Dear Mason Music Family,

"If music be the food of love, play on." Honoring Shakespeare's dictum, our Mason Strings students will present a Love Notes concert today at 12.30 pm in the Fenwick Library Lobby.

We are excited to share great music this weekend with our Mason Jazz Festival performances this Saturday, February 18 and our Dewberry Faculty Artist Series this Sunday, February 19 at 3 pm and 7 pm in Harris Theater. The 7 pm concert is dedicated to the memory of Professor John Aler. Please join us for these marvelous free concerts!  

Purchase your tickets now for our Jazz Faculty performances at Blues Alley on Monday, February 27 and our Mason Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band Concert on Tuesday, February 28 in Mason's Center for the Arts.  In collaboration with Dr. William Lake Jr., Director of Bands and the Dewberry School of Music, members of the Mason Dance Company will perform a premiere by Lawrence Jackson to the score "Come Sunday" by Omar Thomas. 

We are thrilled to announce that composer Evelyn Simpson-Curenton (MM Composition '23) will be featured on the PBS channel as part of a Great Performances Series The Magic of Spirituals on February 24. She will discuss the history she considers while arranging the music of Spirituals in concert. How honored we were to present Evelyn Simpson-Curenton's Passages in May 2021 (a world premiere by our University Choirs), which our Dewberry School of Music commissioned for our Song of Freedom concert.  

We are pleased to present our final Dewberry Faculty Artist Series concert for this month on February 26 at 7 pm featuring Julianna Nickel, flute; Dennis Edelbrock, trumpet; David Porter, tuba; and Ina Mirtcheva Blevins, piano. Please be aware that our Faculty Artist Series featuring Anna Balakerskaia and Friends has been postponed until later in the semester (date TBD).  

Please also mark your calendars for our University Chamber Singers Concert Women in Song on Sunday, March 5, and our Mason Symphony Orchestra Concert on Monday, March 6 featuring Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 From the New World and Ibert's Concertino with concerto competition winner Stephen Sim.

We hope you will join us at Mason for our many outstanding concerts presented by our students and faculty. 

With love and gratitude for the music we share,

Dr. Linda A. Monson, Director

Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music

Join us on Wednesday, February 15 at 12:30 pm for the Love Notes Concert in Fenwick Library Lobby.

Music in the Lobby is coordinated by the Fenwick Library and Professor June Huang, Director of Strings, Dewberry School of Music. Music in the Lobby features music by Mason students and is approved for MUSI 300 credit. Refreshments at the concert are provided courtesy of the Library Strategic Marketing Advisory Committee (SMAC).

MASON JAZZ FESTIVAL 

Saturday, February 18, 2023 

10 am - 10 pm 

Harris Theatre 

Performances are FREE and open to the public! Special guest performances by the Ben Patterson Group, Mason Jazz Ensemble and US Navy Band Commodores! 

DEWBERRY FACULTY ARTIST SERIES: COMPOSITION RECITAL

Sunday, February 19 at 3 pm

Harris Theatre | Free Admission

Featuring composers Jesse Guessford, Robert W. Gillam, John Jansen, Michael Nickens, and Glenn Smith. Original works from Mason's composition faculty featuring acoustic, electronic, experimental/noise, audio/visual, and improvisatory styles.

DEWBERRY FACULTY ARTIST SERIES: Dr. Eunae Ko Han, pianist and Friends

Sunday, February 19 at 7 pm

Harris Theatre | Free Admission

This recital features Mason faculty Dr. Eunae Ko Han, piano; Dr. Gene Galvin, bass-baritone; guest artists Min Jin, tenor; Kyungmi Bae, oboe; and Hyun Ji Choi, cello performing works by Schubert, Strauss, Faure, Ravel, and Bruch.

This recital is dedicated to the memory of Professor John Aler.

DEWBERRY FACULTY ARTIST SERIES: Flute and Brass

Sunday, February 26 at 7 pm

Harris Theatre | Free Admission

Featuring Julianna Nickel, flute; Dennis Edelbrock, trumpet; David Porter, tuba and Ina Mirtcheva Blevins, piano performing works by Robert Jager, Ian Lester, Bruce Broughten, Aidan Mulldoon Wong, and more!

Mason Jazz Faculty at BLUES ALLEY

Monday, February 27

7 pm and 9 pm shows 

Mason Jazz Faculty returns to Historic Blues Alley in Washington D.C. for a special performance.

WIND SYMPHONY AND SYMPHONIC BAND CONCERT

Tuesday, February 28

Center for the Arts-Concert Hall

6:45 PM – Pre-Concert Talk

8:00 PM – Shared Concert Feature

Tickets: $12 General Public, $8 Seniors, $5 Students

In collaboration with Dr. William Lake Jr., Director of Bands, and the Dewberry School of Music, members of the Mason Dance Company will perform a premiere by Lawrence Jackson to the score "Come Sunday" by Omar Thomas.

