College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

GaYoung Lee

Lauren Rigby — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 20:27:10 +0000

GaYoung Lee Lauren Rigby Thu, 02/09/2023 - 15:27

Graduate Teaching Assistant as Collaborative Pianist

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax

Building: deLaski Performing Arts Building

Mail Stop: 3E3

Email: glee38@gmu.edu

Biography

GaYoung Lee, a native of Seoul, South Korea, is a doctoral candidate in Piano Performance at George Mason University as a piano student of Dr. Linda Apple Monson, Director of School of Music. Also, GaYoung Lee is currently a Graduate Teaching Assistant as a collaborative pianist. She earned Mater of Music degree in Piano Performance at George Mason University, Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance at the Catholic University of Korea and pursued additional studies at the Ewha Womans Graduate School of Music in Seoul. She won First prize from The Piano Society of Korea and was the Second place winner in both the Young Artist Piano Concours and Brahms Concours. In addition, GaYoung Lee has participated in numerous masterclasses for such artists as Simone Dinnerstein, Philipp Vogker, Yonghee Chun, and Barry Snyder and music festivals held in Saint Petersburg Conservatory, Russia, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, New England. GaYoung Lee has performed as a collaborative pianist for Mason’s opera productions and accompanied many instrumental and voice studios at George Mason University. GaYoung Lee was a recipient of Achievement Award in Graduate Performance, Dr. Linda Apple Monson Endowment Award and the College of Visual and Performing Arts Scholarship Award in 2019. GaYoung Lee was also selected as a featured Piano soloist of the Mason Honors Recital, Grand Piano Celebration Recital, and Arts by George since 2017. She is a founding member of Potomac Piano Trio and had the first trio recital in 2021. GaYoung Lee recently won a gold medal in the prestigious 2021 Grand Maestro International Music Competition and a silver medal in the 2021 North American Virtuoso International Music Competition. She was also selected as a winner of Mason’s 2022 Concerto competition where she performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4 with the Mason Symphony Orchestra.

Vincent Muscarella

Lauren Rigby — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 20:07:24 +0000

Vincent Muscarella Lauren Rigby Thu, 02/09/2023 - 15:07

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

Contact Information

Campus: Fairfax

Building: deLaski Performing Arts Building

Mail Stop: 3E3

Email: vmuscare@gmu.edu

Biography

Classical guitarist Vincent Muscarella performs along the east coast of the United States and in Canada as a soloist, chamber musician, and ensemble member. Vincent performs in a variety of settings including symposiums, conferences, festivals, music venues, recital and concert halls, and theaters.

As a classical guitarist, Vincent has performed at notable venues and festivals including the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Port Washington Theater, Long Island Guitar Festival, Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, Kaplan Concert Hall, the Philippines Consulate in NYC, The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT, and the Midsummer Dream Music Festival in Quebec.

Vincent is one half of the Long Island Flute and Guitar Duo performing a wide variety of repertoire from composers like Giuliani, Tedesco, Baksa, and Piazzolla. Vincent has performed in many guitar ensembles in the U.S. and abroad premiering pieces by guitar composers like Andrew York and Alan Hirsch. In 2014, Vincent premiered his Guitar Quartet no.1 at the Guitar Foundation of America Symposium in NYC with the LIU Post guitar ensemble. Vincent has performed solo recitals in NYC, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia at a variety of venues and performance spaces.

Vincent has performed in masterclasses for many of the world’s greatest classical guitarists including Eduardo Fernandez, Jason Vieaux, David Leisner, Paul O’Dette, Andrew York, Gyan Riley, Jerome Ducharme, Raphaella Smits, Newman and Oltman Duo, Rene Izquierdo, and William Kanengiser.

As an educator, Vincent teaches guitar at music festivals, public schools, community music programs, colleges, and in private studios around the NYC, Northern Virginia, and Baltimore areas. Vincent has taught private and group guitar classes in public schools on Long Island for several years. Currently, Vincent is a teaching artist at Mason Community Arts Academy in Fairfax, VA where he teaches classical guitar. Vincent is an adjunct instructor of guitar at Jackson College in Michigan and a graduate teaching assistant in music at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Vincent holds the Master of Music degree in classical guitar performance from Towson University in Towson, Maryland where he studied with Troy King. As an undergraduate and graduate student, Vincent was presented with talent awards and awards of distinction in guitar studies, instrumental music, and music history. Currently, Vincent is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in classical guitar performance at George Mason University where he studies with Matt Trkula.

