This summer, our faculty and staff had the privilege of working with over 2,000 students of all ages, from three countries and 22 states, over seven weeks. These students expanded their learning through our 120 programs in the creative categories of Music, Acting, Visual Art, Film and Video, and Professional Development. On top of that, 135 students attended regular private music lessons!
In addition to the return of our most popular programs, we were thrilled to add new offerings to our lineup. Our inaugural Technical Theater Bootcamp welcomed over 20 students to campus and gave them the opportunity to learn hands-on skills from industry and George Mason University theater practitioners in the areas of scenic, lighting, sound and costume design. Overall, 1,030 students participated in our Acting for Young People programs, a record within a record!
In our Visual Art programs directed by Dr. Justin Sutters, students worked with various media and learned techniques to create their own art works, digital illustrations, 2-D and 3-D projects, photographs, and stop-motion animation scenes. Faculty from the esteemed Film and Video Studies program guided middle- and high-school aged students through the many facets of making their own short film.
Our third annual Mason Summer Band Camp, under the direction of Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., saw a jump in enrollment as well with over 130 young musicians experiencing a week in the life of a George Mason music student. Our string offerings each provided the opportunity to focus on different skills: the Mason String Intensive under the direction of Professor June Huang helped students hone their technique and build their musicianship skills, while playing solo and small ensemble pieces. The Mason String Camp, directed by Dr. Soo Han with guest conductors Diana Chou and Austin Isaac, focused on large ensemble playing.
The Mason Summer Piano Academy and Piano Explorations programs reached students of different ages and levels of experience. Songwriting Workshop students created and performed their own original songs. Again this year, participants in our Music Technology classes taught by Todd Wilcox and Livingston Rampey produced inventive musical pieces.
Our Professional Development classes included the Orff and Kodály teacher training programs. In its second year, the Children’s Choir program grew to over 35 young singers and gave Kodály student teachers the opportunity to direct them in traditional classroom repertoire. Conductors from around the region taking part in the Mason Orchestral Conducting Symposium directed by Dr. Han and Mason Wind Conducting Symposium directed by Dr. Lake were coached by masters in the field.
A huge thanks to each and every one of the faculty members who shared their expertise in these programs. We are ever grateful to our colleagues in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the academic units, and the Arts Support Umbrella staff, who welcome us into the campus spaces and make our programming possible. As always, we thank our students and families who attended a camp, class or lesson this year.
Last but certainly not least, please join me in recognizing our Mason Community Arts Academy (MCAA) full-time and summer staff and congratulating them on a job incredibly well done. None of this would happen without their tireless efforts. As I write this, the staff is hard at work, reflecting on this past summer and making plans for next! Stay tuned for exciting updates coming in early 2026, and of course, we look forward to our Fall and Spring programs and music lessons.
On behalf of all of us at MCAA, we wish you a happy end of summer and beginning of fall. We can’t wait to see you again soon, and to continue watching you create and grow!
Written by Mary Lechter, Executive Director
Edited by Regina Schneider
