Dear Mason Music Family,

We hope you will join us for magnificent Music at Mason during March!  As highlighted in this newsletter, you have the opportunity to experience our Dewberry School of Mason students performing in the Wind Chamber Ensemble, New Sound Collective, Mason Percussion Group, Big Band Showdown, Mason Jazz Workshop, Jazz Combos, University Chorale Broadway Showcase, Mason Jazz Vocal Night, University Singers "Flying to the Stars" and Mason Symphonic Band.  In addition, we are delighted to present Departmental Recitals and Mason Student Degree Recitals in the upcoming weeks. 

We are so proud of our Mason Music students for their recent prestigious performance accomplishments and impressive competition wins!  Congratulations to our Mason Wind Symphony for their February 23rd performance at the Maryland Music Educators Conference in Baltimore! How thrilled we are for our Mason Vocal Studies Area with fifteen winners at the Virginia State NATS Competition (National Association of Teachers of Singing) on February 23-24 in Richmond and two Mason graduate soprano winners at the Mid-Atlantic Regional NATS Competition on March 8-9 in South Carolina! Bravi tutti! 

This newsletter highlights the incredible recent accomplishments of our Dewberry School of Music student and alumni composers and performers.  We are so very grateful for the ways in which our Mason music students, faculty, and alumni are truly making this world a better place through the sharing of their musical gifts.  

Thank you to our Friends of Music at Mason for your continued support of our Dewberry School of Music students and faculty.  We look forward to greeting you on our beautiful Mason campus as we share the joy of music! 

With gratitude,

Dr. Linda A. Monson, Director

Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music

Wind Chamber Ensemble Concert

Wednesday, March 13 at 8:00 p.m.

deLaski 3001

MUSI 300 Credit

The Wind Chamber Ensemble Concert will feature works by Albeniz, del Borgo, Harberg, Humperdinck, Ibert, and Pleyel.

New Sound Collective presents Between Time

Monday, March 18 at 11:30 a.m.

deLaski 3001

MUSI 300

Mason's experimental music ensemble, New Sound Collective, under the direction of Dr. Andrea Reinkemeyer, presents music by guest composer David Maki alongside premiere performances of new works by Mason students. Join us on Monday, March 18 at 11:30 a.m. in deLaski 3001. MUSI 300 credit is available.

Percussion Ensemble Concert

Wednesday, March 20 at 8 p.m.

deLaski 3001

The Mason Percussion Group presents Re(assess)ion Percussion works created during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Prof. Jonathan Bisesi leads the Percussion Ensemble as they perform the works of Gene Koshinski, Marc Mellits, Jordan Nobles, Hiroya Miura, Angélica Negrón, Andy Akiho, and Jason Treuting.

The BIG BAND SHOWDOWN

Monday, March 25 at 8pm

Center for the Arts

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

Join the Mason Jazz Ensemble (director Jim Carroll), the Jazz Workshop (director John Kocur) and Georgetown University Jazz Ensemble (director Paul Bratcher) for an evening that celebrates the hot sounds and swinging beats of the Big Band era!

Mason Jazz Combos

Wednesday, March 27 at 8 p.m.

Harris Theatre

Free and Open to the Public. No tickets or registration required.

MUSI 300 Credit

Under the direction of Wade Beach, the Mason Jazz Combos perform their spring 2024 concert! 

The Jazz Workshop

Wednesday, April 3 at 8 pm

Harris Theatre

Free and Open to the Public. No tickets or registration required. 



"Sing a Song of Song" - The Jazz Workshop, directed by John Kocur, will present Harlem, cool, fusion, and contemporary jazz styles in nonet and tentet arrangements by jazz masters Duke Ellington, Gerry Mulligan, John Scofield, and Kenny Garrett.

Broadway at the Movies

Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.

Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theatre Manassas campus

MUSI 300 credit is available.

$20 General Public, $15 Seniors, $5 Students

"Broadway at the Movies" combines the best of Broadway musicals with the magic of the movie screen. This annual showcase event brings together talented University Chorale members who sing and dance to create an entertaining experience for the audience!

The concert celebrates the rich history of Broadway and its influence on the world of cinema. It features iconic songs from beloved musicals that have been adapted into movies, as well as original songs created specifically for the big screen. Selections include In The Heights, Grease, Wicked, and more! Join us for a sing-along finale to conclude the event!

We invite you to join us on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. in the Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theatre, on the Manassas campus. All are welcome!

MASON JAZZ VOCAL NIGHT 

Monday, April 8 at 8pm 

Center for the Arts 

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

Join Dr. Darden Purcell, the Mason Jazz Voice Studio, the DOWNBEAT award-winning Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble and Forest Park High School Platinum Vocal Jazz (director Lara Brittain) for an evening of swinging standards and classic hits from the Great American Songbook.

