College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

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College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

Linda Apple Monson Honored in the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame

Lakin Raybuck — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 15:08:39 +0000

Linda Apple Monson Honored in the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame Lakin Raybuck Wed, 11/08/2023 - 10:08

In This Story

Dr. Linda Apple Monson

Extraordinary teachers shape the future of talented students. Among them is Mason’s own Linda Apple Monson, international Steinway Artist and director of the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music at ��AV. Her passion, expertise, and commitment to teaching piano have earned her a place in the prestigious 2023 Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame.

The Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame is a distinguished honor celebrating the dedication and passion of the outstanding piano educators of North America.

During her more than 20 years at Mason, which is an All-Steinway School, Monson shared her profound musical insights with gifted students from across the globe. Her influence extends far beyond the classroom, as she has graced stages across the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia with her performances and lecture-recitals.

Pictured above: Gavin English, president of Steinway & Sons Americas with Dr. Linda Apple Monson

"I am humbled and honored to be inducted into the 2023 Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame. My heart is filled with gratitude for this honor and for the incredible privilege of teaching piano, our beloved art form, to the next generation of artists at ��AV," shared Monson.

"As an International Steinway Performing Artist, I am particularly honored to receive this additional prestigious award in recognition of my career as a teacher and mentor to my remarkable piano students," she added.

Gavin English, president of Steinway & Sons Americas, expressed his appreciation at the recent induction ceremony in New York City: "Your passionate commitment to teaching and inspiring young people in their study of piano music is commendable and rare. Through your efforts, you help students lay the foundation for a lifetime of musical and artistic expression."

We celebrate Monson's exceptional dedication and role in shaping the next generation of piano artists. Her inclusion in the 2023 Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame is a well-deserved recognition of her extraordinary contributions to music education and piano artistry.

Topics

Mason Artists-in-Residence

Faculty and Staff News

Mason Artist-in-Residence Silkroad Ensemble Leads Events Across Campus and Community

Zoe Harr — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 15:52:41 +0000

Mason Artist-in-Residence Silkroad Ensemble Leads Events Across Campus and Community Zoe Harr Fri, 10/27/2023 - 11:52

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Learn About Mason Artist-in-Residence Program

Returning for their second of three years as a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Silkroad Ensemble and Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens present the world premiere of American Railroad, an initiative that maps American music through the various communities involved in building the late-1800s Transcontinental Railroad and its connecting railways. In its description of the project, Silkroad explains that though corporations and the American government financed the railroad, the people who built it are the focus of this program—Indigenous and African Americans as well Irish, Chinese, Japanese, and other immigrant laborers whose contributions have been largely erased from history. American Railroad highlights untold stories and amplifies unheard voices from these communities.

“The American Railroad project has been years in the making, and the program we've created for our first tour is only the beginning. In it, we shed light on those who have been erased or overlooked throughout American history and merge with it Silkroad's unique ability to amplify voices from a multitude of backgrounds and cultures. The result is a tapestry of stories, traditions, and musics that have shaped our multifaceted cultural identity, and that must be heard and recognized,” stated Giddens.

Want to learn more about the American Railroad project? Read Silkroad Ensemble’s description.

As a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Silkroad artists will also work with the community through classes and workshops surrounding the performance, which are detailed below.

In a session with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), three Silkroad artists—Karen Ouzounian (cello/vocals), Shawn Conley (bass), and Kaoru Watanabe (Japanese flutes/percussion)—will lead a musical morning that includes individual demonstrations and a participatory Q&A with OLLI participants.
Silkroad Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens joins Silkroad artist Mazz Swift in a “Beyond the Note” Roundtable event, cohosted by the Dewberry School of Music, that includes conversation with BIPOC College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) students Darren Badley, Telah Harper, and Alyssa Cabassa, as they discuss the successes and challenges experienced by BIPOC musicians and artists.
As part of Mason’s Folklore Program, the course “Global Folklore” taught by Professor Debra Lattanzi Shutika will be joined by Silkroad artist Kaoru Watanabe (Japanese flutes/percussion) and guest artists on the American Railroad program Pura Fé Crescioni (lap-steel guitar/vocals) and Francesco Turrisi (frame drums/accordion) for a special class session that will include musical demonstrations and a participatory Q&A with more than 70 students in attendance.