UNIVERSITY CHAMBER SINGERS CONCERT: Women in Song

Sunday, March 5

Harris Theatre, Fairfax Campus

3:30 PM – Pre-Concert Curtain Talk

4:00 PM – Concert

Tickets: $12 General Public, $8 Seniors, $5 Students

The University Chamber Singers will present Women in Song on March 5, 2023, at 4 pm in the Harris Theater on the Fairfax campus. Please join us for a series of works composed by female composers. The choir has been working on a work by Vivan Fung based on a Balinese dance called the Kecuk. The students are studying the movement of the Kecuk with a professional dancer and two guest dancers will be featured as a part of the concert, with thanks to the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, DC for their support.

MASON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA & CONCERTO SOLOIST CONCERT

Monday, March 6

Concert Hall, Center for the Arts

8:00 PM – Concert

Tickets: $15 General Public, $10 Seniors, $5 Students

The Mason Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Soo Han will perform the Arirang Fantasy, Ibert's Concertino da Camera for Alto Saxophone with soloist Stephen Sim, and Symphony No. 9 in E minor from Dvorak's New World Symphony.

Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 PM

Tyler Mire, Composition,

Doctoral Recital

Harris Theatre

Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 PM

Brice Bach, Trumpet,

Senior Recital

Harris Theatre

Saturday, Feb. 25 at 3 PM

Andrew Wood, Trumpet,

Doctoral Recital

Harris Theatre

Wednesday, March 1 at 7 PM

Michael Secchi, Bass Trombone,

Senior Recital

Harris Theatre

All student recitals are both live in-person performances and live-streamed.

February Weekly 12:30 PM Departmental Schedule:

Monday, Feb. 20, Vocal Departmental, Harris Theatre

Wednesday, Feb. 22, Strings Departmental, Harris Theatre

Friday, Feb. 24, Piano Departmental, Harris Theatre

All departmental recitals are free and open to the public. Departmental recitals will occur in-person. 

Discussion with Trevor James, Artist, and Flute Authority Technician, Dr. Keith Hanlon will be held Wednesday, February 22 at 7:00 pm in MTB 2018.

We are thrilled to announce that composer Evelyn Simpson-Curenton (MM Composition '23) will be featured on the PBS channel as part of a Great Performances Series The Magic of Spirituals on February 24. She will discuss the history she considers while arranging the music of Spirituals in concert. How honored we were to present Evelyn Simpson-Curenton's Passages in May 2021 (a world premiere by our University Choirs), which our Dewberry School of Music commissioned for our Song of Freedom concert.  

Skye Callaway, a Music Office student worker won the MLK Evening of Reflection Art Competition. Student Artists were encouraged to respond to the 2023 theme "Lighting the Pathway: Renewing, Reviving, Restoring, and Remembering the Dream." Winners of this CVPA-wide competition were voted on as part of the Jan. 30 program. Skye Callaway is a freshman in Mason's Integrative Studies.

Photos by Cristian Torres and DeRon Rockingham/OUB.

George Mason University Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble (GMUTEE) performed at The U.S. Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Conference, Ft. Myer, VA. on Friday, February 3. GMUTEE, conducted by Dr. David Porter and Dr. Mark Jenkins, performed two pieces for this international audience.

Guest Artist Robert McDuffie, violinist presented a Strings Masterclass last Saturday. McDuffie, a Grammy-nominated and world-renowned violinist worked with Mason Strings students on the Monson Grand Tier. This masterclass was coordinated through CFA and Prof. June Huang, Director of Strings.

Mason string students gave back to their community last weekend by providing live music for the Arlington Food Assistance Center's Empty Bowls fundraiser. Their music elevated the experience for everyone and strengthened our commitment to serving others.

The 6^th Annual Concerto Competition by DC Strings Workshop and Accord Symphony Orchestra was held on January 28, 2023, at the National United Methodist Church in DC under the direction of Music Director – Conductor Dr. Juan Gallastegui Roca. The competition was open to students, amateur, and professional musicians. The judges included Dr. Juan Gallastegui Roca, Mr. Wayman C. McCoy III, and Anh Nguyen, DMA pianist at Mason in the studio of Dr. Linda Monson.

Dr. Dennis Edelbrock presented a NAfME Professional Learning Community Webinar titled "Building a Better Brass Section." The webinar shared creative ways how to build your brass section. Upper range, sound quality, and performance anxiety, among other concepts, were discussed with proven ways of improving your students’ technical abilities. In addition, the psychological components of playing were shared by Dr. Edelbrock including building confidence, leadership skills, and dealing with performance anxiety.