A University of North Texas music composition major has overcome a life-changing obstacle which happened during a serious car crash. Against great odds – she will graduate later this month.
If music has the power to heal, few know this better -- than Mason Bynes. On Friday, in a studio at the College of Music, the UNT senior oversaw an ensemble playing a composition she wrote.
It's one of many.
"I like the way it feels when I write something," said Bynes, who grew up in Houston. "And somebody really enjoys it or enjoys playing it."
Mason is a vocalist. The piano and the guitar are two of Bynes' favorite instruments for composition. But just three years ago, she nearly gave up on her dream, after a car accident during Christmas break in her freshman year.
"I crawled out of my car, and I saw my hand was really messed up," she said. "It was a really traumatic experience."
Her left hand mangled in the wreck, doctors had to amputate two of her fingers. She credits her parents, friends, and her teachers with convincing her to push on.
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"It's really painful," she said. "But I wanted to play so bad, so I was determined to get through it."
That determination was part of the healing. That, and the prosthetic fingers she was fitted with – which Mason now uses to play the piano. She says she's had to change her approach, but which physical therapy became proficient enough to pass her piano proficiency test – required for graduation.
"I would say it aggressively challenged how bad I wanted to be a composer," said Bynes. "And how bad I wanted to be a musician."
Mason says before her accident, piano always came easy.
"When you go through something, as you're going through it you don't realize how strong you are," she said. Once you've done it, you're like, OK, what else can I do?"
Mason recently accepted a scholarship to pursue a master's degree at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She hopes to have a career in scoring music for films and media. It's a competitive business. But nothing -- compared to what she's already been through.
"These obstacles we go through, there will be more in the future," she said. "And each mountain we approach isn't as big as you think it is. And it's even smaller when you're looking behind you."