Sonja Phillips-Thomas scores at the Mason Film Festival

Shayla Brown — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 17:04:47 +0000

Sonja Phillips-Thomas scores at the Mason Film Festival Shayla Brown Mon, 10/24/2022 - 13:04

In This Story

Amanda Kraus

Samantha Sinagra

Sonja Phillips-Thomas

Mason student Sonja Phillips-Thomas at the National Geography headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she interned this summer. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

After a childhood diagnosis of dyslexia and eye convergence problems, Sonja Phillips-Thomas turned to movies, television and music.

She loved stories “but reading them was tiring for me,” said the George Mason University senior. “Movies, television, and music were ways I could enjoy stories in a less tiring way.”

Now Phillips-Thomas is majoring in both film and music at Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA), and she hopes to utilize both disciples to fulfill her love of telling stories.

“The idea of making the representation I want to see means a lot to me. I can create the worlds I wish existed,” she said.

Phillips-Thomas was also in guitar ensemble in grade school. “Classical guitar became a part of my life and I loved creating pieces with it,” she said.

When Phillips-Thomas worked as an office assistant for Samantha Sinagra, the Film at Mason academic and program manager, Sinagra asked her to create a virtual tour for the program.

“I gave her creative control over it,” said Sinagra. “I knew she could put something together using both her passions. She did animation and composed music just for this tour, and it came out great.”

In addition to creating the virtual tour, Phillips-Thomas also serves as a Mason Music Ambassador and sees her role as a point of contact for current and potential students.

She also recently scored the film White Mirror, directed by CVPA student Taj Kokayi. The film follows a Black man who has the opportunity to appear White to the world. The question is, does he want this opportunity?

“She’s one of the few composers in our program,” said Sinagra. “To have a student so skilled in music and film is rare.”

“Sonja put in a lot of work and time on the film, and it greatly showed,” said Amanda Kraus, a term assistant professor of sound and editing. “I believe her work truly enhanced the overall film and made a difference in the emotional context.”

Phillips won Best Film Score at the 2022 Mason Film Festival for her work.

“I tried some different techniques and asked my music professors their thoughts on some aspects of it,” said Phillips-Thomas, who also used her own voice for the credit’s song.

Phillips-Thomas used a mix of Middle Eastern instruments and synthesizers, she said. “I used phasing/double and countermelody techniques, where you duplicate a vocal take and push the duplicate a little behind the original take to make a wider sound.”

“I had never done that with instruments until I saw an example of that in my music history class.”

Phillips-Thomas was working at the Mason Film Festival and was happily surprised she got the award, she said.

“I was a part of the jury that awarded her this award and acknowledged her countless hours of work!” said Kraus. “I think CVPA gave her a place to grow and breathe as an artist. Sonja’s work stood out and as a result she was sought out by her classmates to collaborate on projects.”

Phillips-Thomas also recently finished an internship with National Geographic Studios.

“I worked under one of the producers, Anna Derryberry, and it was great.” she said. “I got to meet other interns at different departments like FX, Hulu, and Imagineers.”

Disney, National Geographic’s parent company, also gave interns the opportunity to do a 60-second “day in a life” video. During her last week she gave a presentation for National Geographic Studios about all she learned as an intern.

This fall Phillips-Thomas is enrolled in a documentary film class and hopes to film something featuring animals or cuisine. She is also working on a web series and a science fiction book that she hopes to eventually turn into a television or films series.

Topics

internships

Film at Mason

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Students

Two CVPA students use their creative skills as interns on Capitol Hill

Colleen Rich — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 19:13:33 +0000

Two CVPA students use their creative skills as interns on Capitol Hill Colleen Rich Tue, 08/16/2022 - 15:13

Mirella Guzman-Escobar. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

For George Mason University senior Mirella Guzman-Escobar, the summer internship in the office of the House Creative Services, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at the U.S. House of Representatives is more than great professional experience, it’s a foot in the door to a job she has dreamed of her entire life.

