JAMES MASON
DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER

Husband, father of three sons, avid fly fisherman and painter began his musical career at the age of seven playing saxophone in band, and bugle in drum corps.  By the age of twelve he was arranging music for his local drum and bugle corps.

At the University of Northern Iowa, he majored in music and played in the concert, jazz, and marching band, while marching with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps in 1975 and winning the world championship.

In 1977, he became director of the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps of Dubuque, Iowa, moving on to become the founding director of Star of Indiana in 1984.  During its first year of competition, Mason led Star to a top ten finish, the highest placement of any first year corps in the activity’s history, moving the corps steadily upward to a first place in the 1991 World Championships and receiving director of the year honors.  He is one of the only three people in the activity that have won a world title as a performer and a director.

He has been a founder and director of the Drum Corps All Stars, a group that received national visibility by appearances in the Cotton, Orange and Fiesta Bowl parades, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.  He has also served as president of Drum Corps Midwest and on the board of directors of Drum Corps International (DCI).  In 1989 and 1990 he produced and directed the first opening ceremonies for the Drum Corps International Summer Music Games World Championship.

For his outstanding work with youth, in 1994 he was inducted into the Cedar Rapids Jefferson High School Hall of Fame.  He is founder and director of the Star Elementary Band Program, impacting young people in the Bloomington, Indiana area where he resides.

Throughout his career, he has been an arranger for many corps, high schools and university bands, and has served as a musical evaluator, judging bands, choirs, and corps in the United States and abroad.