Mason Community Arts Academy
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Faculty News

Faculty Enrichment Fund Award: Dr. Radina Dosseva

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The Academy values the importance of our teacher’s professional development. The Faculty Enrichment Fund annually provides partial and full reimbursement for teachers to attend conferences, workshops, and teacher training sessions. Piano Teaching Artist, Dr. Radina Dosseva write about her experience at the Virginia Music Teacher’s Associate Conference:

VMTA Conference logo

I am very grateful to Mason Community Arts Academy for their support and encouragement of their teachers to pursue professional development opportunities. The Faculty Enrichment Fund Award allowed me to fulfill my dream of attending the 2025 Virginia Music Teachers Association (VMTA) Annual State Conference this November on the campus of George Mason University. This is the second time I have been honored with this award.

This three-day immersion in music was the perfect way to network with other like-minded teachers and dedicated professionals from the state of Virginia, and other parts of the U.S. VMTA was first organized in 1964 as an affiliate of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), which was itself founded in 1874. This conference is held annually at different locations across the state of Virginia.

Madalina Petric (left) with Dr. Dosseva (right)
Madalina Petric (left) with Dr. Dosseva (right)

I was able to reconnect with colleagues and met many wonderful new people, who are involved with several local music organizations, such as Christy Tallamy (our VMTA President-Elect and Chair of the NVMTA Composition Competition), Kevin Chance (president of MTNA), Madalina Petric (NVMTA Vice President and Chair of the Piano Ensemble Festival), our own Misha Tumanov (NVMTA President), and others.

Francesca Hurst (left), Dr. Dosseva (middle), and Mary Voutsas (right)

I also got to know the amazing presenters, such as Leila Viss, Marina Croce de Andueza, Nancy O’Neill Breth, Francesca Hurst, Rita Gigliotti, Alina Kirshon-Goldman, Andrea Humphrey (conference vendor – Kindred Piano Method), and Rok Palcic, among others. Everyone at the conference was incredibly kind and willing to share all kinds of pedagogical information with the attendees.

I learned about new sight-reading and piano teaching methods, creative and musical activities to use in lessons, ways of increasing expression and artistry, strategies for reducing stress, and expanding repertoire with Latin American and Spanish composers, among other valuable topics, all of which I can use to improve not only my students’ skills, but my own as well. I also learned about MTNA Certification for teachers and setting business policies that help both students and teachers thrive.

This conference taught me many new concepts, helped me rethink my teaching philosophy once again, and gave me new pedagogical ideas to incorporate into my private and group teaching. It also gave me a renewed sense of the importance of good teachers in a student’s life and helped me establish connections with many new colleagues, who inspired me. Most importantly, it reminded me that I am not alone – there is a whole community of highly qualified teachers out there, all of whom face the same joys and challenges that I have experienced in my career. It was a very refreshing and invaluable experience, and I am very grateful to Mason Community Arts Academy for making it possible.

Written by Dr. Radina Dosseva
Edited by Regina Schneider

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Uncategorized

Virginia String Teachers Association Awards

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Mason Community Arts Academy is thrilled to be the recipient of the Virginia String Teacher’s Association 2025 Distinguished Service Award.

We congratulate our longtime collaborator and Mason String Intensive Director June Huang on being named String Teacher of the Year. We also congratulate MCAA instructor Alyssa Cabassa on receiving the Future Music Teacher Award.

Special thanks to Jenna Day of Day Violins for nominating the Academy, and for her lovely comments included in the award presentation.

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Community Outreach Instruments in the Attic

Instrument Petting Zoo

MCAA staff member teaching a child about the violin

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MCAA staff greeted over 600 children and their families for our recent pre-show Instrument Petting Zoo at George Mason’s Center for the Arts (CFA)!

Assisted by students from the Kappa Kappa Psi music fraternity, we introduced audience members to the instruments that would later be used by performers in the Laurie Berkner Band.

We look forward to returning to the CFA for more lobby pre-show activities in Spring 2026!