Silkroad Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens joins Silkroad Ensemble at the Center on Nov. 5.

In addition to the activities above, multiple Silkroad artists have taken part in a semester-long Mason Honors College course for fall 2023, “The Silk Road and the Railroad: An artistic exploration of the Transcontinental Railroad in American history and culture.” Taught by College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Rick Davis, this academic course explores the many cultures, histories, music, and narratives of the Transcontinental Railroad, providing context to Silkroad’s newest initiative. Earlier this semester, Silkroad artists visited the class for discussions and will offer an opportunity for students to watch a Silkroad Ensemble rehearsal prior to the November 5 performance.

To learn more about this fall 2023 Honors College course, check out a recent article with Professor Rick Davis.

Get your tickets today and join Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens on November 5 for the powerful world-premiere performance of American Railroad.

Topics

CFA

Rick Davis

folklore

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

OLLI

Honors College

See more images from the event by visiting a gallery of images.

ARTS by George! 2023 Raises More than $275,000 to Support Mason Arts

Zoe Harr — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 14:25:00 +0000

ARTS by George! 2023 Raises More than $275,000 to Support Mason Arts Zoe Harr Tue, 10/10/2023 - 10:25

CVPA Dean Rick Davis holds Fund-A-Student auction prior to the evening's concert. Credit: Risdon Photography.

ARTS by George! returned on Saturday, September 30, 2023, hosted by the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at ��AV. The benefit event, which was headlined by GRAMMY and Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, raised more than $275,000 for student scholarships in visual arts, dance, music, theater, game design, film, arts management, as well as for the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts. With donations still coming in, ARTS by George! has raised more than $4.1 million for the arts at Mason since the event began in 2006.

The event gave students and faculty from each discipline an opportunity to present behind-the-scenes showcases, film screenings, performances, and interactive experiences. Programming was held in eight open studios, venues, and rehearsal halls across Mason’s Fairfax campus, with beverage and cuisine stations offered throughout.

“ARTS by George! 2023 is in the books, and one for the books,” remarks CVPA Dean Rick Davis. “Thanks to a considerable village, this edition was quite possibly the most uplifting, free-flowing, artistically engaging version of this storied tradition. A hearty thanks to all the students, faculty, staff, and volunteers who made it work better than ever, and to Renée Elise Goldsberry for a generous, inspiring concert and toast, and to our patrons, donors, sponsors, and supporters of all kinds for whom we do the work.”

During the evening’s showcases, guests flowed in and out of three buildings on the Fairfax Campus: deLaski Performing Arts Building, Harris Theatre, and Horizon Hall. Inside deLaski, students from the Dewberry School of Music dazzled the crowd with the powerful voices of Mason Opera students or the impressive instrumental skills ranging from piano to wind symphony. The Dewberry School of Music didn’t stop the beat all night, with talented instrumental and vocal musicians presenting piano, jazz, and opera selections during the nearly two hours of student showcases.

Mason Community Arts Academy perform selections from Newsies. Credit: Risdon Photography.

Just down the hall, students from the Mason Community Arts Academy presented previews of their work and in a separate room, Film at Mason played selections on an array of television screens, inviting patrons to see what students had created in the program. In another wing of deLaski, emerging professionals of the Mason School of Dance performed to packed houses. With both intimate dance performances, as well as the Mason School of Dance’s collaboration with the Dewberry School of Music in their revival of “Come Sunday,” rooms were frequently filled shoulder to shoulder with enthusiastic audience members.

As guests made their way out of deLaski across the Johnson Center Plaza, they were enticed into Harris Theater by the sounds of Mason School of Theater students. Alternating their time on the Harris stage, students astonished the crowd with songs from their upcoming production of 9 to 5 The Musical as well as a student-written one-act play by Dyllan Hutchinson entitled “So, Two Spies Walk Into a Restaurant,” which premiered earlier in The Originals! this September. More music flowed from the amphitheater space between Harris and Horizon Hall, where Green Machine’sFife and Drum ensemble as well as Green & Gold Soul, joined by dance group Emerald Desire, kept energies high as guests ambled along the walkway into Horizon Hall.

