American pianist Jacob Mason made his appearance the classical music scene in 2013, when he performed Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto no. 1 with the New World Symphony alongside conductor Joshua Gersen. Since then, he has built a performing career that has taken him to countries including Switzerland, Italy, Spain. He has been invited to play at the Miami International Piano Festival, Kaleidoscope MusArt, Escape2Create, and the Birmingham New Music Festival.

Critics have praised his “daunting technique and expertise.” Lawrence Budmen wrote that he was “clearly a talented player with a penchant for offbeat and demanding repertoire,” elsewhere lauding his “rock-solid technique and attention to detail.” George Grella wrote of his Carnegie Hall debut, “Mason’s playing was exceptional, with dazzling fingerwork and an ear for phrasing.”

The son of two composers, he has been an active member of the global new music community. He has worked with important composers including Unsuk Chin, George Lewis, and Tania León. Upcoming projects include collaborations with Isaac Roth Blumfield, Luis Fernando Amaya, and Sergio Cote Barco. He has founded a number of chamber groups, including the Escape Ensemble in Seaside, FL, and has performed with SOYUZ and Ensemble Lemniscate in Switzerland.

In addition to the piano, he studied harpsichord and Generalbass at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and electronic music and sound synthesis at the Elektronisches Studio Basel. He is a founding member of Ex-Sentia Ensemble, along with percussionist Miguel Fernández and percussionist Santiago Villar. Ex-Sentia’s projects for 2023 include a call for scores at Impuls Graz and a Swiss tour of new works for trio, electronics, and multimedia by Joshua Mastel, José del Avellanal, and Stylianos Dimou.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1998, Jacob currently holds a Master of Arts degree from the Hochschule für Musik Basel, where he studied with Claudio Martinez Mehner. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Frost School of Music under Kevin Kenner. He previously spent two years studying at the New England Conservatory in Boston. He is now pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Contemporary Performance at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel.