Dear Mason Music Family,

What a thrilling start to our Fall 2026 semester as we welcomed 70 new artists to our Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music!  We enjoyed a terrific Convocation last week in Harris Theatre with our new and returning music students and faculty. 

Please join us for our Dewberry School of Music Fall 2026 Concert Series! We are excited to announce our terrific opening concert of the Series—the Grand Piano Celebration on Sunday, September 27 at 3 pm in Mason's Center for the Arts.  Please purchase tickets now for this exciting and memorable concert of great music celebrating Mason's All-Steinway School!  A post-concert reception honoring our Friends of Music at Mason will be held in the Center for the Arts lobby. 

Our Dewberry School of Music students and faculty are also eagerly anticipating Arts by George on Saturday, October 3 with marvelous student showcase performances in opera, jazz, winds, and piano.  We invite you to also purchase tickets for Mason's Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band concert on October 5, featuring Bernstein's West Side Story! 

We greatly appreciate the Friends of Music at Mason for your enthusiastic support of our Dewberry School of Music students and faculty.   We look forward to seeing each of you on Sunday, September 27th at our Grand Piano Celebration! 

With my warmest regards,

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

Join us for a spectacular opening of our 2026 Fall Concert season with A Grand Piano Celebration on Sunday, September 27 at 3 p.m. in Mason's Center for the Arts. This concert honors Mason's All-Steinway School and features outstanding student and faculty artists of the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music in exciting and dramatic solo piano and collaborative piano works.

Faculty performances will include Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals" featuring Linda Apple Monson and Anna Balakerskaia, duo-pianists, and witty verses by poet Ogden Nash narrated by Rick Davis, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Jennifer Casey Cabot, soprano, will join with Linda Monson in a performance of Fernando Obradors' "Classical Spanish Songs". The program will highlight a brilliant 8-hand work showcasing Mason piano faculty Eunae Ko Han, John Paul Healey, Anna Balakerskaia, and Linda Apple Monson. Additional works by Mozart, Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Florence Price, and Samuel Barber will be performed by amazing student artists. 

The Grand Piano Celebration concert promises to be a memorable and thrilling concert opening to our 2026 Fall Concert Series. 

John Healey, Eunae Ko Han, Anna Balakerskaia & Linda Monson, 8-hand piano

Jennifer Casey Cabot, soprano

Lena Rice, student artist

  Anna Balakerskaia & Linda Monson, duo-piano                         Rick Davis, narrator

Photo by Pari Dukovic

This annual fall benefit event supports student scholarships for George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.

The evening features showcases by talented Mason Arts students throughout our studio and performance spaces complimented by a buffet dinner and culminates with an exciting headliner performance by Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall. 

The Mason Symphonic Band opens with music that listens closely to where it comes from. Calvin Custer's Variations on Scarborough Fair takes a centuries-old ballad and turns it over in the light, finding new color in every facet. Frank Erickson's Air for Band slows the room down, trading momentum for breath and space. Then Frank Ticheli's Cajun Folksongs pulls the evening south, into the syncopated heat and dance-floor pulse of Louisiana — folk music reimagined with the same restless curiosity that defines this set.

The Mason Wind Symphony answers with a program built on contrast and connection. Two faces of Bach open the set: the quiet devotion of Fervent is My Longing beside the architectural precision of the Little Fugue in G Minor, proof that structure itself can be its own kind of beauty. Nicole Piunno's With Love and Grace brings a contemporary voice into the room, lyrical and unguarded. And then: Bernstein. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, arranged by Paul Lavender, doesn't just close the evening — it ignites it, channeling rivalry, romance, and raw urban energy into one of the most enduring scores in American musical theater.

Don't miss this exciting performance conducted by Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., Director of Concert Bands and Erick R. Morales, graduate conductor. 

Valentin Kovalev is an award-winning classical saxophonist and international soloist whose career bridges deep tradition and bold innovation. Originally from Siberia, he studied in Moscow and Paris before capturing First Prize at the 2022 Walter W. Naumburg International Saxophone Competition and joining the roster of the prestigious Concert Artists Guild in New York. 

His Carnegie Hall debut featured a world premiere by GRAMMY-winning composer Steven Mackey, earning widespread acclaim for its expressive power and technical brilliance. Kovalev has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States, and continues to expand the saxophone’s reach through his engaging performances, educational outreach, and digital media presence—connecting audiences worldwide through artistry and imagination.

Congratulations to Dewberry School of Music Faculty and DMA Student who participated in the 54th National Flute Association Annual Convention, "Origins: Celebrating Trailblazing & Discovery." The Convention was held in Portland, Oregon in August 2026.

Dr. Laura Kaufman Mowry, Adjunct Flute Professor presented a lecture-recital, "Before the First Note: Using Improvised Preludes to Reimagine Classical Performances." Jennifer Szabo, DMA in Performance Candidate performed in the Young Artist Competition. Music for Flute and Percussion Alexis Evers, flute; Dr. Florian Conzetti, marimba performed "Red Flame" composed by Dr. Andrea Reinkemeyer, Director of Composition.

Kudos to Dr. Linda Apple Monson for being recognized as the College Music Society's August Spotlight on Leadership.  As the new President of the College Music Society International Chapter, she shares her belief in "the power of music to transform lives."  

Attention String players! We excited to welcome intermediate and advanced players for String Day held on Saturday, October 10 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in deLaski Performing Arts Building. This FREE event is open to violin, viola, and cello students 8th through 12th grade and college freshmen.

The Dewberry School of Music Faculty include:
Prof. June Huang, Director of Strings; Dr. Soo Han, Director of Orchestras; Dr. Patrick, LeStrange, viola and Prof. Gerald Fowkes, cello.

Don't forget to bring your instrument and please register by scanning QR code or clicking the button below. 

Bass Day is a free event for classical bass, Jazz bass, and electric bass students. Open to all ages and skill levels, masterclasses and mini lessons by Jessica Powell Eig and Ben Thomas. Please bring your instrument and register for Bass Day.

The final concert will be 5pm in Harris Theatre with the JOINT FORCE BASS QUARTET, with Jessica Powell Eig!  The U.S. military’s only jazz bass ensemble, the Joint Force Bass Quartet (JFBQ), is comprised of bassists from premier jazz bands that include the United States Army, the Army Blues, the United States Air Force Airmen of Note, the United States Navy Commodores and the United States Marine Band.

Calling all high school percussionists! Join the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music for the 2026 Mason Percussion Day on November 9 from 9:00 a.m.  to 2:30 p.m. at George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus! Spend the day learning, playing, and exploring percussion alongside Mason faculty and fellow young musicians from across the region. This FREE event is open to percussionists in grades 9–12, and all skill levels are welcome!

Our Mason Percussion faculty clinicians include:
Professor Jon Bisesi, Co-Coordinator of Percussion; Professor John Spirtas, Co-Coordinator of Percussion; Professor Jonathan Rance, Timpani; and Dr. Kanako Chikami, Marimba.

Come ready for a full day of clinics, masterclasses, ensemble experiences, and hands-on music-making designed to challenge and inspire the next generation of percussionists.
Don’t forget your stick bag and your Percussion Section Friends!
Questions? Contact Professor Jon Bisesi at jbisesi@gmu.edu