Mason Summer Band Camp

Dr. William L. Lake, Jr. is the Director of Concert Bands at the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music at George Mason University. In this role, he conducts the George Mason University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. He also teaches conducting and wind literature classes.

Before his tenure at George Mason University, Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., served as Associate Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music Education at the Crane School of Music (SUNY-Potsdam), where he was co-conductor of the Northern Symphonic Winds, principal conductor of the Crane Concert Band, and guest conductor of the Crane Wind Ensemble. In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Lake taught undergraduate conducting, Secondary Wind Practices, Wind Literature, and the preservice Practicum in Beginning Instruments Course.

Dr. Lake earned his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Instrumental Conducting from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro under the mentorship of Drs. John R. Locke and Kevin Geraldi. As a graduate student, he was the principal conductor of The University of North Carolina University Band and guest conductor of the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Casella Sinfonietta Chamber Ensemble, and Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Lake is the recipient of two master’s degrees, the first from Boston University in Music Education (2011) and the second from the University of Maryland, College Park in Wind Conducting (2014), under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Votta, Jr. In May 2006, Dr. Lake received the Bachelor of Music Liberal Arts -Jazz Studies Piano Performance Degree from the University of Maryland, College Park as a student of Jon Ozment and Christopher Vadala.

Dr. Lake maintains an active performance and clinic schedule as a guest conductor and lecturer nationwide. In March of 2024, Dr. Lake was named the Music and Artistic Director of the Capital Wind Symphony. This professional wind ensemble is regarded as one of the nation’s premier wind symphonies. Based near the Nation’s Capital, the ensemble comprises the finest musicians in the area, including members of the US military bands, freelance players, studio teachers, and music educators. Recently, Dr. Lake served as a collaborating author for two books, Teaching Instrumental Music: Perspectives and Pedagogies for the 21st Century (Oxford University Press) and Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change (Lexington Books), both to be published in 2022.

As a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Lake has presented numerous seminars across the United States on inclusive practices in music education and performance, including the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Eastern Division College Band Directors National Association Conference, the Texas Music Educators Association Conference, the Maryland Music Educators Association Conference, the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference, the College Music Society Conference, and the National Association for Music Education Conference.

Dr. Lake is a member of the College Band Directors National Association and serves as the National Vice President for Professional Relations for Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc., Pi Kappa Lambda, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He is also honored with membership in Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc., and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Degrees:

• DMA, Instrumental Conducting – The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• MM, Wind Conducting – University of Maryland, College Park
• MM, Education – Boston University
• BM, Jazz Studies Piano Performance – University of Maryland, College Park

Dr. LaToya A. Webb serves as Wind Ensemble Conductor at Wilfred Laurier University. She teaches courses in instrumental conducting and wind band literature.  Prior to this position, Dr. Webb served as Assistant Director of the Longhorn Band and Assistant Professor of Practice in Conducting and an instructor of wind conducting at Auburn and Grambling State universities.

As a passionate advocate for improving educational opportunities through diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Webb is the Special Projects Manager for United Sound, Inc. She also maintains the William P. Foster Project website and serves on the Southwestern Division Committee. Dr. Webb is Co-founder of I See You: Affirming Representation in Music, an organization aimed to affirm Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in all fields of music.

Dr. Webb’s professional affiliations include the College Music Society, National Association for Music Education, Texas Music Educators Association, the College Band Directors National Association, Women Band Directors International, Tau Beta Sigma, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Derik Wright is a music educator, performer, arranger/composer from Prince George’s County, MD. He is currently a graduate assistant and guest conductor at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

Mr. Wright most recently served as the Band Director at I.C. Norcom High school in Portsmouth, VA. There he led a concert band, marching band, and jazz ensemble who have received many accolades. In addition to teaching public school, Mr. Wright served as the low brass specialist and pep band director for the Norfolk State University “Spartan Legion” Band. While at NSU he has had many arrangements recognized as Top 10 arrangements of the year by sources such as ESPN’s “The Undefeated” and HBCU Sports Magazine. Recent notable performances of his arrangements include the NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournament, “The Tournament of Roses Parade” and “The Honda Battle of the Bands.”

