Mason Daffinee joins the Mandarins design team as a visual designer and music educator who has created productions for drum corps and marching bands in the United States and abroad.
Mason began his drum corps career with his local corps, Spectrum Drum & Bugle Corps, before marching with Phantom Regiment from 1999 to 2002. He later served on Phantom Regiment’s brass staff for thirteen seasons. He earned degrees in tuba performance and music education from Ithaca College and toured North America and Japan with the stage production Blast!
As an educator, Mason spent 15 years in the classroom, including as Assistant Director of Bands at Hebron High School in Carrollton, Texas, and Associate Director of Bands at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio, Texas. He began his visual design career at Reagan and has since designed for school programs appearing at Bands of America Regionals, Super Regionals, and Grand Nationals, as well as the UIL State Marching Contest and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
His drum corps visual design credits include the Crossmen, The Cavaliers, and the Yokohama Inspires in Japan. He has also created visual productions for military ensembles performing at international tattoos.
Additionally, Mason is a military spouse. His wife, Jennifer, is a U.S. Air Force bandsman currently on assignment at West Point.