“I’ve always been interested in working in the government, mainly because my step-mom and my grandpa both work in the government, and I want to use my voice through my design,” said Guzman-Escobar, who is majoring in graphic design.

For Jacques Lykes, who graduates in August 2022 from Mason with a bachelor’s degree in film and video studies, it’s a step closer to achieving his dream of starting his own production company in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Guzman-Escobar and Lykes are currently collaborating on a project called “A Day in the Life of an Intern.” Through captivating video and Instagram spotlights, this project highlights interns and their roles at the CAO, with the goal of promoting the internship positions and encouraging more engagement.

Jacques Lykes. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

“They’re really letting us be creative and making me feel like part of the team because I’m working on things that they’re working on, too,” Guzman-Escobar said of her colleagues at the CAO.

The students apply skills that they have learned from Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) as they prepare for their respective futures.

Lykes, who is originally from South Carolina, works as a multimedia intern for the CAO. He transferred to Mason from Northern Virginia Community College in his junior year.

He said FAVS 366 Video Production for Social Change, taught by GMU-TV Executive Director Richard Wood, “really prepared me to take on an internship like this.”

“Jacques takes pride in his work. He’ll put in the effort and the time, because it matters to him personally,” Wood said of Lykes. “I’m not saying Jacques got that from my class, I think that is who he was before, but it’s certainly something I harp on.”

Lykes’ academic adviser Lori Yi shared internship opportunities with him. “They were very adamant about making sure that film program students had opportunities outside of Mason,” Lykes said.

“Jacques’ ability to learn quickly, ask questions, and be adaptable has made him invaluable on student films sets,” Yi said. “He’s been an engaged part of our community from the very beginning, and I’m excited to see his future contributions.”

While searching for professional opportunities for the summer and throughout the application process, Guzman-Escobar said her typography professor and mentor Juana Medina offered her guidance.

“[She] impacted me a lot,” Guzman-Escobar said. “I used a lot of assignments that she gave us in class for my portfolio pieces, and it really helped me.”

As a graphic design intern, Guzman-Escobar helps her team with many of their projects, she said.

Working on hands-on projects, and with fellow Mason students, has been exciting, the interns agreed.

“Working with Mirella has been really great. She’s a fantastic person and one of our strong suits is how well we meld together,” Lykes said.

Topics

Students

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

internships

School of Art

College of Visual and Performing Arts Film and Video Studies

A Note from Rick Davis on the Passing of Sid Dewberry

Pam Muirheid — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 14:46:10 +0000

A Note from Rick Davis on the Passing of Sid Dewberry Pam Muirheid Wed, 07/20/2022 - 10:46

In This Story

Dr. Linda Apple Monson

Gregory Washington

Read the University Article

Sid Dewberry

Dear CVPA Community,

I am so very sorry to be writing to you today with such sad news. Our wonderful friend, tireless advocate, and generous supporter of the arts at Mason (and so many other important things), Sid Dewberry, has left us. He passed away on Saturday, July 16, at the age of 94.

The obituary and information about the memorial service this Saturday are linked here and will appear in The Washington Post. A lovely story from the university is also linked here and will appear in tomorrow’s edition of The George.

Sid was such a great friend to so many, has been a such strong believer in the power of music and the arts to exert a positive impact on the world. Acting on that belief, has made a transformative impact on the arts at Mason, most visibly through the sustained philanthropic commitment that led to the naming of the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music.

I hope you will take the time to read and reflect on both the eventful and purposeful life described in the obituary, and the Mason story as well, which reflects Sid’s many forms of service and contribution to George Mason University. We will miss him greatly, even as his legacy lives on here through his visionary generosity and his wonderful family.

At an appropriate moment this fall, we will celebrate Reva and Sid Dewberry in full. In the meantime, please join me in offering our deepest sympathy and condolences to the Dewberry family.

Sincerely,

Rick Davis, Dean

Topics

Sid Dewberry

Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Performing Early Black American Music

Pam Muirheid — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 21:13:36 +0000

Performing Early Black American Music Pam Muirheid Tue, 07/12/2022 - 17:13

In This Story

Dr. Emily Green

Dr. Michael Nickens

Dr. Emily Green and Dr. Michael Nickens.

The Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music were pleased to host a symposium for scholars, performers, and educators on June 23-24 called: Performing Early Black American Music. This state-funded Virginia project was led by Mason music professor, Dr. Emily H. Green with Dr. Michael Nickens (George Mason University), Dr. Bonnie Gordon (University of Virginia), and Dr. Mary Caton Lingold (Virginia Commonwealth University).

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Dewberry School of Music

Black African Heritage

Faculty Retirements from Dewberry School of Music

Pam Muirheid — Thu, 19 May 2022 20:43:25 +0000

Faculty Retirements from Dewberry School of Music Pam Muirheid Thu, 05/19/2022 - 16:43

In This Story

Prof. Mark Camphouse

Dr. Linda Apple Monson

From left to right: Teresa Jenkins, Prof. Mark Camphouse, Samantha Clark. Professor Camphouse celebrates his retirement after 16 years at Mason.

A retirement ceremony/reception was held for Prof. Mark Camphouse on April 28th on the Monson Grand Tier following the Wind Symphony's finale performance of the season. Teresa Jenkins (senior clarinetist) and Samantha Clark (doctoral conducting student) presented Prof. Camphouse with a beautiful, signed gift from the Wind Symphony members. 2022 marks Prof. Camphouse’s 44^th year of full-time teaching in higher education. In 2006, Professor Camphouse joined our faculty of George Mason University where he has served with distinction as Director of Concert Bands and conductor of the wind symphony. Additionally, Prof. Camphouse has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in composition, conducting, orchestration, and analysis at Mason. We recognize the extraordinary impact of Mark Camphouse on our music profession - as a leading composer, conductor, and educator.

(left to right) Prof. Glenn Dewey, Dr. Linda Monson, Prof. Glen McCarthy

A retirement reception was held for Prof. Glen McCarthy (class guitar) and Prof. Glenn Dewey (applied bass) on May 10th. Prof. McCarthy has been teaching at Mason for 31 years and Prof. Dewey has been at Mason for 28 years.

Prof.Glen McCarthy has taught class guitar at Mason since 1991 - a total of 31 years. Prof. McCarthy's lifetime of teaching, artistry, and service to our beloved music education profession are deeply valued and appreciated. He is the past chair of the NAfME Council for Guitar Education, the past chair of the ASTA Guitar-in-the-Schools Committee and a co-chair and clinician for Teaching Guitar Workshops. The Grammy Foundation recognized Glen McCarthy as one of the top ten music educators in the United States in 2014.

Prof. Glenn Dewey has taught applied double bass (both classical and jazz) at Mason since 1994 as an adjunct professor and has also served as Producer of Mason Music Productions. Glen recently retired as bassist with “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra in Washington D.C. His fluency in many musical languages has provided him with a wealth of memorable experiences and opportunities. Congratulations to Prof. Dewey on his new full-time position as Assistant Prof. of Double Bass at Oklahoma State University, starting in the Fall of 2022.

Topics

Dewberry School of Music

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Announcing our new Director of Concert Bands

Pam Muirheid — Thu, 19 May 2022 20:22:06 +0000

Announcing our new Director of Concert Bands Pam Muirheid Thu, 05/19/2022 - 16:22

In This Story

Dr. William Lake, Jr.

Dr. William Lake

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., will be joining our faculty as the new Director of Concert Bands in the Dewberry School of Music for the upcoming academic year. Dr. Lake will conduct the George Mason University Wind Symphony and Mason Symphonic Band and will also teach Conducting and Wind Literature classes.

Dr. Lake has previously been serving as the Associate Director of Bands at the Crane School of Music (SUNY-Potsdam). Please read his full bio below.

Dr. William L. Lake, Jr. is the newly appointed Director of Concert Bands at the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music at George Mason University for the upcoming academic year. In this role, he will conduct the George Mason University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. He will also teach 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 throughout the country. He was a finalist for the 2017-2018 Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music and the Band Conducting Division of the American Prize. 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 is the co-founder of I See You: Affirming Representation in Music. In this capacity, Dr. Lake has presented over twenty seminars across the United States on inclusive practices in music education and performance. With co-founder Dr. LaToya A. Webb, Dr. Lake has been invited to present on diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts and practices at the 2021 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the 2021 Virginia Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference, the 2022 Texas Music Educators Association Conference, the 2021 National Association for Music Education National Conference and the 2022 National Association for Music Education Music Leaders Forum.

