Dr. Linda Apple Monson, pianist and /International Steinway Artist, currently serves as Associate Director of the School of Music at George Mason University and as Director of Keyboard Studies at GMU. In addition, she is the Director of Music at Springfield United Methodist Church. Dr. Monson is the honored recipient of the George Mason University 2009 Teaching Excellence Award “for exemplary dedication to student learning and commitment to educational excellence.” She also has been selected for the Fulbright Senior Specialist Roster, in collaboration with the U.S. State Department and the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. She served as a juror for the Washington International Piano Competition in 2008 and is also serving as President-Elect of the College Music Society Mid-Atlantic Region. She also serves as a Faculty Senator at George Mason University. Dr. Monson maintains an active performance schedule, in addition to her teaching and administrative duties. She was an invited lecture-recitalist for the 2009 International Conference of the College Music Society in Croatia. Recent performances include a lecture-recital at the 2007 Oxford Round Table in England and performances for the College Music Society 2007 International Conference in Bangkok, Thailand. She also recently presented lecture recitals (2007) at Westminster Choir College (NJ), University of Miami (FL), Bowling Green University (OH), Gardner-Webb University (NC), and Gettysburg College (PA). She also performed in Madrid, Spain, for the 2005 International College Music Society Conference and performed a lecture-recital for the Hawaii 2006 International Conference on Arts and Humanities. Additional recent lecture-recital performances include: Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music (2006), University of California at Berkeley, and Wilkes University, PA. She also presented a lecture-recital in Hannover, Germany (2006) for the Alban Berg Symposium/Festival and she was a featured lecture-recitalist (2006) for the National Conference of the College Music Society held in San Antonio, Texas. She was also chosen to present lecture-recitals for the 2003 International College Music Society Conference at the University of Costa Rica in San Jose, as well as the 2003 National College Music Society Conference in Miami, Florida. Dr. Monson recently presented solo piano recitals and piano master classes at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge; Davidson College in Charlotte, North Carolina; and Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. She has performed annually at George Mason University in solo and chamber music, including several premieres by GMU faculty composer Glenn Smith. She was piano concerto soloist with the George Mason University Symphony Orchestra in 2005, directed by Anthony Maiello. She also performed with Richard Stoltzman and the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, directed by Jim Carroll, in a performance at GMU in 2004. In addition, she served as a panelist and concert commentator for the 2003-2004 Virginia Chamber Orchestra satellite broadcasts, Music of the Romantic Era and Music by Modern Masters, which were broadcast to all community colleges in the U.S. Dr. Monson also served as collaborative pianist for the International Clarinet Festival/Competition at the University of Maryland in 2004. Recent performances included a lecture-recital for the National Conference of the College Music Society in Salt Lake City, Utah (2007) and a piano master class and solo recital at the University of Alabama in 2008, in which she performed a world premiere. Upcoming performances include a featured lecture-recital at the National Conference of the College Music Society in Portland, Oregon, in November of 2009. Dr. Monson has previously served on the music faculties of the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore School for the Arts, and Northern Virginia Community College. Professor Monson earned three degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University: the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance, the Master of Music degree in Piano, and the Bachelor of Music Education degree with a double-major in piano and bassoon. She also received a Diploma in Piano from Música en Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.