Tickets are now on sale for the 2024 season at The Center for the Arts, Hylton Performing Arts Center, and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Read more for details on upcoming performances, workshops, and shows. Mason faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, and students receive a handful of discounts and offers, both for single tickets as well as subscriptions.
February 12 – 18
Mason Artist-in-Residence
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
Saturday, February 17 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
MacArthur Genius Award-winning choreographer Kyle Abraham has developed a dance aesthetic that defies genre, mixing and morphing from social dance to classical dance styles and back again. The Center presents his visionary works using various dance and music styles to uncover the relationships between identity, history, and geography. This Black-led contemporary dance company aims to create a body of dance-based work that is galvanized by Black culture and history.
MALEVO
Saturday, February 17 at 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
With its attitude, thrilling footwork, and powerful drumming, Argentinian sensation MALEVO draws heavily from the Argentinian folk dance Malambo to create an exhilarating, innovative experience. MALEVO was named “Cultural Ambassadors for the National Identity of Argentina” and have been seen on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Don’t miss their electrifying Hylton Center debut!
February 19 – 25
Dewberry School of Music
Mason Symphony Orchestra: A Tribute to Professor Anthony Maiello
Wednesday, February 21 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Mason Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Soo Han, is comprised of outstanding string, wind, and percussion players from throughout the School of Music. This concert features winners of the School of Music’s student concerto competition.
Mason School of Theater
Twelve Ophelias
February 22, 23*, 24 at 8 p.m.
February 24 and 25** at 2 p.m.
*ASL Interpreted (ASL) and Talkback
**Audio Described
TheaterSpace, Fairfax Campus
Shakespeare’s Ophelia rises up out of the water dreaming of Pop-Tarts and other sweet things. She finds herself in a neo-Elizabethan Appalachian setting where Gertrude runs a brothel, Hamlet is called a Rude Boy, and nothing is what it seems. In this mirrored world of word-scraps and cold sex, Ophelia cuts a new path for herself.
Hylton Family Series
Giraffes Can’t Dance
Saturday, February 24 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.*
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
The beloved storybook Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees celebrates its 20th anniversary with this imaginative musical adaptation told with puppets, African rhythms, and dancing! With a resounding message of the power of self-acceptance, Giraffes Can’t Dance will have everyone in the audience on their feet, confidently showing off their moves. (Recommended for ages 3 to 8)
American Roots Series
Tray Wellington Band
Saturday, February 24 at 5 and 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater
Banjo virtuoso, two-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award winner, and 2019 Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year, Tray Wellington leads the high-energy acoustic Newgrass sensation the Tray Wellington Band. The quartet pushes the boundaries of Bluegrass music, incorporating Bossa nova, jazz, and blues elements to create an exciting new sound that also honors traditional Bluegrass roots.
“Growing Pains” EP Release Concert, with Carlehr Swanson
Saturday, February 24 at 6 p.m.
Harris Theatre, Fairfax Campus
Join College of Visual and Performing Arts alumna, Carlehr Swanson, Bachelor of Music ’19, for a concert of her newly released EP “Growing Pains.” Growing up, Carlehr was enamored by the musical aspects of a church service. Through her “Growing Pains,” she puts an update-to-date spin on several genres close to her heart. “Growing Pains” is a six-track EP written by Swanson. Sonically, this EP combines jazz, R&B, and gospel music genres. Lyrically, these six tracks chronicle the slight discomfort one feels while arriving at adulthood. For Swanson, this project combines her interests in performance and music research, as each track provides a historically informed performance of the mentioned genres. This EP invites conversations about love, faith, and mental health and is dedicated to those 20-somethings who are just trying to figure “it” out. Following the performance, Swanson will greet fans and sign albums in the lobby of the theatre.
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Volodymyr Sirenko, conductor
Natalia Khoma, cello
Sunday, February 25 at 2 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
The Kyiv-based National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (NSOU) has been one of the most distinguished orchestras in Eastern Europe. In 2024, the official orchestra of Ukraine returns for its first tour in the U.S. since conflict in its country began. GRAMMY Award-winning Ukrainian conductor Volodymyr Sirenko leads the orchestra along with Tchaikovsky Competition winner, cellist Natalia Khoma.
