Dear Mason School of Music Family,

We are pleased to announce our Dewberry School of Music concerts and masterclasses for this month. We look forward to seeing you on March 16 and 30 for our Dewberry Faculty Artist Series and on March 21 for our Percussion Ensemble concert. How thrilled we are to launch our Global Artist Series on March 15 and 29 with Jennifer Grim, flute, and Shawn Jones, bassoon. We are excited to host fabulous masterclasses for our music students this upcoming Monday, March 8 with cello and clarinet guest artists from the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. We invite you to join us for ten virtual student recitals this month recorded in our halls and live-streamed to our audiences.

We are proud of Mason Music alumnus Dr. Mark Taylor (DMA in Composition) who was named the Eric Whitacre Teacher of the Week! To all of our Mason Music students, faculty, and alumni who continue to create, teach, perform, and record inspiring and meaningful music during these challenging times, we thank you for sharing your artistic gifts and for making this world a better place. To our Friends near and far, we thank you profoundly for your continued support of our Mason Music students.

With my warmest regards,
Dr. Linda A. Monson, Director
Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
Upcoming Performances
Dewberry Artist Series:
Percussion, Saxophone, and Steel Pan!
Tuesday, March 16th, 7:00 PM

Recorded from the Center for the Arts Concert Hall, this concert will feature Mason faculty John Kilkenny and Jonathan Bisesi on percussion; Victor Provost on steel pan; and John Kocur on saxophone. Mason alumnus Cristian Perez will accompany Kocur on guitar. The program will feature composers including Stanley Cowell, Carlos Aguirre, Irving Berlin, Carlos Gardel, Kenny Garret, and Peter Klatzow, as well as faculty compositions from John Kocur and Victor Provost.
Mason Percussion Ensemble Concert
Sunday, March 21st, 3:00 PM
Dewberry Artist Series:
Brilliant Brass!
Tuesday, March 30th, 7:00 PM

The Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music faculty resume their free recital series with digital pre-recorded performances as part of Mason Arts at Home. Recorded at the Hylton Performing Arts Center, this performance features the brass faculty including Alan Carr (trombone), Denny Edelbrock (trumpet), Mark Jenkins (euphonium), and Dave Porter (tuba) as well as pianist Ina Mirtcheva Blevins. Repertoire in this concert will include compositions by Franz Joseph Haydn, Eric Ewazen, Robert Thurston, Daniel Schnyder, and more.
Upcoming Virtual Lectures and Masterclasses
Cello Masterclass with Will Schofield, Associate Principal Cellist of The Academy of
St Martin in the Fields
with Dewberry School of Music Strings Students

Monday, March 8th, 9:00 - 11:00 AM

Will Schofield has been a cellist with the Grammy-nominated Emperor String Quartet since the group was formed in 1992. He started playing with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields the following year, and membership of these two groups has been the primary focus of his playing career ever since. With the Quartet he has played throughout Europe, North and South America and in Africa, appearing at all of the major festivals in the UK and at numerous festivals abroad including Prague Spring Festival, ‘Mostly Mozart’ New York, Flanders, Monte Carlo, Montpelier/Radio France and Kuhmo in Finland. The Quartet records for BIS, the latest project being a complete cycle of Britten. He has also played as a guest with the Allegri and Maggini Quartets and with the Schubert Ensemble of London.
Clarinet Masterclass with Thomas Lessels,
Sub-Principal Clarinet of The Academy of
St Martin in the Fields
with Dewberry School of Music Wind Students

Monday, March 8th, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Thomas Lessels studied clarinet at the Birmingham Conservatoire with Michael Harris and at the Royal Academy of Music, with Tim Lines, Angela Malsbury and Nicholas Rodwell, where he won the coveted Buffet-Crampon clarinet competition. Since 2013 he has been a member of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, in addition to playing regularly with orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a founder member of the Ossian Ensemble, a new music group working with composers including Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Thomas Ades, Anna Meredith and numerous others. He currently teaches the clarinet at Eton College, Westminster Abbey Choir School and the North East of Scotland Music School.
Global Artist Series
Jennifer Grim, Flute
Monday, March 15th, 12:00 PM

Dr. Jennifer Grim will present a flute masterclass and discuss her artistic career as a performer and teacher.