Mr. Wright holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Media and a master’s degree in Music Theory & Composition from Norfolk State University. During his undergraduate experience he was a multi-instrumentalist in the university band program. Mr. Wright was the principal tubist in the wind ensemble and bass trombonist in the jazz ensemble. As a Graduate student and under the mentorship of Dr. Anne Neikirk, Mr. Wright has participated in the VirginiaX Student Composer Exchange, guest conducted the university wind ensemble, and composed for the jazz ensemble.

Mr. Wright is a member of the Virginia Music Educators Association, Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity inc. and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America.

Julianna Nickel is musician, teacher and business owner. She’s the adjunct Professor of Flute at George Mason University, where she been a two-time recipient of Mason’s Distinguished Teacher of the Year. At Mason, she works with a full studio of flutists, conducts the flute choir, and teaches Career Readiness. Through Juli Nickel Consulting, Ms. Nickel continues her work with musicians as they apply and audition to music school.

During the pandemic, Ms. Nickel and her family turned their driveway into a concert venue, presenting seven completely different styles of concerts that were each attended by a hundred or more people. Colleagues from ensembles across the region and other young musicians, including the Mason flute studio, performed on these events between May 2020 and May 2021.

Ms. Nickel loves performing chamber recitals, as an orchestral player, and as a soloist. Some of her favorite chamber music venues have been the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, the National Institute of Health, the Alden Theater, historic Mount Vernon, Salisbury College, and Georgetown University. As an orchestral player, she is the principal flutist with the American Festival Pops Orchestra, and substitutes with the Washington National Opera, the National Philharmonic, Alexandria Symphony, the Maryland Symphony, and the American Pops Orchestra. Since moving to the DC area in 2008, Julianna has performed as a soloist with the American Festival Pops Orchestra, the George Mason University Symphony Orchestra, the George Mason University Wind Ensemble, and the Landon Symphonette.

In college, Julianna was the principal flutist and personnel manager of the Gardner Museum Orchestra. Ms. Nickel’s first job after college was as the principal flutist of the Evansville Philharmonic. Later, after moving to Dallas in 1998, she became the principal flutist of both the Plano and Irving Symphony Orchestras and the piccolo player for the Durango Music Festival. In past years, Julianna greatly enjoyed performing as a substitute with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, the Vermont Symphony, the Boston Philharmonic, among others.

Julianna developed focal dystonia while in her early 30’s, which almost terminated her musical career. While searching for a correct diagnosis and proper information for almost two years, Julianna could not play flute at all. After finding the right neurologist in Houston, TX, she started a regime of Botox injections in her left arm that allowed her to return to playing at a high level, but not her highest level, a level needed to continue auditioning for symphony orchestras. In search of a cure for all who suffer from the rare neurological condition, Julianna applied to, and was accepted into, a clinical trial at the National Institute of Health. In 2018, she became the first musician to have deep brain surgery, involving an implant, for focal dystonia. Her goal was to be an active participant in finding a real cure for focal dystonia. In basic terms, an electrode was inserted into the thalamus of her brain. A battery in the chest communicates with the electrode. The surgery was successful, and Julianna’s left hand moves today on the flute due to this electrode and battery. A blog (in need of much revision!) is on a Facebook page called “Julianna’s Journey”. An advocate for the health of musicians, Julianna spends many hours talking to injured musicians, including those with focal dystonia. She spoke frequently with the four musicians who followed her in the NIH clinical trial as they prepared for surgery and the subsequent appointments needed to program the device. The process takes a few years. Her journey has increased her knowledge of musicians’ injuries and mindset when facing trauma.

Like many of her peers, Julianna adjudicates competitions of all types and presents a wide variety of masterclasses for different events. Her teaching career began as a student in Boston and then she accepted a teaching position as the flute professor for the University of Evansville, Indiana. She also particularly enjoyed the teaching experiences of summer programs at the Kinhaven Music Schools in Weston, Vermont, and the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival in South Africa. Until recently, she was the Director of the Flute Academy for Mason Community Arts, which is now part of the program’s larger summer band intensive.