Mason School of Theater students (left to right) Kamy Satterfield, Sarah Stewart, Emma Harris, Lexi Carter, Aiden Breneman-Pennas, and Brett Womack join Renée Elise Goldsberry on stage during the evening's concert. Credit: Risdon Photography.

Inside Horizon Hall, Mason’s Computer Game Design program and Virginia Serious Game Institute created mini studios inside the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX), where guests explored a change of scenery with actual reality and virtual reality headsets. Also in the MIX, the School of Art and Mason Exhibitions gave guests a chance to play with printing, personalizing a postcard they could take with them as a memento of their experience, while elsewhere in the space, Mason Computer Game Design and Mason Exhibitions invited visitors to play selections from the 2023 Progress@Play Competition and Master of Art in Teaching students demonstrated 3D printing. In addition to the buffet within Horizon, Mason Exhibition’s Metamorphosis, an exhibition created by Mason faculty, decorated the space and a Dewberry School of Music student played guitar in the seating area to round out the spectacular mood in the space.

Dewberry School of Music alumni flutist Eduardo Fajardo. Credit: Risdon Photography.

After the showcases, guests transitioned to the Center for the Arts for a live Fund-A-Student Raise the Paddle event, which brought in more than $36,000 towards the total raised, prior to the performance by Renée Elise Goldsberry. Guests and concert-goers were also treated to Dewberry School of Music piano student Kai Shi and School of Music alumni flutist Eduardo Fajardo in a performance paired with personal anecdotes about the importance of student scholarships.

Capping off the evening, Renée Elise Goldsberry performed a concert culminating in multiple standing ovations, an explosive encore, and multiple sing-along moments from Hamilton fans in the exhilarated audience. Interspersed with personal anecdotes, Goldsberry emphasized the importance of student scholarships and love for young artists, noting that she started as one herself. For her final number of the evening, Goldsberry invited Mason School of Theater students Kamy Satterfield, Sarah Stewart, Emma Harris, Lexi Carter, Aiden Breneman-Pennas, and Brett Womack to join her on stage in a medley from the musical Rent. With tears and shining smiles, the students bowed with Goldsberry stepping back to gesture to the students with a proud expression on her face.

Renée Elise Goldsberry and Rick Davis lead a champagne toast on stage. Credit: Risdon Photography.

After the show, Goldsberry and Davis ended the night with a champagne toast on stage for donors, students, and George Mason faculty. Goldsberry reimagined Hamilton’s “Satisfied,” singing, “A toast to ARTS by George! and ��AV. To the donors and the teachers who are always by your side. To the students and the hope that you provide, may you always be satisfied!"

ARTS by George! has raised more than $4.1 million since it began in 2006, with net proceeds going toward student scholarships and community arts programs.

It’s not too late to contribute! Make a difference in the lives of Mason Arts students, staff, faculty, community arts partners, as well as arts lovers of all ages in the region. For more information, please visit the CVPA website.

View Images from ARTS by George! 2023

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Topics

CFA

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) Arts Management Program

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

Computer Game Design

Film at Mason

School of Art

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Theater

philanthropy

Strategic Direction

ARTS by George! Showcases the Arts at Mason and Raises Scholarship Funds

Zoe Harr — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 17:06:54 +0000

ARTS by George! Showcases the Arts at Mason and Raises Scholarship Funds Zoe Harr Tue, 09/06/2022 - 13:06

In This Story

Rick Davis

“An evening like no other,” ARTS by George! makes its in-person return on September 24. The philanthropic event, headlined by Emmy^® and Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, raises support for student scholarships in visual arts, dance, music, theater, game design, film, arts management, as well as for the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performance at Mason season at the Center for the Arts. Since its creation in 2006, ARTS by George! has raised more than $2 million for the arts at Mason.

