Dear School of Music Family,

Please join us for an incredible array of music events featuring our amazing students and faculty. Your support of our School of Music means so much. 

Warm regards,
Dr. Linda Monson
Director, School of Music
Mason Opera This Weekend
Britten’s uniquely British wit sculpts a delightful tale that scoffs at the staunch morals of the Victorian era through Albert’s dramatic and humorous coming of age story! Join us as the shocking events unfold in Loxford, England, revealing a night of debauchery, a missing person, and a small town thrown into chaos! This complex and spirited contemporary opera is made all the more compelling through the beautiful voices, endearing characterizations, and the setting of the composer’s brilliant score!
Teaching Excellence Award
Congratulations to Professor Jim Carroll who has been selected as a recipient of the 2018 George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Linda Monson, Director of the School of Music, said that this highly prestigious university award brings great honor and recognition to Professor Carroll for his incredible teaching, commitment, and dedication to the  School of Music's Jazz Studies Area . The award ceremony occurred on April 16 in the Center for the Arts lobby. 
Left to right: Dr. Rick Davis (Dean, CVPA), Prof. Jim Carroll, and Dr. Linda Monson (Director, School of Music)
Upcoming Events
Performing works by:
Andy Akhio
John Psathas
Steve Reisch
Andrea Venet
Alejandro Vinao
Bela Fleck

Directed by Prof. John Kilkenny and Dr. Matt Halligan

Featuring Francis Favis, marimba soloist

Free admission
“The intense conviction she communicates is so arresting that hearing her rendition of a piece makes it impossible to imagine it performed any other way.”
-Paris Review
Join us for a piano masterclass Friday 9:30-11:45 AM by the renowned pianist Simone Dinnerstein. Admission to the masterclass is free. In addition, you can hear Simone perform with the Fairfax Symphony on Saturday night in a regional premiere of Phillip Glass' concerto.
Dr. Dave Porter Faculty Tuba Recital
Saturday, April 21 at 8:00 PM
de Laski Performing Arts Building Room 3001

Repertoire:
Concerto in Dm Opus 498 by Antonio Vivaldi/arranged Scotty Shelsta
Endorphins by James Grant
Prelude in F minor by William Andrew Sharrock,
Mason alumnus
Monument by John Stephens
Emmett's Lullaby by G.E. Holmes

Collaborative pianist Carol Farn, Mason alumna
Project Trio
Monday, April 23 at 12:30 PM
Harris Theatre | Free

The New York Times has called beatboxing Greg Pattillo, "the best in the world at what he does."

"An ensemble willing and able to touch on the gamut of musical bases ranging from Baroque to nu-metal and taking in pretty much every stylism in between." -Gramophone Magazine
Mason Wind Symphony directed by Prof. Mark Camphouse

Mason Symphonic Band directed by Profs. John Kilkenny & Denton Stokes

Student soloists: Tyler Thompson, Ariel Williams, Francis Favis

Join us for the 10th anniversary of the Mason Chorale Broadway Showcase featuring music from Chicago, West Side Story, Hello, Dolly!, How to Succeed in Business, Godspell, and Les Miserables*.
*Alumni choir April 28, 8:00 PM only
Dr. Lisa A. Billingham, Artistic Director
Jane Moore Kaye, collaborative pianist
New Sound Collective Concert
Wednesday, May 2 at 8:00 PM
de Laski Performing Arts Building Room 3001

Join us for a selection of contemporary chamber works by Mason's modern music ensemble. Featuring a premiere, Closed Doors, by composer Mara Keen .
Mara Keen
(BM Composition 2019)
Healing Arts Ensemble Concert
Thursday, May 3 at 6:00 PM
de Laski Performing Arts Building Room 323
Directed by Dr. Glenn Smith

The Healing Arts Ensemble is the signature performing group for the University programs in Music and Well-Being. It is the performance medium in which students apply the sound-healing principles learned in the Music as a Healing Art class. The group features a wide variety of musical instruments, exotic percussion and pure quartz crystal singing bowls all played with a focused healing intent. The music played creates an atmosphere to promote a mindful contemplative experience, stress relief, and Peace, love, and light.
Scholarship Benefit Concert
All proceeds from this concert benefit School of Music scholarships.
Spotlight on Concerto Soloists
Six of our outstanding student performers were selected by competitive audition to perform as soloists with the Mason Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in the  Scholarship Benefit Concert.
Yundian Elle Cao
Yundian (Elle) Cao is an international student from Nanjing China. She is part of the China 121 program (2 years at Mason, 2 years at Nanjing Normal University). Yundian (Elle) studies under the guidance of Professor Julianna Nickel and is in the Mason Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony. She has played with Alice Kogan Weinreb of the National Symphony Orchestra and has participated at the Washington Flute Society’s Spring event with Dionne Jackson.
Seon Gyu Park
Seon Gyu Park is a full lyric soprano, and a doctoral student at George Mason University under the tutelage of Professor Patricia Miller. She earned a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Catherine Malfitano. She won the first prize at the Virginia Regional NATS competition and was a semi-finalist at the Classical Singer National Competition. She will perform a leading role of Benjamin Britten's opera Albert Herring (Lady Billows) with Mason Opera this year.
Save the Date: Honors Recital
Friday, May 11 at 8:00 PM
Harris Theatre | Free Admission

The Honors Recital is a premier recital opportunity for students, representing each area of the School of Music, who auditioned and were selected to perform.
Mason Music Student Receives Research Grant
Morgan Sutherland, BM Performance in Percussion '19, has recently received funding through the Mason Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (OSCAR) for research to be done in summer 2018. Morgan will be researching female composers of percussion music and commissioning female composers to write original percussion works. She was inspired to apply for this grant while participating in the International Teaching Scholars Program in Costa Rica in May 2017 where she met a number of female Costa Rican percussionists and composers. This is a competitive award designed to give undergraduates an authentic research, creative, or scholarly experience under the guidance of a mentor. Prof. John Kilkenny, Director of Percussion Studies, will serve as a mentor for Morgan's project. Performances of the commissioned works are planned for fall 2018. Congratulations, Morgan!
Presser Award Winner
Congratulations to Jasmine Copeland who received the 2018 Presser Award ! This award is given to one high achieving music student a year who displays both academic and artistic excellence. We surprised her in class to award her this honor! Jasmine is pursuing a BA in Music Technology and studies jazz voice.
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