Flying to the Stars

Tuesday, April 9 at 8 p.m.| Curtain Talk at 7:30 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

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

Flying to the Stars is a choral concert dedicated to the beginnings of flight from the time of Leonardo da Vinci to the exploration of space. The concert will feature a multi-media presentation including Jocelyn Hagen’s The Notebooks of Leonardo, Eric Whitacre’s Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine. The choir will also premiere Knot by Mason faculty member Dr. Jesse Guessford. Join us for a curtain talk at 7:30 pm on the history of DaVinci’s forward-thinking engineering from Mason mechanical engineering students who have collaborated with the Dewberry School of Music to create a surprise element as a part of the performance.

Mason Symphonic Band

Wednesday, April 10 at 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

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

The Mason Symphonic Band is excited to present its third concert of the 2023-24 performance season, presenting traditional and contemporary works for wind bands composed by various composers. This ensemble is comprised of both music majors and non-majors from a myriad of academic disciplines. Conducted by Director of Concert Bands, Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., and Graduate Conducting Student, Mr. Derik Wright, this concert will be both inspiring artistically and entertaining.

Congratulations to our Mason Wind Symphony who was honored to perform as a featured ensemble for the 2024 Maryland Music Educators Association (MMEA) conference, conducted by Dr. William L. Lake Jr., Director of Mason Bands. The hour-long concert showcased premieres of works by Nkeiru Okoye's "Voice Shouting Out" and a new composition for winds by Hilary Purrington in collaboration with consortium partners. Dr. Kathleen Mulcahy, was a featured clarinet soloist with the ensemble.

Dr. Lake and the Mason Wind Symphony led a conducting symposium where three guest conductors received real-time feedback from Dr. Lake in a session titled “Artistry in Movement.”

Kudos to Mason DMA composition major, Tyler Mire on his new appointment as Staff Arranger for The United States Army Field Band, one of the "premiere" U.S. military bands in the United States. Mire will be arranging music for the concert band, Soldiers' Chorus, Jazz Ambassadors (big band), Six String Soldiers (bluegrass and country music) and producing digital music. He was the Split Lead Trumpeter in the U.S. Navy Band Commodores from 2016-2021.

We are thrilled to share this year’s winner of The U.S. Army Blues Solo Competition! Congratulations to our collegiate division winner, guitarist Nareg Boghosian. Nareg is a student of Dr. Shawn Purcell, Prof. of Jazz Guitar and will be featured with The Army Blues in a live concert and recording at the University of Maryland Baltimore campus for a jazz festival on April 27, 2024.

Dr. Mira Yang, Professor of Voice (Pictured above) and Mason Chinese Student Association (right) were honored to be part of this event.

Mason students Kai Shi, Doctoral piano student of Dr. Linda A. Monson and Barry Yang, erhu (Chinese violin) performed at the Embassy of China for the 45th Anniversary of China-U.S. Student Exchanges and the Spring Festival Gala for Chinese and American Youths in January.

Our Mason Vocal Jazz Ensemble had the honor of performing at the Jazz Education Network Conference in New Orleans this past January. The Ensemble performed at the 15th annual national conference under the direction of Dr. Darden Purcell, Director of Jazz Studies.

Photo Credit Joyce Boghosian.

Congratulations to Alumnus Ted Messerschmidt (MM in Composition from Mason) on his recent composition of Symphony for Band (Beyond The Elusive Dream) that was premiered at the Leipzig Gewandhaus by the German Air Force Band Luftwaffenmusickkorps

Erfurt. 

Vincent (Vinny) Oppido (BA Music 2008, MM Conducting 2010) studied composition and conducting at George Mason University with Professors Mark Camphouse and Anthony Maiello. He was invited to attend the Scoring for Motion Picture and Television program at the University of Southern California and later relocated to Los Angeles, California.

In 2022, Oppido composed the music for the Indiana Jones Temple area of the video game, Fortnite. In addition to work in film and television, Vinny has received commissions for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Symphony Hall in Boston and Carnegie Hall in New York. He arranged an overture for Brian Stokes Mitchell’s concert show and has now won an Emmy for his composition for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Roku Channel).

Mason Clarinet Day held January 28 was a fantastic success that included master classes, performances, vendors, a wellness seminar, and a clarinet choir performance. Attendees were treated to an amazing recital by Shannon Kiewitt and the Marine Band Reed Quintet as well as a fun and informative masterclass on the importance of fitness for musicians.

Mason's Double Reed Day on January 21 included audition preparation, masterclasses, reed making and a double reed choir performance. Double Reed day was hosted by Prof. Christopher Jewell, bassoon and Prof. Emily Snyder Foster, oboe with Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., Director of Bands and Dr. Kathleen Mulcahy, Director of Woodwinds.