A St. Christopher’s graduate and rising star in the classical music world, Mason Bates, has been named the new composer-in-residence at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington.

Bates, 38, who is also a club DJ and electronic music fan, just finished a six-year-stint as a composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children. He told The Washington Post about his plans at the Kennedy Center: “The things I would love to advocate for here are adventurous new artistic experiences, ways you can make those experiences fun and challenging and even social.”

Here’s a fairly recent interview with Bates talking about composing.