Dear Mason School of Music family,

We hope you will join us for our Mason Symphony Orchestra concert this upcoming Monday night, March 4th at 8 pm in our Center for the Arts Concert Hall. This is a very special concert featuring six outstanding soloists that have been chosen by competitive audition in our annual Concerto Competition. This will be a stunning concert that you will not want to miss! 

Our Mason Music Global Connections continue with a recent wonderful performance by our Steel Pan Ensemble in Trinidad! Under the direction of Victor Provost, Steel Pan virtuoso and Mason alumnus, our Mason Steel Pan Ensemble was chosen to perform in a renowned festival held in Trinidad and Tobago! Our special thanks is extended to Mason's Global Discovery Program (through the Provost's Office and the Global Education Office) for their support of this global experience.  

Kudos to our outstanding Jazz Studies Area for the recent feature article in Downbeat magazine. Special congratulations to Dr. Darden Purcell, Prof. Jim Carroll, Dr. Matt Niess, and all members of our jazz faculty! 

We hope to see you at our many upcoming concerts, masterclasses, and daytime departmental recitals. We love sharing our music with you!  Finally, please save the date of Saturday, May 4th, for our School of Music gala event A Musical Feast! This will be a a truly special night of extraordinary music-making by our talented School of Music student artists! 

Warm regards,
Dr. Linda A. Monson
Director, School of Music
Monday, March 4, 8 pm Concert
Mason Symphony Orchestra with Concerto Soloists
featuring the winners of Mason's Annual
Concerto Competition
Monday, March 4th, 8:00pm
Center for the Arts
View full program here .
Meet our Soloists performing with the Mason Symphony Orchestra on March 4th
Jeongwon Bae, Flute
Junior, Music Education
Read Jeongwon's bio here
Eddie Adams, Cello
Sophomore, Cello Performance
Read Eddie's bio here
TJ Low, Bass Trombone
Graduate Student, Bass Trombone Performance
Read TJ's bio here
Luke Ratcliffe, Piano
Junior, Piano Performance
Read Luke's bio here
Christina Phillips, Voice
Graduate Student, Voice Pedagogy
Read Christina's bio here

Yechan "Enoch" Lim, Piano
Junior, Piano Performance
Read Enoch's bio here
Free Concert/Masterclasses
March 2nd - March 8th
New Sound Collective Contemporary Music Ensemble
Saturday, March 2nd, 8:00pm
Harris Theatre

Free admission
Composition Masterclass with Erberk Eryilmaz, composer, and Ismail Lumanovski, clarinet 
Thursday, March 7th, 3:00 - 5:00pm
Monson Grand Tier

Free admission
Philipp Vogler Piano Masterclass
from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater
in Munich, Germany
Friday, March 8th, 11:30am - 1:30pm
Harris Theatre

Free admission
Upcoming Jazz Festivals
Mason Vocal Jazz Festival
Saturday, March 9th, 10:00am - 6:00pm
Harris Theatre

The Mason Vocal Jazz Festival with special guest clinicians Lisanne Lyons (Florida International University) and Mason alumni Brad Rees (Tiffin University)will take place Saturday, March 9th (12noon - 5pm) in Harris Theatre! Sponsored by Mason Jazz Studies and the Jazz Education Network, groups from around the VA/DC/MD region will perform and receive a clinic from our adjudicators! 

FREE parking in LOT K. $8 weekend parking in the Mason Pond Parking Deck.

All performances are free and open to the public to observe. Join us for the evening concert at the hippest joint (not to mention best food) in Fairfax, EPICURE CAFE! $5 cover at the door.
The Mason Jazz Festival will take place March 23, 2019 in Harris Theatre. Sponsored by Mason Jazz Studies, the National Jazz Workshop and the Jazz Education Network, this festival is open to middle, high school, college and community ensembles. Closing festival performance will be the US Navy Band Commodores! All performances are free and open to the public to the public to observe. No tickets needed for the US Navy Band Commodore's performance. 

Visit Mason Jazz Festival online for registration and schedule.
Faculty Artist Series
Jim Van Slyke, voice/musical theater
Sunday, March 24th, 3:00pm
Harris Theatre

Free admission
Anna Balakerskaia, piano & Friends
Sunday, March 24th, 7:00pm
Harris Theatre

Free admission
Julianna Nickel, flute; James Nickel; French horn;
Sophia Kim Cook, piano performing as the Artemis Trio
Saturday, March 30th, 4:00pm
Harris Theatre

Free admission
Dorotea Racz, cello
Sunday, March 31st, 3:00pm
Harris Theatre

Free admission
Kudos!
Mason's Jazz area was featured in the February edition of Downbeat! Read the article here.
This past weekend, our University Choirs and visiting ensemble, The Youth Jazz Orchestra of North Rhine-Westphalia, gave a wonderful performance of Ellington's Sacred Concert. In addition, they performed the work at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage and the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.
Recently nine steel pan students from Mason's School of Music traveled to Trinidad to participate in the National Panorama Competition, one of the world's largest and most extravagant steel pan competitions. The students explored the island, learned about the culture, and attended classes, lessons, and workshops at the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
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