Composer of the Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Mason Bates is imaginatively transforming the way classical music is created and experienced as a composer, DJ, and curator. During his term as the first composer-in-residence at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, he presented a diverse array of artists on his KC Jukebox using immersive production and stagecraft. Championed by legendary conductors from Riccardo Muti to Michael Tilson Thomas, his symphonic music is the first to receive widespread acceptance for its unique integration of electronic sounds. He was named the second most-performed composer of his generation (to John Adams) in a recent survey of American music. Working in clubs as DJ Masonic, Bates created Mercury Soul, a show combining DJing and classical music, to packed crowds with clubs and orchestras around the country. Current projects include The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for The Metropolitan Opera and a piano concerto for Daniil Trifonov. Bates has also composed for film, including Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees starring Matthew McConaughey and Naomi Watts. 

Gary Rydstrom (Director/Writer) has been nominated for eighteen Academy Awards, winning seven for his work in film sound, including Jurassic Park, Titanic, and Saving Private Ryan. As an animation director, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his Pixar short film Lifted, and in 2015 directed Strange Magic, a Lucasfilm/Disney musical that features innovative integration of music and animation. He has contributed sound design for the Mason Bates orchestral pieces Alternative Energy and Mass Transmission.

Jim Capobianco (Story/Animation) has worked as a story artist on many major animated films, including Lion King, Fantasia 2000, Finding Nemo, and Inside Out. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Ratatouille. His love of traditional animation is evident in the imaginative end credits he created for Wall-E, in his Pixar short Your Friend the Rat, and in Leonardo, a hand-drawn animation that has been screened at numerous international film festivals. He has recently completed supervising the animation sequences for Disney’s new live-action feature film Mary Poppins.

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"A truly magnificent achievement...In the art of marrying music with animation, Philharmonia Fantastique is the biggest step forward since Fantasia itself."  - John Williams