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.

Stephen Matthie is currently the Director of Orchestras at Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly, VA, where he is also the chairperson of the Faculty Advisory Council. Prior to this, Mr. Matthie held orchestra directing positions at Robinson Secondary School, Rachel Carson Middle School, and Greenbriar West Elementary School. His orchestras consistently receive “Superior” ratings at festivals and assessments and are praised for their great musicianship and energy. In addition, the Rocky Run Chamber Orchestra was only one of two middle school orchestras chosen to perform at the 2013 Virginia Music Educators Association State Conference. In 2015, the Rocky Run Chamber Orchestra was also chosen as “Commended Winner” for The Foundation of Music Education’s Mark of Excellence Orchestra Festival, based out of Texas. Under Mr. Matthie’s direction, the Rocky Run orchestra program has grown from 88 students in 2006 to 295 students at its peak.

Mr. Matthie was the recipient of the Virginia Chapter of the American Strings Teachers Association’s 2010 New Strings Teacher of The Year Award, given to a teacher each year in their first 6 years of teaching. Recently, Mr. Matthie is also a sought after guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician for several honors orchestras, assessments, and solo competitons throughout Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina.

Mr. Matthie is originally from Kingston, Jamaica and moved to the United States when he was five years old. He is a graduate of Chantilly High School, part of Fairfax County Public Schools, in Chantilly, VA. He earned his B.M. in Music Education from James Madison University where he studied violin with Dr. Wanchi Huang and conducting with Dr. Robert McCashin. Mr. Matthie is a member of American Strings Teachers Association and National Association for Music Education.

Apart from teaching in the public schools, Mr. Matthie is currently the Associate Concert Master of the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra, runs a violin studio of 5 students out of his home in Fairfax, VA, and is the second violinist for the BASH Quartet, an ensemble made up of fellow orchestra directors.

Laura Cahn Wallace is a dynamic and versatile music educator, conductor, and violist. She is the conductor of the American Youth String Ensemble and Debut Orchestra for the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras. As a dedicated music educator, Mrs. Wallace teaches orchestra at Williamsburg Middle School in Arlington, Virginia. She previously taught at George Mason Elementary School and conducted the Alexandria All-City Orchestra. In partnership with ACPS, she also served as the director of the AYPO Music Buddies Mentorship Program. Mrs. Wallace has appeared as a conductor for the Loudoun All-County Orchestra, Fauquier All-County Orchestra and the New World Concert Orchestra in Indianapolis. In addition, she was the Orchestra Director at the KIPP:DC AIM Academy in Washington D.C.. As a studio teacher, Mrs. Wallace has served on the faculty for the Levine School of Music, Indianapolis Academy of Music and the Indiana University String Academy. She currently maintains a private violin and viola studio in McLean, Virginia.

Mrs. Wallace has performed as a violist across the United States and Europe. In the Washington DC Area, she is an active freelance musician and has served as principal violist of the Maryland Lyric Opera Orchestra, performed with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and regularly plays with the String Quartet of Northern Virginia. She has participated in the American Institute for Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, Masters du Pontlevoy in Pontlevoy, France and the National Orchestral Institute in College Park, Maryland.

Mrs. Wallace graduated with distinction from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance. Her principal teachers were Mimi Zweig and Atar Arad. Mrs. Wallace received a full scholarship to pursue a Master of Music Degree in Viola Performance from Butler University where she studied under the tutelage of Michael Strauss. She also earned a Master of Arts and Teaching degree in Instrumental Music from the University of Indianapolis and has completed training in the Suzuki Method with Sue Baer and Christie Fleming.

Drew Lisowski is the orchestra director at Falls Church High School. He also teaches the Piano 2 & 3 class and is a Tri-M Music Honor Society advisor. During his time at Falls Church High School the program has over doubled in student enrollment and two additional orchestra classes were added to the program. His ensembles have been consistently rated superior at state orchestra assessments and national competitions.

Mr. Lisowski was nominated for FCPS’ Outstanding First Year Teacher of the Year Award and was featured on Apple 21’s Insight program for his work at Falls Church High School. Mr. Lisowski was also the 2022 Pyramid and School Level Outstanding Teacher of the Year for Falls Church High School. Under his direction the Falls Church High School Chamber Orchestra was invited to play at the VMEA Professional Development Conference in 2024.

In addition to his teaching duties at Falls Church HS, Mr. Lisowski conducted the McLean Youth Orchestra Repertory Orchestra. Previously he worked with the McLean Youth Orchestra serving as sectional coach, rehearsal conductor, and conductor. Mr. Lisowski was also on the artistic staff of the Youth Orchestras of Prince William from 2013-2019, conducting both the Primo and Repertory Orchestras.

Mr. Lisowski received his Bachelor of Music Education from Shenandoah Conservatory. He was named the Presser Scholar, an award given to an outstanding junior at the conservatory. Mr. Lisowski completed his Master of Music, Music Education Conducting Specialization at Colorado State University where he studied conducting with Wes Kenney, Dr. James Kim, and Dr. Rebecca Phillips.

When not teaching he enjoys spending time with his wife Aubrey, their son Luca, and their dog Peanut.