“More than any single performance or exhibition or screening could ever do, ARTS by George! offers a window into the life and work – the very heart – of this great College of Visual and Performing Arts,” notes Rick Davis, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA). “In fact, it’s kind of a stained-glass window, composed of many colors and shapes and designs representing the many programs we offer, and it casts a beautiful light on the interplay of students, faculty, professional guest artists, and the communities that we all serve.”

School of Music students perform at a previous ARTS by George! event.

ARTS by George! begins by bringing hundreds of CVPA students and faculty together to collaborate in a series of behind-the-scenes showcase performances and exhibits, ranging from musical cabarets to virtual reality demos. From the School of Music, a taste from the many offerings including jazz, piano, symphony orchestra, opera, as well as special performances by The Green Machine. Introducing its upcoming production of the laugh-out-loud love story Head Over Heels, Mason School of Theater will perform highlights from the musical featuring music of the Go-Go’s and more! Additionally, guests will be invited to performances from the School of Dance, student film screenings from the School of Film, and Computer Game Design demonstrations. Programming begins at 5 p.m., presented across 10 open studios and rehearsal halls on Mason’s Fairfax campus, which will also have sumptuous beverage and cuisine stations offered throughout.

Co-chairs of ARTS by George! Anne Bolger and Steven Golsch emphasize the importance of the event, stating, “This benefit raises important scholarship funds to help our talented students and community arts partners and share their art and inspire the world. We are proud to support these programs and students as they fulfill their lifelong dreams.”

Kristin Chenoweth headlines the event on September 24.

After the thrilling showcase festivities, guests will transition to the Center for the Arts for a Live Fund-A-Student Auction, leading up to the performance by Kristin Chenoweth. In this 8:30 p.m. concert, Chenoweth will sing music from her album For The Girls, a heartfelt tribute to the great female singers throughout history. The album includes Chenoweth’s personally charged interpretations of classic songs identified with such iconic artists as Barbra Streisand, Lesley Gore, Linda Ronstadt, Dinah Washington, Dolly Parton, and more. To learn more about Kristin Chenoweth, please visit her website. The evening culminates with a special champagne toast onstage with ARTS by George! ticketholders and Ms. Chenoweth.

This year, the winner of the Arts by George! 2023 scholarship is Film and Video Studies student, Tiffany Vu. Past recipients include Erblin Nushi (Film and Video Studies, 2018), Mariah Rogers (The Green Machine, 2020), and Alana Lyons (Mason School of Theater, 2021). Student scholarships allow for the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ (CVPA) students to explore creative projects while cultivating Mason’s enriching arts education and first-class performances.

Rick Davis encapsulates Mason and its community’s excitement, stating, “We’re delighted to be back to our full expression of CVPA’s contribution to the dynamo that is ��AV.”

To learn more about Arts by George!, visit the website.

Topics

CFA

College of Visual and Performing Arts Film and Video Studies

Green Machine

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Theater

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

Computer Game Design

Mason Community Arts Academy

Rising Senior Kitty Fields Cooks Up New Music for Mason and Beyond

Emily Schneider — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 14:56:57 +0000

Rising Senior Kitty Fields Cooks Up New Music for Mason and Beyond Emily Schneider Mon, 08/01/2022 - 10:56

In This Story

Prof. Mark Camphouse

When Anne Catherine “Kitty” Fields (Music, 2023) isn't at her piano composing, she is engaged in a wide array of interests, from studying neuroscience to reading Carl Jung to enjoying bird songs on nature walks, in addition to cooking and baking.

Fields at her piano, exploring her next musical work.

On the surface, her many interests may seem unrelated, but Fields finds inspiration in her non-musical endeavors, which feeds her as an artist. Fields says that process of composing is akin to seasoning a red sauce. “You taste it and say ‘The prosciutto adds depth, but it needs some basil and parsley to brighten it, with a dash more of red wine and a pinch of salt, I think we’ll be closer to what we want.’ “said Fields. “In the same way, composers have agency to say what a piece needs: ‘The bass drum will reinforce this downbeat, but we need the reeds and flutes to brighten the texture, with bells doubling here and pianissimo crotales, I think we’ll be closer to what we want.’”

With several impressive compositions under her belt, including the premiere of her first work for a large ensemble in the spring of 2022, Fields stands on the cusp of her senior year, reflective of the road that led her to Mason and enthusiastic about what lies ahead.

