Dear Mason Music Family,

Congratulations to our amazing Class of 2026 Dewberry School of Music Graduates!  Kudos to our music graduates who have been selected for the Outstanding Achievement Awards and for the Presser Scholar Award!  We celebrate the many marvelous performances and awards highlighting our music students and faculty in these last few weeks.  How proud we are of our Dewberry School of Music artists!

We bid a fond farewell to Dr. David Porter (tuba) who has served our brass faculty with distinction for many years.  He and his wife are re-locating to Tennessee this summer to be near family.  They will be deeply missed at Mason.  

We give a warm welcome to two new adjunct brass faculty who will be joining us in August:  Dr. Max Crofton (tuba) and Prof. Fred Marcellus (trumpet).  

Thanks to our fabulous Friends of Music at Mason for your "Snack Attack" during the music juries (performance final exams)!  Thank you for all that you do for our students throughout the entire academic year.

Warm regards,

Dr. Linda A. Monson, Director
Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music

Undergraduate Academic Excellence Award

Alyssa Cabassa, BM
Nick Edwards, BA
Sebastian Perry, BM
Marianna Wolpert, BM

Undergraduate Performance Excellence Award

Suyuan Carrasco, BM
Benjamin Lopez, BM
Ponenya Min, BM
Daniel Olenick, BM

Departmental Service Excellence Award

Suyuan Carrasco, BM
Nick Edwards, BA
Arthur Martin, BM
Hunter Swanson, MM

Graduate Academic Excellence Award

Paul Bratcher, DMA
Hannah Cayem, MM
Julie Ann McDonald, DMA
Catherine Page Quigley, MM
Michael Stern, DMA

Graduate Performance Excellence Award

Christopher Bell, MM
Paul Bratcher, DMA
Hannah Cayem, MM
Michael Stern, DMA
Ying Yang, DMA

Pictured left to right: Dr. Linda A. Monson, Estefany Garcia and Prof. June Huang.

Congratulations to Estefany Garcia (BM, May 2026), who received the Presser Scholar Award for her outstanding academic, performance and service accomplishments in the Dewberry School of Music! 

Pictured left to right: Trey Perry, Nate Casey, Matthew Graziano, Samuel Gleason, Jonathan Valez, Ivanna Teresa De Leon Casas,
Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., Presidential Partner Nicole Washington, President Gregory Washington 

Congratulations to Dr. William Lake Jr. on a wonderful presentation, “Exploring the Elements of Music”, at a recent Mathy House Arts Event. How grateful we are that Dr. Lake and our Wind Symphony Saxophone Studio were able to have this impactful arts presentation.

Kudos to Dr. Porter and Dr. Jenkins, co-directors of GMUTEE, on a beautiful recent concert, An Afternoon of Elegance, of the George Mason University Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble (GMUTEE) presented at St. George's United Methodist Church.

Dr. William David Porter has served George Mason University since 2009 as a beloved adjunct faculty member of our Dewberry School of Music and Green Machine Ensembles.  Dr. Porter has taught applied tuba and has served as Co-Director of our George Mason University Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble.  A music alumnus of George Mason University (DMA in 2017), Dr. Porter has also taught Brass Methods, Brass Pedagogy, and Lab Band to our music majors.  Dr. Porter and his wife are relocating to Tennessee in June to be near their children and grandchildren. They will be deeply missed here at Mason! 

Our Dewberry School of Music Faculty had a special celebration and thank you for Dr. William David Porter on May 5, 2026.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Dr. Carrie Ann Delaney - Outstanding Service Award

Dr. William David Porter - Adjunct Faculty Award

Dr. Emily Green - Teaching Award

Dr. Darden Purcell - Impact Award

Dr. Max Crofton was appointed Adjunct Applied Professor of Tuba at George Mason University effective August 2026. Dr. Crofton is currently a tubist with The United States Air Force Band’s Ceremonial Brass in Washington D.C., a position he assumed in December 2023. Prior to this, Dr. Crofton served as a tubist with the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America from 2020 to 2023, where he showcased his talents in the Concert Band, Ceremonial Band, and Airlifter Brass Quintet.