Dr. Lake is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, 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.

Topics

Dewberry School of Music

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Creating Art, Uplifting Communities: Nine CVPA Faculty Members Receive Purks Grants

Emily Schneider — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 15:50:44 +0000

Creating Art, Uplifting Communities: Nine CVPA Faculty Members Receive Purks Grants Emily Schneider Wed, 04/13/2022 - 11:50

In This Story

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) is proud to encourage the continued creative development and expansion of our faculty, offering them time and resources to pursue the interests that energize them beyond their classrooms.

Established in 2018 by Robert Purks, a long time Arts at Mason Board member and supporter, The Robert K. Purks Faculty Enrichment Endowment provides perpetual support to further the research and creative activity of faculty in the College. Faculty across CVPA can apply annually for funds in support of projects that fuel or are fueled by their own creative ideas and artistic expression.

For 2022, nine faculty members from the School of Art, the Film and Video Studies Program, and the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music will use their grants to explore projects and work that ranges across mediums and styles, connecting communities and sharing new ideas.

Read on to learn more about each faculty member and their projects, in their own words.

Juana Medina, Assistant Professor in the School of Art, will integrate the stories, livelihoods, and cultural practices of Zapotec women of Teotitlán del Valle, Mexico into a children’s book centered on the community’s attainment of financial independence through mastering the art of Oaxaca rug weaving.

“As a children’s book author and illustrator, I'm committed to sharing stories that elicit understanding and increase our sense of empathy. I believe it is possible to do so by increasing fair and accurate representation of marginalized communities in books,” Medina said. “Featuring Vida Nueva’s weavers holds unique value: these individuals, once marginalized and isolated, came together and reclaimed their traditions, finding strength and sense of purpose, while becoming some of the top weavers in Oaxaca.”

Justin P. Sutters, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Art, is attending the highly competitive leadership training program “School for Art Leaders,” hosted by the National Art Education Association (NAEA) in Bentonville, Arkansas. During the year-long training program, Sutters and his cohort will engage in workshops, interactive activities, and reflection exercises with trained mentors to advance his skills as an arts educator.

“Personally, [the NAEA training] is a natural progression in my own development as I continue to take on more leadership within the University,” Sutters said. “Likewise, [the training] increases the visibility of our burgeoning Art Education program on the national level and adds credibility as a graduate program at a Research I Institution. This truly is an enriching opportunity for my development as an artist, educator, researcher, and leader."

Peter Kimball, an adjunct faculty member within Film and Video Studies, is bringing his award-winning American Sign Language play “Millstone,” to the big screen, with the funds awarded from Purks financing on-set ASL interpreters and ASL coaches during the film’s pre-production.

“I am shooting the film version of [Millstone’s] script with an entirely deaf cast and entirely in American Sign Language,” Kimball said. “The story does not deal with deafness nor does it directly address the characters’ deafness at all. Instead, the characters simply happen to be deaf. I believe it is important to create art that does not only include people living with disabilities, but that also allows them to be whole, complicated individuals not defined by their disability.”

Robert W. Gillam, Director of Music Technology in the Dewberry School of Music, is using his expertise and abilities as an electro-acoustic composer to research, write, and share music amplifying the benefits of National Parks.

“As a composer-in-residence I [will be] living at the National Park location for several weeks to a month, working with the park rangers to learn about the special features of the location while composing music based on my experiences there," Gillam said. “The residency [will] culminate in one or more public concerts at the park with the possibility of live-streaming the concert to an even wider audience. The [Purks] funds will be used to purchase a variety of sensors, connectors, contact microphones and cables to be used in the composition, performance and recording of electro-acoustic music.”

James Justin Plakas, an Assistant Professor in Film and Video Studies and the School of Art, is merging historic photographic processes with motion picture film to create his multimedia project "Camaro Lucinda." With a vision to make the film "colorful, comedic, and visually dynamic," Plakas’s converging of several image-capturing methods is in the pursuit of creating a new, unique, and surreal visual experience for viewers.