The native Northern Virginian began composing small-scale works in high school. Her piano teacher, the classical pianist and church organist Olga Teulter, introduced Fields to the works of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, and more. The richness and depth of their music profoundly impacted how Fields listens to music. Discovering the meaningful ways that other composers used musical elements to express ideas from their faith, bringing the influence of nature into a piece and evoking movement and emotion from the listener laid the foundation for Kitty’s understanding of how compositions are devised. Repeatedly listening to pieces and growing her understanding of their structure enhanced her desire to learn, driving her to discover more about theory and harmony so that her own ideas could come to life on the page. Another crucial influence was the Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi, best known for writing the soundtracks to films produced by acclaimed animation company Studio Ghibli. Fields says she “was always fascinated by the way a score could bring out the emotional undertones of a scene and suggest to the viewers where to direct their attention through auditory cues.”

Fields had countless ideas for new music but knew that continuing to study would bring her to a place where she could transform those ideas into fully-fledged works.

Putting what she hears in her mind's ear onto paper has taken training and patience. Repetition and exploration are central to her process. She plays through musical ideas multiple times at the piano as she brings the various elements into alignment, spending time with the music to discover whether it conveys what she intends in each piece, before she can begin to develop it fully. She then weaves these musical ideas together, creating colors through the orchestration, and conveying emotion through the pacing and structure of the piece.

Fields with her mentor, Professor Mark Camphouse. Camphouse is an acclaimed composer and retired from the Dewberry School of Music after 16 years in spring 2022.

Fields undertook her first composition explorations as a local high school student attending the Mason Community Arts Academy summer composition workshops with acclaimed composers Mark Camphouse and Vincent Oppido. Professor Camphouse retired in 2022 after 16 years with the Dewberry School of Music, while Oppido, a Mason alumnus himself, is an award-winning composer with credits that extend from video games and film scores to the Academy Awards ceremonies, in addition to his concert music catalog. She says, “I clicked with Professor Camphouse immediately and saw I had so much to learn from his vast experience in the field; his incredible talent and expertise in composing and conducting; and his warm and kind spirit.” Fields met Dr. Anna Balakerskaia, her current piano teacher, through Teulter and was “completely in awe of her musicality and intuition.” When it came time to select a university to continue her studies, Fields' choice of Mason made perfect sense.

Fields received her first song commission from Mason's own Professor Joseph Walsh in 2021, “The Hand and the Light,” in which she performed and recorded the vocals and piano accompaniment. The Fantasy for Piano and Wind Symphony is Field's first large ensemble work, and her eloquence is as apparent in her writing as it is in her musical compositions. She describes Fantasy as “partly inspired by reading the memoirs of the aviator, writer, and poet Antoine Saint-Exupery and by various stories told by pilots and adventurous souls [I’ve] encountered personally. In this work, Fields attempts to capture the exhilaration and profound beauty of soaring through the heavens and the loneliness that may haunt someone who is never in one place for long.”

The second movement of Fantasy, titled “Night Flight”, is a favorite in her portfolio.

“It evokes the unease of flying over a large body of water at night. The piece plays with fear, light, darkness, life, and death. The slow, deliberate beginning of the movement feels as though it is suspended in the air, only drifting, as an ascending motive makes gradual entrances. The ascending motive is then juxtaposed with the Lux Aeterna Gregorian chant from the Requiem Mass (played by the piano), almost like a prayer for light to scatter the strangely inviting darkness. The low brass comes in, roaring to depict the depth of the water, an abyss that could swallow one instantly. Throughout the piece, there are many images and moods that Fields leaves open to the listener to interpret. One thing is for sure, though: at the end, when the Lux Aeterna takes its final form as a resplendent fanfare, the light does not merely illuminate the darkness but shatters all fear.”