Mnozil Brass: Jubilee
Sunday, February 25 at 3 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Hailed as one of the world’s premier brass ensembles, Austrian septet Mnozil Brass seamlessly combines slapstick comedy with classical, jazz, folk, and pop. Mnozil Brass takes its name from Gasthaus Mnozil, a restaurant across the street from the Vienna Conservatory, where seven young music students met and began playing at a monthly open mic in 1992. 30 years later, Mnozil Brass performs for sold-out houses around the world.
Songwriting Series for Military Kids
Sundays, February 25–March 17 from 1 to 3 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Students will explore the techniques of recording, producing, and performing original music at home in this four-week virtual series designed for military kids. Learn songwriting skills in a collaborative, virtual environment led by instructors from Mason Community Arts Academy and Veterans and the Arts Initiative.
February 26 – March 3
Gerson Lanza
Tuesday, February 27 at 1:30 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater
Honduran tap dancer and choreographer Gerson Lanza captivates Hylton Center audiences in his love letter to the American percussive art form of tap, during an afternoon of syncopated rhythms and intricate footwork. For his Matinee Idylls debut, he will be joined by his jazz quintet featuring some of the best musicians on the East Coast.
Dewberry School of Music
Mason Wind Symphony & Symphonic Band Concert #3: “Persichetti Symphony No. 6”
Tuesday, February 27 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Mason Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band open the Spring 2024 performance season with a joint concert performance. The Mason Symphonic Band will open the concert with traditional and contemporary works for wind bands composed by a variety of composers. The Mason Wind Symphony will present one of the cherished historical works for wind band, Vincent Persichetti’s Symphony No. 6. Nicolas Slonimsky described Persichetti’s music as “remarkable for its polyphonic skill in fusing the seemingly incompatible idioms of classicism, romanticism, and stark modernism (with) Italianate diatonicism.” Other selected works in this concert include the Mason Wind Symphony premiere of Nkeiru Okoye’s “Voices Shouting Out.”
Dewberry School of Music
University Singers: The Soundscapes of Austria
Wednesday, February 28 at 8 p.m.
Harris Theatre, Fairfax Campus
Experience the majestic melodies and rich harmonies created by the cultural heritage of the Austrian choral tradition. Austrian composers have made significant contributions to the sacred and secular choral canon, creating pieces that are cherished and performed by choirs worldwide. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Marianna Martines, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, and Franz Schrecker are a part of this rich choral history.
American Roots Series
J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band)
Saturday, March 2 at 5 and 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater
Four Bluegrass giants make up J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band), a quartet that delivers fresh interpretations of Bluegrass classics combined with the stylings of West Coast folk rock. Experience American roots music at its finest and “expect fireworks and amazing playing from some of the best string players in the world” (Yes! Weekly).
Camerata Ireland
Barry Douglas, piano and conductor
Celine Byrne, soprano
Eimear McGeown, Irish flute
Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center, Merchant Hall
Camerata Ireland, a groundbreaking chamber orchestra, has delighted audiences across Ireland and worldwide since 1999. In this program, enjoy a nocturne by John Fields, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, selections from Mozart’s most beloved operas, and a genre-defying musical collaboration between Barry Douglas (pianist and conductor), Eimear McGeown (Irish flute and whistle), and Celine Byrne (soprano).
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel: Chopin and Liszt
Sunday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
Center for the Arts
In Chopin and Liszt, Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel explores the virtuosity of the two Romantic-era superstars. Both composers created impressive catalogues of melodious works and achieved a level of popularity not experienced by the virtuosos who preceded them. A masterful performer and communicator, Siegel demonstrates the Nocturnes of Chopin and the Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt, while sharing stories about the lives and times of these 19th century legends.
March 4 – 10
The Peking Acrobats
Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Center for the Arts
For more than 30 years, The Peking Acrobats have revitalized Chinese acrobatics, fusing ancient athletic discipline with modern special effects to create a marvel of gravity-defying spectacle with amazing displays of contortion, flexibility, and control. Accompanied by live musicians, The Peking Acrobats execute daring maneuvers and display their technical prowess. The Peking Acrobats will leave you and the whole family breathless with an exuberant performance full of pageantry and amazing feats that need to be seen to be believed.