Monte Mason was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1949. He received his BA degree in music at Macalester College, St. Paul, in 1971. Piano and choral conducting studies were with Donald Betts, and Dale Warland, respectively. Subsequent graduate studies in church music were taken, with Johannes Riedel, advisor. Mason is organist/choirmaster, and Youth Arts Program director at St. Martin’s by the Lake since 1985, and director/founder of The Gregorian Singers, since 1973. He was until recently, the choral music reviewer for the Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians. In 1993, he restarted the annual Episcopal Youth Music Festivals, a day-long event attracting around 100 children and youth. As a two-term member of the Episcopal Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, Mason was appointed to be in charge of all the music for the liturgies at the 2003 triennial convention of the Episcopal Church, Minneapolis. He was co-editor of two volumes of music resource material for the Episcopal Church, Enriching Our Music, Vols. 1 and 2.

While not exclusively so, Mason’s compositions have been written primarily for use within the Episcopal Church. These include commissions from several local and national churches. He is published by Augsburg Fortress, Walton Music, and Church Publishing. His compositions are recorded on the RCA, Sonus Luxque, and MPR labels.