Fields' college career has been marked by the pandemic. She says, “Lockdowns happened the second semester of my freshman year, and when we came back to school after a year and a half of trying to make music over Zoom, I realized what I had missed through most of my time here: the forging of musical relationships through collaboration and ensemble playing.” She explains that the most rewarding part of being a composer is working in partnership with other musicians who breathe life into her creations. Fields got to experience this in full last April when the Mason Wind Symphony premiered Fantasy. She says, “The energy was incredible that night. I also performed the piano part, which meant I not only got to hear my peers play my music, I also got to play with them. The experience of that musical synergy is unforgettable!”

Fields at the premiere of her piece "Atmospheric Study No 1", which has been accepted for publication and distribution by C. Alan Publications.

Her summer has continued to build on the energy of collaboration and the enriching relationships that evolved during her time at Mason.

Two of her compositions have been accepted by C. Alan Publications for distribution, one of which is her Fantasy. The other is titled Atmospheric Study No. 1, for piano and vibraphone—a minimalist piece that experiments with the timbres the two instruments can create together, at times focusing on one instrument, at others blending the two into an indistinguishable sound. Fields attended the National Band Association Young Composer/Conductor Mentor Project as an observer just a few weeks ago. The program is the brainchild of Mark Camphouse, offering young composers and conductors a three-day intensive partnership with an experienced working mentor from the field. At the event, Fields connected with renowned composers Thomas Duffy, Viet Cuong, and Kevin Day, among others. Currently, Fields is working on a setting for soprano and orchestra of the beloved American classic “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” by Robert Frost.

For the rest of the summer, she hopes to write lots of chamber music that will be performed during her senior recital in the spring of 2023, after which she plans to continue her studies in graduate school. Fields' goal for her final year at Mason is to continue to foster as much of this collaboration as possible and continue cultivating these supportive and transformative friendships through the binding power of music.

Topics

composer

dewberry composition

composing

music student

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

World Premiere Compositions to Debut this Weekend

Pam Muirheid — Wed, 05 May 2021 15:23:44 +0000

World Premiere Compositions to Debut this Weekend Pam Muirheid Wed, 05/05/2021 - 11:23

In This Story

Dr. Michael Nickens

Renowned composer Evelyn Simpson-Curenton and Mason’s own Associate Professor of Music and Director of the Green Machine Ensembles Michael W. Nickens (Doc Nix).

The Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music presents A Song of Freedom: Featuring World Premieres by Evelyn Simpson-Curenton and Michael W. Nickens, Saturday, May 8 at 8:00 p.m. as part of Mason Arts at Home. The concert celebrates unity and resilience in the face of division and uncertainty and showcases works by Black composers as well as selections inspired by the African-American experience.

The program’s world premieres are commissions by the Dewberry School of Music from renowned composer Evelyn Simpson-Curenton and Mason’s own Associate Professor of Music and Director of the Green Machine Ensembles Michael W. Nickens (Doc Nix).

“This magnificent concert is a true collaboration across our Dewberry School of Music students, staff, and faculty and is a celebratory finale to an unparalleled year. We heard clearly from our students that ‘representation matters,’ and our music faculty resolved to commission and highlight works by gifted Black composers for our May concert,” shared Dewberry School of Music Director Linda A. Monson. “Together we are using our gifts as artists to demonstrate the power of working together. I am so proud of the performances by our students and honored for the opportunity for the Dewberry School of Music to commission two remarkable compositions.”

Simpson-Curenton’s world premiere of Passages will feature current students from across the University Choirs, a guest solo appearance by School of Music alumna and Metropolitan Opera artist Aundi Marie Moore, as well as solos by current students Rosie Wright, Case Hope, and Eliyahu Young. Under the direction of the Director of Choral Studies, Stanley Engebretson, Passages uses phrases from the Bible and other sources and lifts up the ideals of justice and of loving the common good. Lyrics such as “sing now a song of freedom where all are inherently free” and “let justice roll down as water with righteousness, like an ever-flowing stream” guide the beautiful imagery within the music.

Reflecting on the piece, Engebretson shared, “Teaching and rehearsing this premiere by one of Washington’s most famous composers has been a great honor and privilege. It was a great delight to introduce her to Mason’s singers via Zoom so they could experience her amazing talents for themselves. Her brilliant piece captures the majesty of freedom with the call for us to ‘come together as one’ in a most empathic way.”

