Category: Faculty News

Mason Community Arts Academy is proud to announce that Teaching Artist James Myers has been cast in the professional mens chorus in the upcoming production of Verdi’s Rigoletto with the Wolf Trap Opera Friday August 3rd at 8:15 pm.

James has sung with Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center in their production of Wagner’s Gotterdammerung, as well as performing the role of Edward Rutledge in McLean Community Players’ production of the musical, 1776. He has also performed with the Middle Saxony Theatre in their productions of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Kurt Weill’s Street Scene.

When asked about the upcoming performance, he said “I’m most excited to sing in Rigoletto because it is one of my favorite operas and it features numerous songs that even people who have never been to an opera will easily recognize. I’m also thrilled because Wolf Trap Opera is such an amazing organization that puts on great productions.”

 

GET MORE INFORMATION AND PURCHASE TICKETS

 

Read more about James Myers

 

Music and Technology come together in this interesting lecture recital by Mason Community Arts Academy’s Teaching Artist Dr. Kelly Nam.  Dr. Nam will be talking about the classical compositional aspects of the music from video game Final Fantasy VII by Nobuo Uematsu.  She will also be playing works by Schumann, Chopin, Wagner and Prokofiev.  This lecture recital is presented by Mason’s Computer Game Design Program and will be held on May 5th, 2018 at 3:30 pm in the Center for the Arts, Grand Tier III.

DIRECTIONS

Read more about Dr. Kelly Nam

Maosn Community Arts Academy percussion faculty, Dakota Kaylor, will be playing percussion for the upcoming musical “Witch” at the Creative Cauldron in Falls Church.  Weaving a thread from the Salem Witch trials through modern day politics, this world premiere musical examines the complex and compelling stories of women who’ve been labeled as witches throughout the centuries.

 

Kaylor met Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith (composer and librettist) when he worked with them on a previous musical they created. This production is the fourth of five musicals in a commissioning project called “Bold New Works for Intimate Stages” produced at Creative Cauldron.  “Being involved in the creation of a new musical is very exciting for me” says Kaylor. “I have the opportunity to communicate and support the writers ideas through percussion. Figuring out how to do this effectively involves a great amount of thought and collaboration between different artists, and I really enjoy that process.”

 

Visit the Creative Cauldron site for more information about dates, times and tickets.

 

Mason Community Arts Academy faculty members Seon Gyu Park and Jimmy Stevens will be featured in the upcoming Mason School of Music Opera presentation of Benjamin Britten’s comic opera “Albert Herring”.  Jimmy will perform the part of Albert Herring and Seon Gyu will perform the role of Lady Billows.  Don’t miss this excitng performance!

Performances at Friday April 20th at 8pm, Saturday April 21st at 8 pm and Sunday April 22nd at 2 pm.  All performances take place in the Harris Theater on campus at Mason.  Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $5 for youth and can be purchased ahead of time at cfa.gmu.edu or at the Harris Theater 30 minutes prior to the performance.

DIRECTIONS

Parking is available at the Mason Pond parking deck for $3/hour on Friday or a flat rate of $8 on Saturday and Sunday.

Mason Graduate Music Composition student, MJ Halco, will be showcasing her compositions for her Graduate Recital on March 31st at 6:00 pm.  The performance will take place in the de Laski Performing Arts Building, Room 3001 and will feature a tuba and euphonium ensemble, soprano voice and marimaba, string and percussion ensemble, percussion duet, saxophone quartet, and fixed media and piano.

Last September, MJ was commissioned by Mason Community Arts Academy to write a new piece of music for our Diversity – A Gift of Nature family concert.  The work, titled “Together, Triumphant”, was a collaborative ballet that include select dancers and choreographers from Mason’s School of Dance, visual art scenes from local artist and Academy art instructor Nathan Loda, and narrative by Acting for Young People’s Zachary Wilcox.

Besides being a graduate student at Mason and a composer, MJ is also a valued part-time employee at the Academy!  We are proud of her musical accomplishments and are excited to see what the future holds for her.

DIRECTIONS

Parking is available in the Mason Pond parking deck for a flat fee of $8 or in Lot K for free.  Admission is free and open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.