Dear Mason Music Family,

We invite you to join us for an exciting lineup of concerts at Mason these final two weeks of September. We are pleased to host Argentine guest artists, Alejandro Brittes Quartet, this Wednesday September 20 in a transformative chamamé performance.

Please purchase your tickets now for the Mason Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band Concert "Fusion" on Tuesday, September 26. Directed by Dr. William Lake, Jr., this concert features Dr. Kathleen Mulcahy, clarinet soloist. We are also thrilled to welcome the Fairfax Wind Symphony, directed by Stan Schoonover, to the Center for the Arts stage for this spectacular concert.  

Join us Wednesday, September 27 for a free concert by the New Sound Collective, Mason's contemporary music ensemble. An innovative, experimental ensemble directed Dr. Andrea Reinkemeyer, Mason's Director of Composition, the New Sound Collective features original works by Mason student composers. 

We are eagerly anticipating September 30 Arts by George!  Purchase your tickets now for this amazing and memorable annual benefit event that supports student scholarships at Mason's College of Visual and Performing Arts, Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at the Center for the Arts.  Dewberry School of Music student showcases include Mason Wind Symphony in collaboration with School of Dance, Mason Opera, Mason Jazz Ensemble, and Mason pianists.

Additionally, Dewberry School of Music classical guitarists and Mason's Green Machine Ensembles will be featured September 30 at Arts by George!  

Please mark your calendars and join us for the outstanding Dewberry School of Music concerts in October as highlighted throughout this newsletter. How thrilled we are to present our Mason Symphony Orchestra on October 11 and our Mason Jazz Ensembles in a special Jazz4Justice concert on October 14 highlighting the legacy of Professor Anthony Maiello. We are pleased to present Mason Opera Scenes at Old Town Hall Fairfax on October 16 and Mason Choral Festival on October 21 in the Center for the Arts.

I want to offer my huge thanks to our Friends of Music at Mason for your enthusiastic support of our Dewberry School of Music students and faculty. We deeply appreciate your attendance at our concerts and your scholarship support of our talented and deserving music students.  

With gratitude for the music,

Dr. Linda A. Monson, Director

Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music

Alejandro Brittes Quartet

Wednesday, September 20 | 8 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Experience a transformative chamamé performance from the Alejandro Brittes Quartet. Chamamé–just like tango–has been declared as “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO. Argentine accordionist, composer, and researcher Alejandro Brittes has been declared one of the foremost contemporary chamamé ambassadors and innovators.

Mason Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band

Tuesday, September 26 | 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

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

The Mason Wind Symphony opens the 2023-24 performance season with its first concert titled FUSION, celebrating the unique ways artists draw inspiration from different sources to create a masterpiece that goes beyond its parts.

Featured works on this concert include Scott McAllister’s Black Dog featuring Reva and Sid Dewberry School of Music Director of Woodwinds and Professor of Clarinet, Dr. Kathleen Mulcahy inspired by the music of Led Zeppelin and Yasuhide Ito’s Gloriosa, a symphonic poem fusing Gregorian chant and Japanese folk music.

The Mason Wind Symphony is excited to welcome the Fairfax Wind Symphony, a Fairfax, VA-based community band directed by Stan Schoonover, to share the Center for the Arts stage for this season opener. 

Join us this Wednesday, September 27 at 8 p.m. in the deLaski 3001 for the New Sound Collective concert featuring works by Alex Temple, Eve Beglarian, Isaac Schankler, and new works by Mason students. New Sound Collective is an innovative, experimental ensemble directed by Dr. Andrea Reinkmeyer, Mason's new Director of Composition.

Save the date for the annual ARTS by George! on Saturday, September 30, 2023! This annual benefit event supports student scholarships at George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.

The evening begins by showcasing the remarkable talents of Mason Arts students amid an array of spectacular food and beverages. It culminates with an exciting headliner performance of Renée Elise Goldsberry, best known for her Tony Award-winning portrayal of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall.

Mason Symphony Orchestra

Wednesday, October 11 | 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

Tickets: $12 General, $8 Senior, $5 Student

The Mason Symphony Orchestra opens the '23-'24 season led by Dr. Soo Han with a glorious celebration of the colors of human emotion. Conductor Michael Stern opens the concert with Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari, a rhythmic and groovy opener, originally written as a triumphant post-pandemic return to the concert hall. Violin Professor and Director of Strings, Prof. June Huang, and Viola Professor Nana Gaskins Vaughn will join the MSO for Mozart’s joyful Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat. Lastly, Beethoven’s boisterous and energetic Symphony No. 7 will close the program.