Ms. Nickel’s students are highly successful in school, local and national competitions. Studio members have gone on the graduate school at the New England Conservatory of Music, the Eastman School of Music, the Peabody Institute of Music, the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of North Texas, the University of Southern California, the University of Southern California, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her education majors are teaching across the country as successful leaders in their schools.

Julianna attended the New England Conservatory Music where she received both her Bachelors and Masters of Music. Her teachers were Paula Robison, Fenwick Smith, and Leone Buyse. Prior to transferring to NEC, she attended the University of North Texas for two years studying with Jaqueline Hofto. Ms. Nickel was a Tanglewood Fellow. She also spent a summer with the National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado, and two summers each with National Orchestra Institute and the Aspen Music Festival, where she had the incredible privilege of soloing with the AMF Chamber Orchestra at the age of 17.

Ms. Nickel grew up in Austin, TX where she studied with the amazing Megan Meisenbach. While in high school, she soloed with the San Antonio Symphony and the Central Texas Orchestra. Julianna is married to James Nickel, a French Horn player with the National Symphony Orchestra, and is the proud mom of two amazing young people. 

Degrees

• BM and MM, Flute Performance, New England Conservatory

Kathleen Mulcahy was appointed as Director of Woodwinds and Assistant Professor of Clarinet at George Mason University in August 2018, after serving as Adjunct Professor of Clarinet since in 2012. She performs frequently with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and the National Symphony. Dr. Mulcahy has held tenured positions with the Annapolis Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Grant Park Orchestra, and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. She is currently principal clarinetist with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

An active chamber musician and recitalist, Dr. Mulcahy performs regularly on the Faculty Artist Series at George Mason University and has been a featured soloist with the Mason Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. She has performed on chamber series in venues such as the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art, the German Embassy, and the National Cathedral. In July 2017, she performed the world premiere of Howard Buss’ Divertissements for Clarinet and Percussion at the International Clarinet Association’s Clarinetfest in Orlando, FL, and presented a recital at the 2019 ICA Clarinetfest in Knoxville, TN. Dr. Mulcahy is also an RYT 200 certified yoga instructor, and has created several workshops focused on yoga for the performing artist. She has presented recitals and masterclasses at colleges all over the country, including Lamar University, High Point University, Penn State, and the Eastman School of Music.

In the summer, Dr. Mulcahy serves as Coordinator of Summer Music Intensives for the Mason Community Arts Academy, and is also the co-director of the Mason Summer Clarinet Academy. She can also be seen with the Wolf Trap Orchestra in the pit for Wolf Trap Opera productions, or on stage at the Filene Center accompanying a wide variety of acts.

Previously, Dr. Mulcahy served as a clarinet instructor at the State University of New York at Fredonia. She holds the DMA and BM degrees from The Ohio State University and the MM degree and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Her principal teachers have included James Pyne, Peter Hadcock, and Kenneth Grant. Kathleen Mulcahy is a Buffet Group USA performing artist and a member of the Health and Wellness Committee for the International Clarinet Association.

Term Assistant Professor of Music

• Director of Woodwinds
• Clarinet

Degrees

• B.M., Ohio State University
• M.M. and Performer’s Certificate, Eastman School of Music
• D.M.A., Ohio State University

Ed Fraedrich, saxophone, joined the faculty of GMU in the fall of 2011 after having established a successful private studio in the area. He has performed solos with many ensembles, including the National Symphony Orchestra and the Fairfax Wind Symphony. As a teacher, he has placed more students into All-District and All-State bands than any saxophone teacher in Virgina. Ed is the principal saxophonist with the Virginia Grand Military Band and plays tenor in the quux saxophone quartet. He lives in Springfield, with his wife, Eileen, and three children.

Degrees

• BM, Music, George Mason University
• MM, The Catholic University of America

William Hernandez is a DMV native who strives to make music accessible to all. As a first-generation American, his mission is to make Latinx representation the motivation for his career. In addition to having a background in Education, William is also a freelance musician with credits in musical pit orchestras, international movie score recording, and chamber groups throughout Delaware and Pennsylvania.

