Mason String Camp

Dr. Soo Han is the newly appointed Director of Orchestral Studies at the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music at George Mason University. He is also the Music Director of the Elkhart County Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. In addition, he is a contributing editor for Hal Leonard’s Essential Elements for Strings, a D’Addario Orchestral Strings Artist, a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician, and a program coordinator/faculty member with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s summer Youth Orchestra program.

Prior to his appointment at George Mason University, Dr. Han served as the Director of Orchestral Studies at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music in Berea, Ohio. He conducted the Baldwin Wallace (BW) Symphony Orchestra, the BW Opera Theatre, and led a successful performance tour with the BW Symphony Orchestra in addition to maintaining an active conducting studio.

An active conductor, Dr. Soo Han has appeared with professional orchestras throughout the country in addition to directing university orchestras. He is a frequent conductor for All-State, Regional, and Honor Orchestras throughout the U.S., appearing in over 30 states. He has also conducted internationally with orchestras in Austria, China, Thailand, and Australia. Dr. Han has collaborated with numerous artists, groups, and conductors such as Lynn Harrell, David Kim, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He has produced multiple recordings of complete symphonies and has premiered several commissioned works for strings and full orchestras. He has presented workshops and clinics internationally and for national and state music conferences including the Australian String Teachers Conference, Maryborough National Australia Conference, Midwest Clinic, American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conference, NAfME National Conference, and the Ohio University Summer String Teacher Workshop.

Dr. Soo Han is a co-author, contributor, and managing editor for Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra, Vol. 4, one of the leading orchestra pedagogical resources published by GIA. He is the past president of the Indiana chapter of the American String Teachers Association; the Indiana chapter was awarded the ‘Most Improved Chapter’ during his time as president. Having taught music in public schools for fifteen years, he is a passionate supporter of public school music programs and continues to remain active in instrumental classrooms throughout the country.

Dr. Soo Han received his Bachelor of Instrumental Music Education degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and studied piano with Edward Auer. He received his Master of Science in Education from Indiana University School of Education, and his Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the Michigan State University – College of Music where he studied with Kevin Noe.

Diana Chou is a music educator, cellist, and conductor. She is the Artistic Director of The Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestras (TCSYO), as well as Conductor for String Ensemble and Prelude Orchestra. Mrs. Chou began her tenure with TCSYO in 2017 as the Prelude Orchestra Conductor; under her leadership, the program grew rapidly and String Ensemble was formed in the fall of 2019.

Mrs. Chou has been a music educator since 2008, and has taught for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) since 2013. She currently teaches at Lake Braddock Secondary School as the Middle School Orchestra Director. In addition, she is Director of the Fairfax Chamber Players, an orchestra made up of FCPS teachers in conjunction with the Academy Course Program. She is the Event Coordinator for the Fairfax Arts Coalition for Education (FACE) and works to bring musical opportunities to all students. Mrs. Chou enjoys curriculum development, and has worked on projects for FCPS and the Virginia Department of Education. She has been a mentor to many first year orchestra teachers and has hosted several student teachers. She is an active freelance cellist in the Washington D.C. area and is a founding member of the Maestra Ensemble. She has performed concerti with the Manassas Symphony Orchestra, Fairfax Chamber Players, and Orchard Park Symphony Orchestra.

Before moving to Virginia, she taught elementary and middle school orchestra for the Ithaca City School District. She served as Vice President of the Seneca Tompkins Music Educators Association, and was the Chairperson for All County and Area All State festivals. Mrs. Chou was also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Ithaca Community Orchestra. In 2013 she was named a Music Educator Grammy Award Quarter Finalist. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Ithaca College, and Master of Music in Conducting from Houghton University.

Austin Isaac is the high school orchestra director at Lake Braddock Secondary School since 2015. Prior to joining Lake Braddock, Austin taught orchestra at both the elementary and secondary levels in both public and private schools in Virginia, in addition to teaching privately.

Under his direction, the Lake Braddock Middle School Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform at the 2016 annual VMEA In-Service Conference and the Lake Braddock Symphony Orchestra was invited to perform at the 2020 Music For All National Orchestra Festival. Austin holds his bachelor’s degree from James Madison University with a concentration in instrumental education, and his master’s degree in education from George Mason University.

He has served as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for honor orchestras and state assessment performances in various regions of Virginia. He is also a member of the artistic staff of The Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestras, where he conducts the Chamber and Concert Orchestras. As a member of VBODA, Austin has served in various roles, including as a member of the Orchestra State Grading Committee and as a regional orchestra representative. He is currently the chairman of the orchestra sight reading committee for VBODA.

Austin enjoys writing original music and arrangements for a variety of ensembles. He has written works for string orchestra, full orchestra, band, and choir. His compositions have been featured as J.W. Pepper’s Editor’s Choice selections and have been published with Carl Fischer Publishing, Cane River Music, Zicato Music and Wingert-Jones Publishing, in addition to multiple self-published compositions. Austin lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Nicole and their two cats Lychee and BK.