of the Arts Individual Composers Grant, two fellowship awards from Alabama State Council on the Arts, Delius Prize, BMI Award for Young Composers, and the International Bourges Electro-Acoustic Competition.
Most recently he was commissioned by the New York American Composers Orchestra for a work that was premiered in Carnegie Hall in April to rave reviews. Additionally, he has filled commissions from the Ensemble Sirius, Miami String Quartet, the Dale Warland Singers, the New York Goliard Ensemble, Metropolitan Opera Soloist Mildred Allen, Steinway Artist William DeVan, bassist Robert Black, Onix Ensemble of Mexico, the Luna Nova Ensemble, the Fairbanks Symphony, and the Alabama Symphony. His works have been performed throughout the world including the Aspen Summer Music Festival, and new music festivals in Prague, Bucharest, Bulgaria, and Sao Paulo. Mason is also the founder of Living Artist Recordings. He is chair of the music department and teaches composition and music technology.
Educational Background:
Bachelor of Music: University of Miami
Masters of Music: University of Illinois Doctorate of Music: University of Illinois
Areas of Academic Interest:
- Music Composition
- Music Theory
- Electronic Music
- Computer Music
Courses Taught:
MU 121 Introduction to Music (1)
An introductory-level survey of music literature. This course introduces fundamental musical concepts and offers a survey of American vernacular music, music of selected world cultures, and standard repertory of western art music. Development of listening skills is emphasized. Fall, SpringMU 142 Electro-Acoustic Ensemble (¼)
The performance of music exclusively with electronic instruments. Prerequisite: consent. Fall, Spring.MU 150 Music Rules! Fundamentals of Music Theory Through Service Learning (1)
A course in the rudiments of music designed for the non-music major and for majors who need to develop basic skills. The course includes a service-learning component that culminates in the creation of a short song cycle or youth opera appropriate for elementary-school children, based on texts provided by children in area schools. To develop relationships with area schools, we will attend cultural events and daytime classes with local elementary students during the semester, and create musical works in collaborative partnerships with them. This course is typically offered as a first-year foundations course. Fall.MU 151 Elementary Theory I (½)
Notation, scales, and keys; cadence patterns, chord classification, and basic harmonic progressions; four-voiced writing using triads and the dominant seventh chord and their inversions. To be taken concurrently with MU 153 and 159. Prerequisite: MU 150 or consent. Fall.MU 152 Elementary Theory II (½)
A continuation of Elementary Theory I. To be taken concurrently with MU 154 and 160. Prerequisite: MU 151. Spring.MU 153 Ear Training I (¼)
A course in sight singing and music dictation skills of diatonic melodies, simple rhythms, triads, and intervals. This course is to be taken concurrently with MU 151. Prerequisite: consent.MU 154 Ear Training II (¼)
A course in sight singing and music dictation skills of diatonic melodies and compound rhythms in treble, bass, alto, and tenor clefs, and diatonic triads. To be taken concurrently with MU 152. Prerequisite: MU 153.MU 155 Ear Training III (¼)
A course in sight singing and music dictation skills of melodies involving secondary chords and modulation, complex rhythms, and all diatonic triads and seventh chords. To be taken concurrently with MU 251. Prerequisite: MU 154.MU 156 Ear Training IV (¼)
A course in sight singing and music dictation skills of melodies involving chromatic harmony, all triads and seventh chords, mixed meters, and soprano and bass dictation from four-part harmonic progressions. To be taken concurrently with MU 252. Prerequisite: MU 155.MU 158 Music Technology (1)
An introduction to electro-acoustic music, which covers analog and digital synthesis, beginning sequencing, and electro-acoustic music literature. Fall.MU 251 Advanced Theory I (½)
The use of secondary seventh chords and chromatically altered chords; analysis of style and texture in nineteenth-century literature; elementary composition. To be taken concurrently with MU 155 and 161. Prerequisite: MU 152. Fall.MU 252 Advanced Theory II (½)
A continuation of Advanced Theory I, with emphasis on twentieth-century compositional techniques. To be taken concurrently with MU 156 and 162. Prerequisite: MU 251. Spring.MU 351 Counterpoint (½)
A study of the art of writing counterpoint. Prerequisite: MU 252. Fall.MU 352 Theory of Twentieth-Century Music (½)
An analytical survey of twentieth-century music. The course includes detailed study of the major works of the twentieth century. Prerequisite: MU 252. Spring.MU 355 Composition (½)
Elementary principles of composition with an emphasis on small forms and logical organization of musical ideas. Prerequisite: consent or concurrent enrollment in MU 151. Fall, Spring.MU 358 Advanced Electro-Acoustic Music (½)
The study of electro-acoustic music with emphasis given to composition involving computers and synthesizers. Prerequisite: MU 158. Spring.MU 450 Orchestration (½)
A study of orchestral instruments and the textural elements of orchestral music. Prerequisite: MU 252. Spring.MU 455 Advanced Composition (1)
Advanced study and practice of music composition. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: MU 355. Fall, Spring.