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Acting Announcements Faculty News

Two Long Time Staff Members Join the Academy Full Time

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Many hands come together to create and put on the wonderful programming that Mason Community Arts Academy (MCAA) provides to the Northern Virginia community. The Academy employs many George Mason University faculty, staff, current students, and alumni to teach and staff our year-round programs, private music lessons, and outreach events and initiatives. Two of our long time team members, Lucas Kremer and Adam Lemos, who have worked in teaching and admin capacities, have now joined the Academy as full time staff members in specialized areas.

Lucas Kremer is a saxophone instructor at the Academy and a George Mason alum, and has joined the Academy as our new Coordinator of Music Programs and Outreach. Adam Lemos is teaching artist with Acting For Young People, the Academy’s theater and acting program, a George Mason alum, and joins us as the Assistant Coordinator of Programs and Outreach.

Lucas Kremer

Coordinator of Music Programs and Outreach

How long have you worked for MCAA, and what are your new official duties?

I first joined the Academy in 2019 during my undergraduate studies at George Mason. Since then, I have had the privilege of serving in several part-time roles across nearly every area of the organization. In this new full-time role, I will be coordinating our music outreach initiatives, including the Instruments in the Attic instrument donation program. I will also continue teaching saxophone lessons and serving on the administrative teams for private music lessons and summer programs.

How did you first fall in love with music?

I first started playing the saxophone in fifth grade when I joined my school’s band program. I was always motivated by practicing and improving on the saxophone from the beginning, which got stronger over the years as I fully realized the beauty and versatility of the instrument. Thanks to the constant support of my family and many teachers along the way, I was inspired to pursue music in college and professionally.

Tell us about a memorable teaching experience you’ve had.

A memorable moment was witnessing one of my Academy saxophone students make All-District Band for the first time and attending their performance at the All-District Band event. Given how these milestones were also pivotal in my own musical journey, it was a full-circle moment to have my own student have the same experience.

What excites you most in your new role?

This new role allows me to expand on much of the work I was already immersed in at the Academy, while also pursuing new opportunities within the organization. I am particularly excited to delve more into our outreach efforts and to spread the Academy’s influence in the area and beyond. Most importantly, I am looking forward to learning and growing even more from my wonderful colleagues, who have been nothing but supportive and encouraging throughout the years.

Do you have any pets?

While neither my family nor I own any pets (mostly due to allergies), we are animal lovers from afar. My mom frequently sends us posts from social media, especially from the WeRateDogs accounts!

Adam Lemos

Assistant Coordinator of Theater Programs and Outreach

How long have you worked for MCAA/AFYP, and what are your new official duties?

I started as an afterschool teaching artist with Acting for Young People in the Spring of 2014 as a freshman theater major at George Mason. From there I moved into our Saturday showcase programs working first with our Adventures group (ages 7-8) for many years before moving up to direct and stage manage shows for our Musical and Advanced programs. My new official duties include a lot of back-end management such as helping process registrations, building out programs and curriculum, as well as more front–facing outreach initiatives that help bolster our presence in the George Mason and greater Fairfax communities. 

How did you first fall in love with acting/music?

I was seven years old when I did my very first play–On Borrowed Time–at the Putnam County Playhouse in Greencastle, Indiana. My dad was actually in the play with me and played a character who is essentially the grim reaper. I had a very small role with a handful of lines but I was hooked. It was the one extracurricular [activities] that sort of stuck–and believe me, my parents tried a lot–and the rest is history. 

Tell us about a memorable teaching experience you’ve had.

One of the things I love most about AFYP is how focused it is on the longterm growth of its students. Kids as young as five can join our Mini Actors’ Showcase and continue to move up through the program until they reach the Advanced Actors’ Showcase, which they can perform in through high school. One of the most memorable and heartwarming experiences I have is getting to work with a number of students I taught when they were eight years old who are now in high school. Witnessing their growth as both performers and people is a near indescribable joy.

What excites you most in your new role?

The opportunity to represent such an exceptional organization and group of people at multiple outreach opportunities throughout the area.

Do you have any pets?

No–but hope to rectify that very soon! 🙂

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Group Classes

MCAA’s Record-Breaking Summer!

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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