This performance will take place in the George Mason University Center for the Arts Concert Hall on Wednesday, October 11 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are available online and at the door. Additional information and tickets are available at music.calendar.gmu.edu.

On Friday October 13 at 7 pm, EagleBank Arena will be hosting Mason Madness, an annual event that serves as the official kick-off of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons. Each year, Doc Nix and the Green Machine perform a choreographed floor show that incorporates multiple Green Machine Ensembles as well as the Mason Cheerleaders, the Masonettes, and others. In previous years, the Green Machine has performed hits such as Welcome to the Jungle, Livin’ On A Prayer, and Before I Let Go. What is this years performance going to be? Come to Mason Madness on October 13 to find out!

Jazz4Justice - Celebrating the Legacy of Anthony Maiello

Saturday, October 14 | 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

In our 22nd annual Jazz4Justice we will team up with Legal Services of Northern Virginia to continue our mutual mission to do good in the community. We are honored to have Distinguished Professor of Music Anthony Maiello as our special guest conductor. We will also perform several of Professor Maiello’s arrangements for Jazz Ensemble including “The George Mason Shuffle.” Established in 2001 by Fairfax, VA attorney Edward L. Weiner, Esq. and Founder of Mason Jazz Studies, Jim Carroll, Jazz4Justice™ is an award-winning annual concert presented by Legal Services of Northern Virginia (LSNV) and Mason Jazz Studies. Jazz4Justice™ is a truly unique event where attorneys, judges, students, and members of the Northern Virginia community gather to celebrate their love of jazz. Proceeds from the evening benefit LSNV to continue its mission of service to the Northern Virginia community as well as providing financial support for the Mason Jazz Studies department for scholarships, trips, recordings and student projects.

MASON OPERA Scenes

Monday, October 16 | 8 p.m.

Old Town Hall 3999 University Drive, Fairfax

Free Admission 

MASON OPERA opens its 2023-24 season with an exciting Showcase of Opera Scenes on Monday, October 16, 2023.

This special community outreach performance features Mason’s talented student artists in scenes from The Magic Flute, Così fan Tutte, Hansel and Gretel, Lakmé, Daughter of the Regiment, Carmen, and La Traviata.  

Save the date - Monday, October 16th, 8pm Old Town Hall- and bring family and friends to enjoy scenes and ensembles from the world’s most beloved operas! 

Fall Choral Festival

Saturday, October 21 | 4 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

Free Admission

The Fall Choral Invitational is an annual event that this year will bring Chantilly and Oakton high school choirs to campus for the opportunity to create community by taking part in choral clinics and performing on stage with the Mason Choral Department under the direction of Dr. Lisa Billingham.

“Songs of Unity” The diverse repertoire selected for the concert includes selections from a wide variety of choral traditions.

The Mason Music Ambassadors are a group of student leaders who are chosen by our faculty and administrators to serve as student liaisons for our prospective and incoming music students. Selection for this prestigious music leadership honor is based on an enthusiastic service record in our Dewberry School of Music, outstanding academic accomplishments, and excellence in performance. We are thrilled to welcome our outstanding 2023-2024 Mason Music Ambassadors!

Congratulations to the The Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble was awarded "Outstanding Performance - Undergraduate College Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble" in the Downbeat Magazine. The Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Darden Purcell, Director of Jazz Studies.  

Congratulations! We are thrilled to announce that the Mason Wind Symphony under the baton of Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., Mason Director of Concert Bands, has been chosen as a featured ensemble for the Maryland Music Educators Association State Conference in Baltimore on February 23, 2024 at 2:30pm. The hour-long concert will showcase premieres of works by Nkeiru Okoye's "Voice Shouting Out" and a new composition for winds by Hilary Purrington in collaboration with consortium partners.

In addition, the Maryland Music Educators Association Conference Committee has selected the Mason Wind Symphony and Dr. William Lake, to lead a conducting symposium. Three conductors will receive real-time feedback from Dr. Lake in a session titled “Artistry in Movement.”

Darden Purcell - CD Release Party at Blues Alley (feat. Joe Locke) 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

7pm and 9pm shows 

Congratulations to Dr. Darden Purcell, Director of Jazz Studies on her debut release on Origin/OA2 Records, “Love’s Got Me in a Lazy Mood” harkens back to the sounds of the 1960s, but with a contemporary touch. With arrangements by Shawn Purcell, she is joined by Shawn (guitar), Todd Simon (piano), Jeff Reed (bass), Todd Harrison (drums) and very special guest, Jazz vibraphonist, Joe Locke!