William holds a Bachelor’s in Instrumental Music Education from the University of Delaware and is currently a Master of Music in performance at the University of Maryland, College Park. His teachers include Amanda Collins, Dr. John David Smith, Dr. Lauren Hunt, Larry Williams, and Gregory Miller.

Dennis Edelbrock has performed with The United States Army Band and the Army Brass Quintet since 1975. Since that time, he has also written music used frequently at official state ceremonies at the White House, NBC’s “Christmas in Washington”, country music’s televised show “Nashville Now”, as well as music used in the opening ceremonies for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and Special Olympics. He is also the founder of The National Trumpet Competition and adjunct professor of trumpet at George Mason University and keeps an active performing schedule in the Washington, DC area. As an adjunct professor at GMU, he was awarded the prestigious “Excellence in Teaching Award” in 1996, one of only two faculty members to be recognized that year.

He has given masterclasses all over the world including the Moscow and St. Petersburg Conservatories.

The Army Brass Quintet entertains at the White House and has toured in thirty-eight states as well as twelve foreign countries. The Quintet has also recorded extensively and has performed on National Public Radio, The British Broadcasting Corporation, NBC’s “Today Show” and Fox television, The Prairie Home Companion, among others. The ensemble has been repeatedly chosen as the first to perform honors for newly inaugurated Presidents and also chosen for Capitol Rotunda State Funeral services for Presidents Reagan and Ford during national telecasts at the capitol. The Quintet has performed in a “live” Russian National TV broadcast in conjunction with the Russian National Orchestra.

The National Trumpet Competition, hosted at GMU, is the largest in the world and has provided performing opportunities for over 11,000 students since its inception in 1992. In exhibition concerts, it has featured such artists as Canadian Brass, Grammy Award winners Arturo Sandoval and Chris Botti as well as Doc Severinsen, Maynard Ferguson, Alan Vizzutti, Adolph Herseth, Tim Morrison, Jamey Aebersole Mnozil Brass, Philip Smith among many others. Its website hosts online masterclasses by some of the world’s greatest artists. NTC is supported, in part, by all the major trumpet manufacturers and has a budget of $80,000 per year.

In recent years, Edelbrock has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Bolshoi and Kirov ballets, the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, the Royal Spanish Ballet, the Kennedy Center Orchestra with whom he performed the world’s first web-cast as soloist in Handel’s “Messiah”, the Washington Opera, and the National Symphony Orchestra with whom he has recorded.

Performances with Classical Brass, of which he is a founding member, have been featured on local live radio broadcasts on NPR and broadcasts from The National Gallery. The Quintet does two national television broadcasts from the National Cathedral on Christmas and Easter mornings. Additionally, the group has commercially released compact discs including “Honor to Our Soldiers” (American Heritage Society) featuring performances on original civil ward instruments, “Christmas at the Cathedral” (Nonesuch) which has recently been nationally released, and “Music from America’s Golden Age” with the Columbian Brass Band.

Edelbrock has appeared numerous times as a soloist with the Kennedy Center’s Washington Chamber Symphony on NPR. He is an original member of the Washington Bach Consort which holds the honor of being the only American ensemble invited to perform at the Bach Tri-Centennial in a Leipzig Gewandhaus performance which was broadcast on East German State Television.

He has performed on screen as a soloist in the video version of “Contact” (Sony Pictures), “Wag the Dog” (Miramax) and was featured on the filmscore of Tri-Star’s motion picture, “Gardens of Stone”. Edelbrock has also been a frequent performer on the “Discovery Channel” sound tracks.

A native of Iowa City, Iowa, he is a graduate of the University of Iowa. He completed advanced studies at the Catholic University earning both a Master of Music Performance and Doctor of Music Arts degrees. He devotes as much time as possible to volunteer work with local youth groups and resides in Arlington, VA with his wife Laura, a pianist and choral director, and fifteen-year-old daughter Emma.

Adjunct Applied Faculty

• Trumpet

Degrees

• B.M.E., University of Iowa
• M.M., Catholic University of America
• D.M.A., Catholic University of America

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Trombonist David Perkel is a versatile orchestral and jazz artist. He was the Second Trombonist of the Richmond (VA) Symphony for five years and has performed with many other orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Harrisburg Symphony, San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, and the Virginia Symphony. Additionally, in 1999, he was appointed principal trombone in the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra.

