Mary Knight Wood Mason was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pianist, music educator and composer. She was born in Easthampton, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, the daughter of Lieutenant-governor, manufacturer and philanthropist Horatio G. Knight

Horatio G. Knight

Horatio Gates Knight was an American politician, manufacturer and philanthropist who served as Lieutenant Governor for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1875 to 1879....

 and Mary Ann Huntoon Knight. She was educated at Charlier Institute in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and Miss Porter's School in Farmington

Farmington, Connecticut

Farmington is a town located in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census. It is home to the world headquarters of several large corporations including Carrier Corporation, Otis Elevator Company, and Carvel...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, studying music with Karl Klauser, Benjamin Johnson Lang

Benjamin Johnson Lang

Benjamin Johnson Lang was an American conductor, pianist, organist, teacher and composer. He introduced a large amount of music to American ears, including the world premiere of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No...

 and Henry Holden Huss

Henry Holden Huss

Henry Holden Huss was an American composer, pianist and music teacher. Huss grew up in New York City, the son of German immigrant parents. After studying piano and organ locally with a teacher who had trained at the Leipzig Conservatory, Huss traveled to Munich to study at the Royal Conservatory...

.

Knight married Charles Greenleaf Wood of Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 in 1879, and Alfred Bishop Mason of New York in 1914, after which she lived in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and summered at a cabin in the Catskill Mountains

Catskill Mountains

The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...

. She died in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Works

Wood published about fifty songs. Selected works include:

• Thou
• Ashes of Roses (Words by Elaine Goodale)
• Thy Name
• Songs of Sleep

Her music has been recorded and issued on CD, including:

• Women at an Exposition: Music Composed by Women and Performed at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago Audio CD (July 27, 1993) Koch Int'l Classics, ASIN: B000001SH8