Mason School of Dance:
Spring: New Dances
Friday, April 15 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 16 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Mason Dance Company performs a concert of new work created by a collective of emerging Mason choreographers.
Mason School of Theater
Mason Cabaret – In a Sentimental Mood: The Music of Duke Ellington
Thursday, April 14 at 8 p.m. (free preview)
Friday, April 15 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 16 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts, Theaterspace
A perennial favorite, our Musical Theater ambassadors, The Mason Cabaret, return with a fresh lineup of stellar vocalists offering showstoppers, ballads, and duets from Broadway. As Sondheim once wrote, “Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone…” This “Fun-raiser” will have you dancing in your seat and humming all the way home! Ticket sales will support Mason’s Musical Theater program.
Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra
Saturday, April 16 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
GRAMMY Award-winning composer, conductor, and Mason Artist-in-Residence Maria Schneider leads Northern Virginia’s own Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra in a night of cool, expressive jazz. Witness jazz perfection, comprised of the most remarkable jazz performers in the metro region, in this highly anticipated event. “To call Schneider the most important woman in jazz is missing the point…She’s a major composer– period” (TIME Magazine).
Dewberry School of Music
Symphonic Band
Wednesday, April 20 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Come watch the Symphonic Band present its spring concert, conducted by Professor Mark Camphouse and doctoral student Samantha Clarke. This concert will include traditional wind band repertoire in addition to solo works featuring two student soloists.
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Christopher Zimmerman, music director and conductor
Featuring Simone Dinnerstein, piano
Saturday, April 23 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Center for the Arts is proud to co-present a thrilling classical music program by the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) featuring piano virtuoso Simone Dinnerstein, who The Washington Post has praised as “an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity.” Under Christopher Zimmerman’s baton, the FSO continues to reach new heights, and according to The Washington Post, is “a serious force to be reckoned with.”
Acrobuffos
Sunday, April 24 at 4 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Full of color, light, and laughter, Air Play is “a joy from start to finish,” raves the Sydney Morning Herald. Created by the husband and wife circus team of Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone, in collaboration with kinetic sculptor Daniel Wurtzel, Air Play is a whimsical, heartfelt, and funny homage to the magic of the invisible substance all around us: air! This performance is family friendly.
Lila Downs
Sunday, April 24 at 7 p.m.
A pre-performance discussion will take place in Monson Grand Tier, which is located on the third level of the Center for the Arts Lobby, 45 minutes prior to curtain.
Center for the Arts
Lila Downs is one of the most influential artists in Latin America. Whether it’s a full-throated mariachi song, an achingly tender bolero, or sultry jazz tune, this GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter draws audiences in with her unmistakable charisma and inspiring storytelling. Singing in Spanish, English, and several Native American languages, Downs is known for her impressive range and joyous performances with her longtime band.
Dewberry School of Music
Mason Jazz Vocal Night
Monday, April 25 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Join Dr. Darden Purcell, the Mason Jazz Voice studio and Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble for an evening of swinging standards and classic hits from the Great American Songbook! With special guests, Herndon High School Vocal Jazz, directed by Dana Van Slyke.
Mason School of Theater
Just Like Us
By Karen Zacarias
Directed by Esteban Marmojelo-Suarez
April 27 – 30 at 8 p.m.
April 30 – May 1 at 2 p.m.
$20 General Public; $10 students, faculty/staff, and seniors
Center for the Arts, TheaterSpace
Based on Helen Thorpe’s bestselling book, this play follows four Latina teens living in Denver—two of whom are documented and two who are not—through young adulthood. Based on the real lives of DREAMers, Just Like Us poses difficult, yet essential questions about what makes us American.
*The Friday, April 29 production of Just Like Us will be an ASL-interpreted performance.
Dewberry School of Music
Wind Symphony
Thursday, April 28 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Come watch the Wind Symphony present its spring concert, conducted by Professor Mark Camphouse. This performance will include premieres of wind band works, including a Virginia premiere by Mason’s own Mark Camphouse.