As a jazz musician, Perkel has performed and/or recorded with numerous jazz luminaries including Chris Potter, Steve Turre, Branford Marsalis, Dianne Schuur, the Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra, Afro Bop Alliance, Steve Williams and Jazz Nation, Jane Monheit, Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Mintzer, Jim Pugh, the famed University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band and New York Voices. He was the lead trombonist and soloist for the Navy Band Commodores jazz ensemble in Washington D.C. for sixteen years.

An active educator, Dr. Perkel is professor of trombone and euphonium at Towson University and professor of trombone at George Washington University. Previously, he was the low brass professor at Frostburg State University, and spent five years as an artist-in-residence at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival in Tennessee. He has given master classes at universities and music conventions all over the United States.

An Edwards Trombone Artist, Perkel earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Texas, a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Catholic University of America.

Elliott Godinez is a first-generation American who advocates for equal accessibility in music. An inner-city Chicago native, his musical expressions have been described as creative, emotionally charged, and thought provoking. He has released multiple recordings and musical arrangements for high school front ensembles, and several collaborations with various composers.

In addition to his extensive freelance teaching in Central Illinois and the greater Chicagoland area, Mr. Godinez has served as Music Director of the New Holland-Middletown ESD #88, Assistant Band Director at University High School (Normal, IL), Battery Caption Head for Bloomington High School (IL), and most recently as a Percussion Graduate Assistant at Illinois State University.

Mr. Godinez earned a Master of Music in 2021, and a Bachelor of Music Education in 2017, both from Illinois State University. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at George Mason University.

Megan Stallings is an active music educator in the Northern Virginia area. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Instrumental Music Education from George Mason University, and is actively pursuing a Master of Music degree in Instrumental Conducting under the direction of Dr. William L. Lake Jr. Previously, Megan studied oboe with Dr. Margaret Owens and conducting with Mark Camphouse and Anthony Maiello. 

She is in her 4^th year teaching for Loudoun County Public Schools, and 3^rd year as the Associate Director of Bands at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia. In this role, Megan assists in teaching the Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, and the Marching Bulldogs. This year, she started a United Sound chapter at Stone Bridge with 10 new musicians and 23 peer mentors. In addition to teaching band, Megan has experience teaching elementary school general music classes, high school level guitar courses, and AP Music Theory.

As an active oboe/English horn player, she plays in the Fairfax Wind Symphony under the direction of Stan Schoonover. The FWS regularly performs in the Northern Virginia area, at the Virginia Music Educators Conference, and recently performed at the 2021 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Il. She has subbed on oboe and English horn for the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra, Capital Wind Symphony, and for private lesson teachers in the area. Megan holds a small oboe studio and taught oboe sectionals at local schools prior to starting her current position.

Outside of music, Megan enjoys coaching competitive cheerleading and holds two Virginia High School League 6A state titles as an assistant coach for Battlefield High School. She is in her 2nd year as a volunteer assistant coach for the Stone Bridge High School varsity competition cheerleading team. She resides in Aldie, Virginia with her boyfriend and their 3 miniature dachshunds, Yoshi, Daisy, and Mando.

Ryan Roikola is a bassoonist based out of Washington, DC. He has received his Bachelors in Music Education from Lynchburg College and a Masters in Music Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Ryan has studied with Suzanne Pattison at Lynchburg College, Saxton Rose at UNCSA, and with Michael Harley at the University of South Carolina.

Ryan is an active performer in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. He holds several substitute positions with various orchestras in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the Principal Bassoon Position with the Capital Wind Symphony, and you can often find him performing with his own chamber music group, Neglected Electric, in Washington, DC. When Ryan is not performing, his primary focus is to provide instruction and guidance for many of his own students and their musical performance. He works to make his teaching accessible and enjoyable, while developing great practice habits and understanding of music. Ryan has had several students perform at the All-State level and proceed to study music performance and education in college.