Mason Community Arts Academy
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Music

Faculty Feature: Seon Gyu Park

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Seon Gyu Park is a Teaching Artist of Voice who has been on our faculty since Fall 2015. She teaches private voice lessons with us as well as the Voice Classes for Teens and Adults. An experienced performer, Seon Gyu has sung in concert halls and on opera stages around the world.

PAA: How did you first fall in love with music?

SGP: When I was an elementary school student, I was a member of the MBC children’s choir in Korea. I appeared in a children’s TV show every week for 3 years. We were dancing and singing in the program and I loved it. That experience gave me the dream to become a singer.

PAA: Tell us about a teaching experience you had that was especially memorable.

SGP: I was the conductor of a middle school choir. At that time, they couldn’t sing very well but I didn’t give up. I taught them the basics, like how to breathe and how to support. Above all, I encouraged them to enjoy singing. They changed little by little, and then we finally made a great harmony and we won 2nd Prize at the national choir competition.

PAA: What are some unique things you do when you teach?

SGP: Before singing, I teach how to warm up our body and what is a good pose to sing. Because our bodies are our instruments, I try to teach my students to understand our bodies well and to use them properly.

PAA: Do you have any pets? If so, tell us about them. If not, tell us the type of pet you would like to have.

SGP: I have two goldfish. I don’t have a dog yet, but my husband and I are planning to have one. Hopefully, we can meet a cute and nice furry friend.

To schedule a lesson with Seon Gyu Park, please email us at [email protected], call us at (703) 993-9889, or register for our Teen or Adult Voice Class!

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Acting Announcements Art Dance Film & Video Music

Summer Is In The Air (No, Really!)

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It may be wintry and snow-clad outside, but Summer is on our brain around here. We have posted our Summer Arts at Mason camp line-up and are taking registrations. Our popular programs start filling quickly, so get a headstart on your summer planning!

We have weekly camps running from end of June through mid-August. The majority of our camps are full-day programs (9am-3/4pm), with some exceptions. A selection of our programs now have a new overnight Residential option, where older kids can stay in the campus dorms and enjoy special evening activities.

Check out this photo slideshow from the 2014 Composition & Songwriting Workshops:

 

Reserve your spot today! You can also take advantage of our Split Payment option during registration – pay half when you enroll, and the other half won’t be charged until June 1st.

 

SEE FULL LIST OF SUMMER PROGRAMS

Overwhelming to look through? Check out our handy “Camps-By-Age” tool!

 

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Acting Announcements Art Music

Spring Voice Classes, Art Classes & More

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Find your creative spark this Spring! Join a voice class, sign your child up for a visual art class, enroll your teenager in a computer game design course, or choose one of the many other options available. Classes are starting now!

We have Music, Acting, Art and Computer Game Design classes for all ages. Our Spring Semester has arrived, and most classes start in the next few weeks. (In fact, a few have already begun!)

Check out this video with Jennifer Keller, Voice Class instructor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqQnkRehhgU

 

SEE FULL CLASS LIST FOR SPRING

 

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Events Music

Faculty String Quartet Recital This Saturday

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The Potomac Arts Academy Faculty String Quartet recital concert has been re-scheduled for this Saturday, January 30th at 7pm. The new location is Harris Theatre on the Mason Fairfax Campus. Enjoy FREE admission! (Donations will be accepted.)

The newly-formed Potomac Arts Academy Faculty String Quartet consists of violinists Matthew Richardson and Claire Allen, violist Patrick LeStrange, and cellist Kathryn Hufnagle. All Teaching Artists at Potomac, the members of the quartet maintain private teaching studios and coach chamber music, in addition to being active performers in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. They hold degrees from schools including the Cleveland Institute of Music, Peabody Conservatory, the Universite de Montreal, and George Mason University, and currently perform with orchestras including the McLean Orchestra, the Fairfax Symphony, and the National Philharmonic.

On Saturday, you can park in Parking Lot K for free. From there, it is a 5-10 minute walk to Harris Theatre. You can also park in the Mason Pond Parking Deck for $8. The parking deck is located next to Harris Theatre.

SEE MAP OF MASON FAIRFAX CAMPUS
(Harris Theatre is #27 and is close to the George Mason statue.)

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Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic

IiA Helps College Students Succeed

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Shenandoah University students Guang Jin and Eli Thomas were both struggling to keep up with their musical studies due in large part to the quality of the instruments they were using. Through a connection between their professor and Jenna Day of Day Violins, IiA stepped in to help.

ShenandoahStudentsJan2016A

 

Due to financial hardships, Guang and Eli found it necessary to borrow instruments to practice with. Guang borrowed his violin from the Dean of the college, and Eli borrowed a violin from one of his friends. Neither violin was of particularly good quality. Their professor, Akemi Takayama, became alarmed when Guang’s violin needed to be returned and Eli’s violin continued to deteriorate. Akemi and Potomac Arts Academy board member Jenna Day connected with each other and discussed the possibility of using Instruments in the Attic to assist.

With the help of Day Violins, we were able to identify and repair two quality violins that had been donated by generous community members who no longer had a need for them. These instruments were put on loan and delivered in January, to the great surprise and delight of the students, and the joy and relief of their professor.

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Guang Kim is Korean Chinese. He was born and raised in the northeastern part of China and started learning violin with his aunt, a Chinese violin professor, at age 14. Guang came to United States in 2011 to study music abroad. First, Guang studied under the Louisville Symphony Orchestra violinist Kimberly Griffiths Tichenor in Campbellsville University of Kentucky. In 2015, after finishing his master degree of violin performance in Kentucky, Guang moved to Winchester, Virginia study under Professor Akemi Takayama. Currently Guang is an artist diploma student at Shenandoah Conservatory and a member of school’s symphony orchestra.
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Guang comes from a low income family from China, and as a result he often struggled with his financial situations due to tuition and high living expenses in the United States. He won the full scholarship in Campbellsville University of Kentucky which made it possible for him to finish his musical study. To support and continue his musical career, Guang took up various jobs such as translator, coordinator and waiter in Los Angeles to save up for upcoming tuition after graduation from Campbellsville University. The Shenandoah Conservatory has also offered scholarship for him to keep his musical career since August, 2015. This school should be his last station to do his musical preparation and he believes with the completion of training from Shenandoah Conservatory, he will be confident and ready to audition for major symphony orchestra in the United States, China or South Korea. Guang wishes that he can be an excellent violinist and a violin professor in the future and also wishes he could truly contribute to the art of violin with his talent.

 

ShenandoahStudentsJan2016E

 

Eli Thomas was born and raised in San Diego, California, and moved to Winchester, Virginia in 2012 to study the violin under Professor Akemi Takayama. He is currently a master’s student at Shenandoah Conservatory and assistant concertmaster of the school’s symphony orchestra, which toured Spain in 2014. He is also a member of the Bluefire String Quartet, a group that performs exciting arrangements of jazz standards as well as originals. Eli comes from a large family, with a twin brother and four other siblings living in California, and won a scholarship that made it possible for him to attend Shenandoah University. He makes ends meet via teaching, busking, and playing at weddings, and also directs a small youth orchestra in Jefferson County, West Virginia. In his spare time he is an avid bread baker and enjoys cycling when the weather is warm.

We are thrilled with this success story, and wish Guang and Eli good fortune as they strive to be the best musicians that they can be. None of this would be possible without instrument donations and financial gifts from compassionate and conscientious community members. Look for more stories about the Instruments in the Attic program and its impact on the community and the world!

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT INSTRUMENTS IN THE ATTIC