“The imagery [of ‘Camaro Lucinda’] will have a graphic quality and involve characters that exist in our world but in surreal scenarios,” Plakas said. “For example, a group of nuns playing tennis or a single clown on an overpass sandwiched by a wall of concrete and an endless blue sky. This work comments on the complicated aspects of representation in modern life. It is increasingly necessary for artists to engage in critical dialog that asks the viewer to scrutinize the media they consume and to question what they are seeing.”

Victoria Ellison, an adjunct faculty member within the School of Art, is attending a workshop in the art of Nihonga—a traditional Japanese mineral painting technique. The workshop, taught in Washington State by authority Judith Kruger, will allow Ellison to expand her artistry and share one of Japan’s oldest art practices with Mason students.

“I’ve experimented with creating Nihonga paints, but find now advanced training, such as Kruger teaches, essential,” Ellison said. “I teach color and contemporary art to students from broad disciplines in the sciences and humanities, and diverse cultural practice is a critical component of my teaching. Studying Nihonga also addresses color science, mineralogy, contemporary paint manufacture, and its environmental impact. Studying Nihonga will enable my future research in the country where it’s been taught for 1,000 years, as well as opportunities for research back at Mason.”

Samirah Alkassim, Assistant Professor in Film Theory, Film and Video Studies, is traveling to Jordan in pursuit of research for her upcoming book “A Journey of Screens in 21^st Century Arab Film and Media,” (Bloomsbury, forthcoming 2023). Exploring Jordan’s visual media over the last two decades, Alkassim will be visiting Jordan’s Department of the National Library, the Cinema Section of the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, and the library of Darat Funun to access their archives of film, film makers, and film history.

“One of the eight chapters [of ‘A Journey of Screens’] focuses on Jordanian cinema, its cinematic and televisual past and present,” Alkassim said. “Aiming to fill in the lack of scholarship on Jordanian cinema, this chapter advances the book’s general study of an array of media –auteur cinema, television series, documentaries and short films –in the context of the changing media-scapes of the last twenty years, as evidence of a “new” modernity that is simultaneously old, commonplace, and provocative.”

Mark Cooley, an Associate Professor within the School of Art, is using the Purks Faculty Enrichment Fund to support the distribution of his documentary "Fighting Indians," which premiered in November at the American Indian Film Institute. The film chronicles the last school in Maine - the homogenously white Skowhegan High School, known as "the home of the Indians" - as they fight to keep their mascot prior to the historic legislation banning Native American mascots in the State's public schools. 

“This landmark legislation marks the fulfillment of a decades-long struggle on the part of the Tribal Nations of Maine to educate the public on the harms of Native American mascotry,” Cooley said. “This is the story of a small New England community forced to reckon with its identity, its colonial history, and future relationship with its indigenous neighbors. It is a story of a small town divided against the backdrop of a nation divided where the 'mascot debate' exposes centuries-old abuses while asking if reconciliation is possible.” 

Edward Knoeckel, adjunct Professor within the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music, is utilizing the Purks Faculty Enrichment Fund to implement problem-based learning (PBL) methodologies in a Music for Non-Majors course. With the objective to enhance students' learning experiences beyond traditional teacher-based approaches, Knoeckel will be spearheading a pilot study to analyze the effect of implementing the PBL learning style in a music appreciation course at Mason.

“PBL is an approach that maximizes student engagement with course content through group-based problems which motivate formative learning experiences,” Knoeckel said. “This approach is broadly used in the STEM fields, however, there is still a gap in understanding the effectiveness of PBL across disciplines in the arts. Through the course of this funded research, I will see how PBL affects critical and creative thinking as well as self-regulated learning and collaboration skills by transforming the traditional music learning conditions into a PBL treatment for a music appreciation course.”

Topics

grants

faculty research

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Arts

Dewberry School of Music

At Arts Emerging, the Arts Return In-Person to George Mason

Pam Muirheid — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 15:31:57 +0000

At Arts Emerging, the Arts Return In-Person to George Mason Pam Muirheid Thu, 09/30/2021 - 11:31

In This Story

Shaun Boyle D'Arcy

Gregory Washington

Dr. Michael Nickens

Arts Emerging raised more than $155,000 to support the arts at Mason.