Nickens’s original work, titled The Orator, The Abolitionist, The Man: Frederick Douglass is based on the 1893 biography written by his great-great grandfather James Monroe Gregory, a contemporary of Douglass. His piece features the Mason Wind Symphony, members of the Green Machine, and spoken word derived directly from the biography and Douglass’ speeches, delivered as narration by Nickens himself.

Nickens’s piece is inspired by composers such as Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein as well as 90s hip hop artists including Wu-Tang Clan, who all unapologetically brought the local culture to the sound of the time. The piece’s musical style ebbs between orchestral, go-go, and hip hop layered with spirituals and Protestant hymns.

Nickens shared, “As a work very much in progress (the second movement of a larger composition I am creating), I am grateful to our students collaborating with me to bring this nine-month project to life. I hope all who experience it hear the narration both as an artifact of our American history and as an opportunity to connect with the enduring issues that are being addressed today.”

This pre-recorded digital concert features more than 100 students performing as part of the momentous event, including additional works ranging from works by distinguished Black composers such as William Grant Still and George Walker, to Antonin Dvorák, and U2’s “MLK.” The performance highlights students from the Mason Symphony Orchestra, University Choirs, Wind Symphony and Green Machine, Trombone Choir, Percussion Ensemble, and Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble.

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

School of Music

diversity equity and inclusion DEI

The Weilenmann Family Shares a Generous Gift of Music

Pam Muirheid — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:39:57 +0000

The Weilenmann Family Shares a Generous Gift of Music Pam Muirheid Tue, 02/23/2021 - 12:39

As a music instructor and a renowned conductor of symphony and opera, Richard Weilenmann dedicated his life to music and to developing young artists—building an enduring legacy over half a century of professional life.

When he passed away in 2017, Mr. Weilenmann left another exceptional legacy: a personal collection of more than 1,600 published pieces of music—including sheet music, conductors scores, and orchestral scores—spanning opera, classical, and other genres from the late 1800s to the present.

Now, thanks to Mr. Weilenmann’s vision and the generosity of his wife Elisabeth and son Peter Weilenmann, MEd ’07, that notable collection will reside with the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music at ��AV. The Richard and Elisabeth Weilenmann Performance Music Library will be a resource for music research as well as for live performances at Mason.

“We are enormously grateful and rightfully proud to house this extraordinary music library collection at ��AV,” said Rick Davis, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “This library will serve as a rich resource for our students and faculty alike and is a lasting tribute to Elisabeth and the late Richard Weilenmann’s dedication to making music accessible.”

Elisabeth and Richard Weilenmann

A well-known figure in the region’s music community, Richard Weilenmann was at various times the artistic director of the highly regarded Washington Civic Opera, the Arlington Opera Theatre, and the Beethoven Society. He worked for 43 years at the Landon School in Bethesda, Md., where he directed the music program and founded the Landon Symphonette. Earlier, during his time in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Weilenmann was an original member of the Navy Sea Chanters, a vocal chorus, and one of the piano accompanists for the Navy Band. Always intent on making opera accessible to all, he translated lyrics so they could be performed in English, and provided free tickets to Washington Civic Opera performances via the D.C. parks and recreation department.

The collection—which filled about 18 file cabinets in the Weilenmann family’s home, plus assorted boxes—includes ballet, Broadway musicals, classical symphonies, complete operas, and film music. It is valuable not only for its historical breadth and as a trove for music research, but as an aid for student and professional performances. “My dad would spend hours adding violin bowings in his own hand to many of the pieces,” said Peter Weilenmann, an assessment specialist for Arlington Public Schools. Those bowings—marks that instruct musicians on the stringed instruments how to play the piece—“are like the punctuation for the orchestra.”

When it came time to decide where to place the collection, George Mason stood out to the Weilenmanns both for the quality of its School of Music, and for its commitment to keeping the entire library together.

“We are excited that the collection is going to be part of Mason’s music program, which is growing by leaps and bounds,” said Peter Weilenmann.

