Draylen Mason has been identified as the 17-year-old musician who was tragically killed in a series of package explosions in Austin, Texas. Mason was a member of the Interlochen Center for the Arts, and the principal double bassist at the Austin Youth Orchestra and Austin Soundwaves, in addition to other musical programs, according to his Facebook memorial page.
William Dick, founding member of the Austin Youth Orchestra, of which Mason was a member, described Mason as “incandescent.”
“Every once in a while, you see a kid that just has this spark,” Dick said. “When Draylen appeared, in some sense he was incandescent, like a Rembrandt painting where the light sort of comes out of him. He’s in the room and his little spirit was there, along with the technical proficiency he had.”
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Mason was planning on attending the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.
Tributes to Mason have spread across social media, and a YouCaring campaign has already raised more than $76,000 on his behalf.
If you’d like to donate to the Austin Youth Orchestra on Mason’s behalf, you can do so here.