A welcome return to live, in-person arts performances and exhibitions was celebrated September 25 at the George Mason University Center for the Arts.

Arts Emerging: A Celebration of Renewal brought more than 300 people to the Fairfax Campus on a Saturday evening for a festive event that pulsed with artistic energy and the spirit of community.

Combining outdoor and indoor performances by students, faculty, and alumni, art exhibits, film screenings, hands-on activities, and more, Arts Emerging launched the 2021-22 Center for the Arts season, while also marking the 20^th anniversary of the university’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.

“The arts have become one of Mason’s signature tools for the university to engage with its community,” said Rick Davis, dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “Arts Emerging is a powerful example of that in action.”

A highlight of the outdoor performances presented on Holton Plaza was a performance of Pause: Reset, delivered by School of Dance students and choreographed by faculty member Shaun Boyle D’Arcy. One performer, senior dance major Hadiya Matthews, reflected afterward on the challenges of the past year and how students have rallied. “During Covid and everything that was happening in the world, it was pretty heavy and kind of sad,” Matthews said. “I think that when we had discussions and ‘collabbed’ and really talked about how we felt, a big thing that kept us strong was community, and how—no matter what we’re going through—we’re all related to one another. That’s something that we can come back to, so building this piece of community was really special.”

Meanwhile, in the adjacent Buchanan Hall Atrium Gallery, viewers enjoyed a major exhibition, Women of the Same Blood, combining photography and family history by Zia Palmer, BFA Photography ’19, with the opportunity to meet and talk with the artist. Buchanan Hall also hosted screenings by Film and Video Studies alumni, and an interactive virtual reality experience by the Computer Game Design program.

Later, inside the Center for the Arts, Mason President Gregory Washington welcomed a mix of students, supporters, and Mason faculty and staff. “The arts are the front door to the university,” Washington said. “Many of you found that great big front door and you came through it to become involved with our College of Visual and Performing Arts. And then that introduced you to the larger university.”

Guest appearances on the Concert Hall stage included a duet by Green Machine alumni Chelsea Mohindroo, BS Mathematics ’16, MS Operations Research ’20, and Brandon Showell, BA Music and English ’14, both of whom have been contestants on NBC’s The Voice. They were followed by School of Theater alumni Garvey Dobbins, BFA Theater ’20, and Lauren Fraites, BA Theater ’20, and a finale performance by current Dewberry School of Music opera students. Members of the Green Machine, led by associate professor of music and director of the Green Machine Ensembles Michael W. Nickens (Doc Nix), also played throughout the event.

Finally, School of Dance alumna Sasha (Hollinger) Henninger, BFA Dance ’09, who made her Broadway debut in Hamilton as #thebullet, spoke about her career and her time at Mason. “I was blessed to spend 11 years in New York making a living doing what I love. I toured the country, I toured the world, and I spent my last few years there performing in two incredible shows on Broadway—easily one of my biggest dreams come true,” Henninger said. “My time, my teachers, my peers here at George Mason prepared me for that. My time at George Mason prepared me well.”

Henninger presented a special merit scholarship to current Film and Video Studies senior Taj Kokayi, whose film Woken From a Dream won the Best Student Film Award at the London Web Fest. Kokayi was a producer on the short film The Vine, which premiered during Saturday’s event. The Vine featured current Masters in Arts Management student Bobby Lacy, BA Music ’16, in a stirring spoken word performance inspired by the question of what it means to be an arts manager.

Sandy Spring Bank returned as the event’s presenting sponsor for the fourth consecutive year. “By sponsoring events like this we’re literally helping the students you saw tonight on stage realize their hopes and dreams, or give them an opportunity to,” said Jay O’Brien, executive vice president for commercial and retail banking at Sandy Spring. O’Brien has three daughters currently attending Mason—two graduate students and one undergraduate.

Arts Emerging raised more than $155,000, with proceeds supporting CVPA student scholarships, the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts. The event was co-chaired by Arts at Mason Board members Steven Golsch, a vice president at NowSecure, and Annie Bolger, a bank officer at Sandy Spring Bank.