Dewberry School of Music
Mason Opera Presents Pauline Viardot’s ‘La Cenerentola’
Friday, April 29 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 30 at 2 p.m.
Sunday, May 01 at 2 p.m.
Center for the Arts, Harris Theatre
Join George Mason University’s Mason Opera for its production of Pauline Viardot’s opera Cendrillon, a charming, comical, and lyric telling of the Cinderella story with a distinctly French flair. Viardot’s works are being rediscovered and enjoyed in the light of her remarkable career as a celebrated 19th century female composer, singer, and pianist. The exquisite sets and lighting of this intimate production create a magical and enchanting evening for all to enjoy!
Leslie Odom, Jr.
Saturday, April 30 at 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Known globally for his Tony Award-winning performance as Aaron Burr in the hit musical Hamilton, Broadway superstar Leslie Odom, Jr. presents a thrilling concert for the Hylton Center’s 12th Anniversary Gala! Odom, Jr. is a multifaceted performer whose career spans theater, television, film, and Grammy Award-winning music. Music fans will not want to miss this celebrated performer live in the Hylton Center’s intimate Merchant Hall.
Dewberry School of Music
International Jazz Day Concert
Saturday, April 30 at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Share the vibrancy and vitality of jazz music with Mason Jazz students and faculty on April 30! International Jazz Day brings together communities, schools, artists, historians, academics, and jazz enthusiasts on all continents to celebrate and learn about jazz and its roots, future, and impact.
Matinee Idylls
John Bullard
Featuring Markus Compton
Tuesday, May 03 at 1:30 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
In a delightfully unusual pairing, banjoist John Bullard and pianist Markus Compton perform folk-classical fusion music. The charming blend of sound harkens back to the combination of harpsichord and lute, transforming the works of Bach and Vivaldi with the artful and folksy banjo. “What Segovia did for the classical guitar John Bullard may well do for the five-string banjo; elevate it to a respected classical instrument!” (Wireless Catalog).
Mason Dance Company
Spring: Dance Innovations
Friday, May 6 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 7 at 8 p.m.
$15 General Public, $10 students, staff and seniors, $7 groups of 10 or more
Center for the Arts, Harris Theatre
Mason choreographers present a showcase of new dances performed by the Mason Dance Company.
Mason School of Theater
A Concert Presentation of ‘Boy Detective Fails’
Friday, May 06 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 07 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Boy Detective Fails, based on Joe Meno’s acclaimed novel, tells the story of Billy Argo, “boy detective.” In a world akin to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, young Billy becomes famous for solving mysteries, until he faces a mystery he can’t comprehend – the shocking death of his young sister, Caroline. Ten years later, a 30-year-old Billy returns to his quiet New Jersey town determined to solve the mystery of Caroline’s death and right old wrongs. Expecting the black and white world of his childhood, he instead discovers a world full of grey and unimaginable strangeness, beauty, and even love. The George Mason School of Theater is thrilled to premiere this new and updated version by book writer Joe Meno and composer Adam Gwon.
Dewberry School of Music
Mason Symphony Orchestra Concert
Sunday, May 08 at 7 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Join the Dewberry School of Music for their spring finale concert featuring the Mason Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Soo Han and the University choirs under the direction of Dr. Lisa Billingham.
American Festival Pops Orchestra: Broadway’s Best
Saturday, May 14 at 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
The American Festival Pops Orchestra presents a musical tribute to Broadway in an evening of popular melodies, timeless ballads, and nostalgic favorites. Enjoy an evening of popular Broadway melodies, timeless ballads, and nostalgic favorites. Maestro Anthony Maiello reunites with Broadway veteran and soprano Lisa Vroman, “one of American Musical Theater’s most beautiful voices” (Sir Cameron Mackintosh). This performance is family friendly.
Dewberry School of Music Honors Recital
Sunday, May 15 at 3 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Honors Recital is a premier recital opportunity for Dewberry School of Music students, representing each instrument area, who auditioned and were selected to perform by a faculty panel. This performance is free and open to the public.