Dear School of Music Family,

Congratulations to our music graduates! We look forward to honoring our School of Music 2018 graduates at the College of Visual and Performing Arts Degree Celebration this Thursday at 1:30 pm and at the University Commencement this Friday at 10 am.  

With our sincere congratulations to each graduate,
Dr. Linda Monson
Director, School of Music
2018 Presidential Faculty Excellence Awards
Professor Patricia Miller and Dr. Linda Monson are the recipients of the 2018 John Toups Presidential Medal for Excellence in Teaching! The Toups Medal is presented to a faculty member whose teaching exemplifies our commitment to ongoing innovation and excellence in delivering a transformative learning experience to our students.  
The 2018 Presidential Faculty Excellence Medals represent the university’s highest recognition of faculty members who exemplify our ideals of excellence: teaching innovation, research and scholarship of consequence, diversity and inclusion, and social impact in our community and around the world.
New Vocal Faculty Colleague
We are thrilled to announce our new full-time voice faculty colleague, soprano Elissa Alvarez, who will be joining our School of Music in August!

Noted by the Boston Globe for her “intensely lyrical” singing, soprano Elissa Alvarez is an equally enthusiastic interpreter of recital, concert, and operatic repertoire spanning early music to works of the twenty-first century.
Farewell, Lynn Wildman!
Our beloved Academic Advisor, Lynn Wildman, is relocating to Rochester, New York, in June.  Her work as Academic Advisor in our School of Music over the past decade has been of immense value to our students. We are so grateful to Lynn for her extraordinary service. 

Lynn is an alumna of the Mason School of Music, graduating with her Bachelor of Arts degree in 2005. She assumed the role of Academic Advisor in 2008 and has become an integral part of our School of Music. She was voted the 2015 George Mason University Academic Advisor of the Year. The School of Music is indebted to Lynn for her extraordinary work, which she maintained while earning her master's degree in Higher Education in Student Services (May 2018) and also while becoming a new mom!
Graduation Festivities
College of Visual and Performing Arts Degree Celebration
Thursday, May 17 at 1:30 PM
Center for the Arts
Ticketed event

University Commencement
Friday, May 18 at 10:00 AM
EagleBank Arena
Upcoming Flute Recital & Masterclass
Masterclass and Recital with Leah Arsenault
Saturday, May 19
de Laski Performing Arts Building Room 3001
Free Admission

2:00 PM Recital
3:30 PM Masterclass
Fairfax Spotlight on the Arts
Mason School of Music was featured in a gala event celebrating Fairfax Spotlight on the Arts on April 20 at Old Town Hall. Kevin Syu, pictured below, is the recipient of the Ruth Haycock Piano Scholarship Award given by the Fairfax Spotlight on the Arts.
President Angel Cabrera, undergraduate pianist and music technology major Kevin Syu, graduate piano student Yiyao Hao, and Dr. Linda Monson
Interdisciplinary Grant:
World War I Music
Mason music students performed "Songs of World War I" at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, on April 24 as part of an interdisciplinary grant "Resounding the Archives" involving scholarly and performance activities with GMU, UVA, and VA Tech. Additionally, our Mason Music Technology students are making professional recordings this week of the World War I songs with our Mason student performers. 
Faith Ellen Lam, piano; Jimmy Stevens, tenor; Dr. Linda Monson, Director;
Estrella Hong, piano; Crystal Golden, soprano
Alumna Spotlight
Alumna Andrea Morano, BM Flute Performance 2013, recently earned a prestigious full time flute position with the United States Air Force Academy Band in Colorado. Andrea follows in the footsteps of the late Judith Lapple (Andrea's flute teacher while at Mason) who also played in the U.S. Air Force Band. This is Andrea's dream job come true! Congratulations, Andrea!
Stay in the Know