Iain Masson (1981- ) is a postgraduate composition student at the Royal Northern College of Music where his teacher is Adam Gorb. He holds a BMus(Hons) Degree in Composition from Birmingham Conservatoire, and works as a freelance composition animateur with Musicate.Org. He is an associate conductor of the Birmingham Concert Orchestra a guest conductor of the Alveley Band in Shropshire.

A former student of the late John Mayer, Iain graduated from Birmingham Conservatoire in 2003 with a BMus(Hons) in Composition, having also studied for one year under the direction of Albanian composer Thoma Simaku and, more recently, with Andrew Downes.

At Birmingham Conservatoire, Iain also developed his skills in the field of conducting and musical direction and in 2002 he was awarded a Distinction for his tenure as Principal Conductor of the New Streetly Youth Orchestra (a period which saw recruitment levels rise to an unprecidented level and a full team of section tutors installed). This insight into conducting, combined with encouragement and guidance from teacher Richard Evans, led to his appointment as Associate Conductor of Birmingham Concert Orchestra in 2003.

Although still a student, Iain has received numerous public performances of his music. In 2002, the acclaimed Brodsky Quartet premiered two of his miniatures for string quartet on BBC Radio 3's "In Tune" programme, and more recently performances of his music have taken place in the Regent Hall London, the Adrian Boult Hall, Brighton Corn Exchange, the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) and Birmingham Conservatoire Recital Hall. International performances include the world premiere of "Whoosh-ka!", featured as part of the Birmingham Conservatoire 'Tour of Ukraine' in 2001, sung by Adam Linstead.

On Friday 18th February 2005, Iain Masson's "Little Suite for Strings" was selected by the acclaimed Goldberg Ensemble for a public performance at Manchester University as part of a national tour celebrating new music for strings.

In the diverse field of community music, Iain has been actively involved in the planning and facilitation of education projects and workshops around the country. In March he was invited to join the staff of Musicate.Org as a composition animateur, and over the last year he worked as a Project Administrator and workshop leader with Diaspora, an independent organisation in the West Midlands. Iain is now worksing alongside the Halle Orchestra Education Team on their Family Concert Series at the Bridgewater Hall.

Visit www.iainmasson.com for further details or e-mail Iain at iainmasson@hotmail.com.

"...lush strings conducted by Iain L. Masson" - BBC Review of "I Am Jim Moray" album, reviewed in February 2002

"a really accomplished composer" - Paul Cassidy, Brodsky Quartet

"no composer as young as [Masson] has the right to call on such a fantastic aural memory...I am most impressed" - Christopher Morley, Chief Music Critic, Birmingham Post