Photo credit - Lizzie Seward
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Mason Cancilla, whose conducting has been described as "poised, elegant, and very polished." (JoAnn Falletta) founded the Avanti Chamber Orchestra and Chorus in 2023. It has since become simply Avanti - a group of dedicated musicians ranging from amateur to professional. Together we form an ensemble, whose repertoire spans the Baroque through the Modern. Avanti is also dedicated to aiding in the development of young soloists and composers. In August of 2024 the orchestra performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" and the two Romances for Violin and Orchestra for the 1st Annual Buffalo Beethoven Festival, also founded by Cancilla.
He is currently music director at St. Benedict's RC Church in Buffalo and of Cantio Sacra at Canisius University. Mason is a conductor and team coordinator for Buffalo String Works and was a general music educator for St. Andrew's Country Day School from 2021-24. In the 2022/23 concert season, Cancilla acted as a long-term guest conductor for the Cheektowaga Community Symphony, and later returned for a concert in April of '24. This summer, Mason will spend time at the Eastman School of Music studying and conducting Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem for the second time. This will be Mason’s fourth time attending Summer@Eastman. The past program’s included: Bach's B minor Mass, Margaret Bond’s Credo, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem. In the summer of '21, Mason spent two intensive weeks studying with eleven other conductors in the South Carolina Conductors Institute. This was his second time through the program, having been a member of the 2020 institute. Cancilla conducted the world premiere of his Festival Mass written for the sesquicentennial celebration of Canisius College (now Canisius University) in March of 2020. Festival Mass was written for chamber orchestra, choir, and soprano soloist. While at Canisius from 2018-20, Cancilla was the assistant conductor of the Canisius College Chamber Orchestra and also served as it's resident composer and arranger. He performed as a member of the Canisius Chorale and pursued studies in conducting, vocal, and piano performance. In 2020 Mason was awarded the "Edith DeLuca Memorial Award for Excellence in Music". In 2018 he placed second in the 7th Annual "Persis Vehar Competition for Excellence in Composition". In 2019 and 2020, Mason music directed Godspell and Into the Woods at Niagara County Community College (NCCC) where he received the "Award for Excellence in Business, Technology, and the Arts". As an advocate for community arts programs, Mason has served as music director for the St. Stephen’s Parish Players on Grand Island in productions of The Wizard of Oz and 9 to 5 the Musical. From 2015-17 Mason was the stage manager and librarian for the Cheektowaga Community Symphony Orchestra. Mason is a graduate of the University at Buffalo (UB) with an MM in Orchestral Conducting. While at UB, he served as the assistant conductor of the University at Buffalo Symphony Orchestra (UBSO). He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Canisius College, now Canisius University, and an Associate of Science degree from Niagara County Community College, now SUNY Niagara. |
A full CV is also available to download here:
| mason_cancilla_curriculum_vitae.pdf |
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