Hailed as "a deft, smooth flute soloist" by the New York Times, Jennifer Grim's remarkable depth and breadth as a performer of solo and chamber repertoire has gained broad national acclaim. She has performed with such renowned ensembles as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble and is the flutist of the award-winning Zéphyros Winds and the New York Chamber Soloists. She also serves as Principal Flute of the Mozart Orchestra of New York and the Santo Domingo Festival Orchestra and has given solo and chamber performances throughout the United States and in China, Colombia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Ukraine, the Netherlands, and Spain. A passionate advocate of diversity initiatives in the field of classical music, Ms. Grim has programmed a series of concerts featuring African American, Latin American, and Latino composers, leading to solo performances of works by Diego Vega, David Sanford, and Valerie Coleman, among others. She has also worked with the National Take a Stand Festival, which invites students from El Sistema inspired programs across the United States to perform in a national youth orchestra performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California.
Meeting ID: 976 5875 6039
Passcode: 981618
Percussion Masterclass with Teddy Hall Jr.
Monday, March 22nd, 12:30 PM
Teddy Hall, Jr is an active performer, educator, clinician, and writer. He received a Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Mississippi and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Alabama- Birmingham. Currently, he holds the position of Instructor of Percussion at Point University in Georgia. Mr. Hall has vast and diverse playing experiences serving as a freelance musician with such groups as the Cobb Wind Symphony, Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, the Joe Hill Experience, UAB Community Winds, West Side Winds, Atlanta Music Project, and the Tuscaloosa Big Band. Mr. Hall is a contributing writer for the Percussive Notes journal and Rhythm Scene. He is proud to be an educational artist for Vic Firth, Pearl, Sabian, Mike Balter, and REMO. 
Meeting ID: 927 5500 9770
Passcode: Bj5BZb
Global Artist Series
Shawn Jones, Bassoon
Monday, March 29th, 12:00 PM

Join Prof. Shawn Jones as he presents a masterclass and a Q&A to our Mason Music students.

Bassoonist Shawn Jones is a graduate of the Juilliard School and Rice University. He has performed as a member of the Colorado, Detroit, and San Francisco Symphonies as both a bassoonist and contrabassoonist. During the summers he has taught at the renowned Interlochen Arts Camp, performed with the Grand Tetons Music Festival Orchestra, traveled to Japan to perform with the Pacific Music Festival, toured Russia with the American Russian Youth Orchestra, and currently performs as a member of the Colorado Music Festival. Shawn is also very active as a freelance musician in the San Francisco Bay area, playing as a member of the Santa Rosa Symphony as well as a frequent Substitute with the San Francisco Ballet and Opera Orchestras. he is also a member of the ensemble group, Quinteto Latino.
Meeting ID: 953 6344 2567
Passcode: 458007
View Upcoming
Student Recitals
We are proud to present many wonderful virtual student recitals this semester! Be sure to mark your calendars for upcoming recitals, including:

Gabriel Rivera-Martinez, Junior Jazz Saxophone Recital - March 14th, 1:00 PM

Dominique Bianco, Junior Jazz Voice Recital - March 14th, 4:00 PM

Kristina Bhardwaj, Junior Piano Recital - March 20th, 5:00 PM

Jackson Hollaway, Junior Jazz Guitar Recital - March 21st, 1:00 PM

Allan Fogelson, Junior Jazz Guitar Recital - March 21st, 4:00 PM

Grayson Boatwright, Junior Jazz Guitar Recital - March 21st, 7:00 PM

Julianna Williams, Clarinet Music Education Recital - March 27th, 1:00 PM

Hannah Pennisi, Junior Steel Pan Recital - March 28th, 1:00 PM

Ronald Lee, Junior Steel Pan Recital - March 28th, 4:00 PM

Jason Seiler, Senior Jazz Guitar Recital - March 28th, 7:00 PM


View the full recital calendar here!
Spring 2021 Series
Spring 2021 Dewberry
Faculty Artist Series
Alumni Feature
Alumnus Dr. Mark Taylor (BM, DMA) was recently named the Eric Whitacre Teacher of the Week!

“Mark is a high school orchestra teacher at Centreville High School, Centreville, VA. One of the first inspiring projects in his totally virtual teaching this year was called the Gratitude Project. His orchestra students had to think about people they were especially grateful for during this pandemic. Then they individually thanked teachers, custodians, first responders, nurses, grocery workers, etc. online, and, in virtual ensembles, played special music just for them, to show their appreciation.

Thank you, Dr. Taylor, for keeping the flame alive."

Find out more at https://ericwhitacre.com/totw.
Stay in the Know