Previously, Dr. Crofton served as Principal Tubist for the Round Top Festival Orchestra and Disneyland All-American College Band. Furthermore, he was honored to become the first tubist to win the Paducah Symphony Orchestra (Kentucky) Concerto Competition in 2016, affording him the opportunity to solo with the orchestra that same year. Additionally, Dr. Crofton has performed with many orchestras and wind bands, to include performances with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, and Royal Canadian Air Force Band.

Dr. Crofton has a passion for music education and has held positions as Associate Instructor at Indiana University’s Jacobs Schools of Music, Adjunct Professor at Lincoln Trail College (Illinois), in addition to maintaining an active private studio for over a decade. Dr. Crofton also serves as the tuba instructor for Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Preparatory program where he teaches private lessons to the tuba studio. Dr. Crofton is an active clinician and has taught dozens of masterclasses at universities and programs across the US and abroad; he also regularly judges competitions and events for the International Tuba/Euphonium Association and frequently participates in events at The United States Army Band’s Tuba/Euphonium Workshop in Washington, DC. 

Dr. Crofton holds a Doctor of Music in Music Literature/Performance and a Master of Music degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, as well as a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Murray State University. He was recently honored to receive the “Top 22 Under 40” alumni award from MSU. Dr. Crofton has been mentored by esteemed teachers such as Dan Perantoni, Ray Conklin, and Matt Hightower.

Prof. Fred Marcellus is a native of the Washington, D.C. area and is an active teacher, clinician, adjudicator, soloist, and freelance trumpet player. He holds a Master's Degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor's Degree from Wichita State University.

He is joining the faculty of George Mason University as an Adjunct Applied Professor of Trumpet, effective fall semester 2026. He is also on the faculty of George Washington University where he is the instructor of Trumpet and teaches privately for the Washington Brass Institute. 

From 1991-2000, he was a Soloist and Assistant Principal Cornet of the “President’s Own” Marine Band and is presently finishing his military career as the First Sergeant with the Band of the Nation’s Capital, the 257th Army Band with the DC National Guard. As a soloist, he performed over 130 solos with the US Marine Band on four national tours. He was a featured soloist with the American Ballet Theatre in NY and with the Wichita Symphony and at the Mid West Band Clinic and NY Brass Conference.

In the Washington D.C. area, he has performed with many groups including the National Symphony, Washington Opera Orchestra, Washington Chorus, Master Chorale of Washington, the Choral Arts Society, the Alexandria Symphony, the Chesapeake Orchestra, the Wolf Trap Opera, the Alexandria Symphony, the National Philharmonic, the Chesapeake Orchestra, the Virginia Grand Military Band, and the Capital Wind Symphony. Additionally, he has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Baltimore Opera, the Chautauqua Symphony (N.Y.), the Wichita Ballet Orchestra, the Annapolis Symphony, the Richmond Symphony, the Eugene Symphony, the Heidelberg Opera Orchestra in West Germany, the Mariinsky Orchestra, the University of Maryland Faculty Brass Quintet, the Missouri Chamber Orchestra, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the Eastman Brass Quintet, and a member of the Disney All-American College Orchestra.

He is on numerous recordings with the US Marine Band, including a solo feature on the Marine Band’s “On Tour” CD. He has recorded with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the Washington Choral Arts Society, and on live broadcasts with the National Symphony, Washington Opera Orchestra, the Wichita Symphony, and the Chautauqua Symphony.

Huge thanks to our marvelous Friends of Music at Mason (FOMM) for their support and presence at our concerts and events throughout the year. Our special gratitude to FOMM for the delicious snack attack presented on May 6 and 7 during music juries (performance final exams) for our students.