Congratulations to our music faculty for a splendid evening of music and voice at yesterday’s Fairfax, Spotlight on the Arts festival performance. Our theme this year was music from film and television.
Pieces ranged from the main theme of Interstellar, performed by Dr. Nayoon Choi on flute and Dr. Estrella Hong accompanying on piano, to a selection of pieces from Star Wars and The Hobbit, performed by a guitar trio of Geoff Sawyer, Brian Slaymaker, and Hang Yin.
This year was our highest attendance to date with 150 attendees! We look forward to more performances by our faculty in the future and we hope to see you for next year’s Spotlight performance.
This performance was made possible with the generous support of the City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts.
With heavy hearts, we share that our friend and former College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) Dean Bill Reeder has passed away after an extended illness. In addition to his numerous, remarkable achievements noted below, it was Bill’s spirit and vision for a community arts school within CVPA that inspired what began as the Potomac Music Academy and has become our thriving Mason Community Arts Academy.
Bill was the founding dean of CVPA, joining George Mason University in 2001 to lead the newly formed college after a distinguished career as an operatic tenor and arts administrator. He served as dean until May 2015, and continued to work in the Arts Management program, one of three new academic programs, including Film and Video Studies and Computer Game Design, that were launched under his leadership. Bill was at the helm of a long-held community vision for an arts center serving Manassas and Prince William County. Bill’s advocacy led to the creation of the Hylton Performing Arts Center on what is now the Science and Technology Campus.
We will be forever grateful for all of Bill’s support, and the pride he took in how effectively his goals for a community arts program came to fruition with the Academy. Memorial details will be shared at a later date.
A generous family from Falls Church recently contacted the Academy about gifting their Kimball H462 upright piano to a good home. If anyone is interested in accepting this gift, please contact us ASAP.
The piano is approximately 45 years old and is free of charge; however, the family requests the recipient to pay for the moving expense, which averages around $250-300 (when using a professional piano moving company) depending on the distance traveled, number of stairs involved, etc. Note from the owner: “There are only two steps between where the piano is now and the driveway and there are no turns to be made inside the house to get it out.“
Additionally, acoustic pianos usually require a tuning from a professional piano tuner after a move as well.
If you think you have a need (and a space) for this piano, it’s a great opportunity to look into. We will handle this on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please email us at [email protected] (no phone calls please) and put “Piano Available to Good Home” in the subject (or simply reply to the bi-weekly newsletter email). A recipient will be matched as soon as possible.