“Toward the end of my seven years commanding and conducting the United States Air Force Band, Washington D.C., I enjoyed the distinct privilege of personally meeting Richard Weilenmann at the Landon School, where we were to perform thanks to his invitation and assistance,” said Dr. Dennis Layendecker, Heritage Chair in Music and Director of Orchestral Studies for the Dewberry School of Music. “… Richard’s long and precious investment in his extraordinary orchestral library will prove a genuine game changer for our instrumental and opera programs at Mason. Bravo et grazie al cielo, Maestro Weilenmann!”

Fittingly, the love of music was responsible for how Richard Weilenmann and his wife, Elisabeth, a fellow music lover, first met. Originally from central Europe, Elisabeth had moved to the United States and come to the Washington, D.C. area to improve her translator skills. According to their son, the pair got to know each other when Richard needed some scores translated. “For their first date, he took her to the symphony. Their second date was the opera,” their son said.

Rob Riordan / February 15, 2021

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College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

School of Music

Mason’s School of Music Spotlights Black Artists in New Series

Pam Muirheid — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 17:40:07 +0000

Mason’s School of Music Spotlights Black Artists in New Series Pam Muirheid Thu, 11/12/2020 - 12:40

School of Music to be renamed after Reva and Sid Dewberry Family

Mariam Aburdeineh — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 05:00:00 +0000

School of Music to be renamed after Reva and Sid Dewberry Family Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 03/03/2020 - 00:00

��AV’s School of Music will be renamed the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music, in honor of the Dewberrys’ lifetime legacy of giving and generous support of the school. The decision was approved unanimously at the Feb. 27 Board of Visitors meeting.

“The name Dewberry symbolizes excellence, extraordinary commitment, innovation and long-standing relationships. Our School of Music embraces those same qualities, especially with our goal of excellence in all areas and having a very tangible path to get there,” said Linda Monson, the School of Music director who has been a faculty member at Mason since 1999. “To have our school be named after a benefactor who embodies all of these same qualities is such an honor.”

Sid Dewberry and Linda Monson playing the piano.

In addition to recent and pledged support of $1.8 million that will create a scholarship endowment, prior contributions from the Dewberrys include nearly $1.4 million for the creation of the Linda Apple Monson Scholars Endowed Fund. The family also helped lead the Steinway Initiative, which allowed the school to achieve even higher status as an All-Steinway School in 2007.

“I want the School of Music to be the best school in the United States and the world, not only for [future] teachers but also for performers,” said Sid Dewberry, who began learning piano from Monson at age 75 to fulfill a life goal.

“My dream is to put Mason on the top of the heap,” the now 92-year-old said. “I think we’re well on our way to doing that.”

“[The Dewberrys] have been transformational,” said Rick Davis, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA). “Because Sid stepped up, we are able to offer even more scholarship support, which allows us to compete for students who would like to come [to Mason] but are also getting major scholarship offers from other great schools.”

The Dewberrys’ gifts will make the School of Music the first donor-named school within the CVPA.

“[Mason is] still practically brand-new on the planet, and we’ve done so much so quickly,” Davis said. “Moments like this are signs of arrival for a college.”

Mason’s institutional maturity is also becoming more widely recognized, Monson and Davis said, adding that students from across the country and around the world are choosing to study here.

“[Mason’s School of Music] trains artists, and artists help make the world a better place,” Monson said. “Mr. Dewberry has experienced this—he has witnessed it himself. He’s seen what our artists here in the School of Music are doing, and he wants to help propel our school to the highest level possible.”

The Dewberry family has a long-standing commitment to Mason. Dewberry Hall within the Johnson Center, as well as the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering within the Volgenau School of Engineering, have also been named in their honor.

Mason’s younger status among universities makes financial support of the college even more impactful, as it creates unprecedented scholarship opportunities for many talented students, Monson and Davis said.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Dewberrys and to our Friends of Music, who support us in all ways in helping us to raise scholarship support,” Monson said. “We want to continue building our music scholarships and endowments and we have many ways in which one can help to be a part of this wonderful legacy to our School of Music.”

The Dewberrys and the renaming will be celebrated at the Sept. 13 Grand Piano Celebration at 3 p.m. The online concert will be open to the public.

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

Friends of Music at Mason