View the complete schedules for the Center for the Arts and the Hylton Performing Arts Center.
The United States Army Band Pershing’s Own Salute To Veterans
Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m.
SciTech Campus, Hylton Performing Arts Center
The U.S. Army Band presents a patriotic Salute to Veterans on the eve of Veterans Day. Enjoy the music of John Williams and other greats in this inspiring and reflective program. This performance is sponsored by the Veterans and the Arts Initiative at Hylton Performing Arts Center.
Fall: New Dances
Mason School of Dance
November 11 and 12 at 8 p.m.
Harris Theatre
Step out of this cool autumn weather and into the theater for a performance filled with diverse choreography and talented dancers from the School of Dance.
Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra: Salute to the Military
Saturday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Celebrate Veterans Day with Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra’s Salute to the Military. Vocalist Darden Purcell, Mason director of jazz studies and jazz voice, joins artistic director and virtuoso saxophonist Jim Carroll and his Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra for an unforgettable evening of jazz standards celebrating our veterans, servicemembers, and their families. Founded by Carroll, the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra comprises the finest jazz performers in the metro region and is always a treat for our audiences. This performance is appropriate for all ages.
Virginia Opera: The Pirates of Penzance
Saturday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Pirates of Penzance has everything—whimsical melodies, hilariously memorable characters, and one of the most terrific earworms of all time, “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General.” Frederic is ready to resign from his life of piracy, but fate is determined to alter his course. Add the affection of a girl, a long-winded but well-intentioned father, a band of merry pirates set on finding sweethearts, and the resulting confection is pitch-perfect pandemonium. This performance is appropriate for all ages.
SUGAR SKULL! A Día de los Muertos Musical Adventure
Presented by Mexico Beyond Mariachi
Sunday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Vita Flores thinks her family is loco to be planning a party for the dead. But things change suddenly when her abuelita’s candy skeleton jumps to life, launching her into a magical world. SUGAR SKULL! is a perfect family outing, whether you’re new to the Day of the Dead or have celebrated the holiday with your loved ones for years. Recommended for ages 4 and up.
Mason Jazz Vocal Night
Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
Monday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Join Darden Purcell, the Mason Jazz Voice studio, and the Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble for an evening of swinging standards and classic hits from the Great American Songbook.
Jazz Workshop Concert
Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m.
Harris Theatre
Jazz faculty member John Kocur directs the Mason Jazz Workshop big band in their concert. The Jazz Workshop performs music by Thad Jones, Mike Tomaro, Alan Baylock, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Neal Hefti, and many others.
Jazz4Justice™ Concert: Jazz and Blues in America
Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
Friday, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
George Mason University’s Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music presents the 21st annual Jazz4Justice™ concert and fundraiser. The event raises funds to directly support vital legal services for low-income Northern Virginians, as well as financial support for the Mason Jazz Studies department, including scholarships, trips, recordings, and student projects. This year’s concert, Jazz & Blues in America, explores the roots and development of America’s greatest contribution to the arts—Jazz. Jazz4Justice™ is presented in partnership with Legal Services of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit legal aid organization that has served the region for more than 40 years.
Workshop: Exploring Innovative Collage Techniques through Botanical Imagery
Veterans and the Arts Initiative
Friday, Nov. 18, 1 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2 p.m.
Off-campus: Haymarket Gainesville Library
Collage is a versatile art-making technique that combines various things together to create a work. This workshop starts with historical botanical imagery combined with 21st-century mediated imagery. Participants will learn how to incorporate a range of materials and methods to produce contemporary imagery that can be both a vehicle for storytelling and decorative innovation. Free and open to veterans, servicemembers, military family members, and military caregivers.
Mason School of Theater: Sutta
Nov. 18–19, at 8 p.m.
Nov. 20, at 2 p.m.
TheaterSpace
It’s 2017, and a young doctoral candidate is in the final throes of his dissertation on ancient religious traditions in the modern world. His research takes him to a Buddhist monastery where he grapples with identity, history, culture, and ultimately with who is entitled to enlightenment. Sutta combines movement, music, and text as theatrical language, and this production marks its world premiere.
American Roots Series: The Seldom Scene
Saturday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
The Seldom Scene, Washington, D.C.’s favorite bluegrass band and pioneers of the “new-grass” movement, are back for an encore set of American Roots Series performances. Their time-tested sound stretches and blends seamlessly in the realm of country, rock, pop, and jazz and has led to a devoted local and international following. This performance is appropriate for all ages.
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel: Immortal Impromptus
Sunday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel is for both music aficionados and those that aspire to be so. He will draw you into the composers’ lives by sharing details about their creative processes. In Immortal Impromptus, Siegel explores Romanticism with passion-filled, freestyling impromptus by Chopin, Schubert, and Fauré. Learn more about the artists and how they expressed the ideals of an era through their musical compositions. An interactive question and answer session will conclude this program. This performance is appropriate for all ages.
Symphonic Band Concert
Dewberry School of Music
Monday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The Mason Symphonic Band presents an evening of historical and contemporary works for wind ensemble featuring Malcolm Arnold’s Prelude, Siciliano, and Rondo and Fisher Tull’s Sketches on a Tudor Psalm. This concert opens with a unique juxtaposition of winds versus brass with Andrew Blair’s anti-FANFARE for winds and Katahj Copley’s Song for Ursa for Brass Choir. Washington, D.C. native Shelly Hanson’s Islas y Motanas, a musical rumination about Cuban composer, Alejandro Garcia Caturla, concludes this concert.
The 5 Browns: Christmas with The 5 Browns
Saturday, Nov. 26, at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
The 5 Browns, a quintet of talented pianists and siblings—Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra, and Desirae—all simultaneously attended Juilliard. This “Fab Five” rose to acclaim in the early 2000s after being featured on Oprah and 60 Minutes. Indulge in a festive celebration of the piano that New York Post calls “the biggest classical music sensation in years.” This performance is appropriate for all ages.
Family Series: The Queen’s Cartoonists – Holiday Hurrah!
Sunday, Nov. 27, at 3 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Welcome to The Queen’s Cartoonists holiday special! This festive performance is set to live projected clips in sync with the music, and it runs the gamut from traditional holiday vocal numbers such as “White Christmas,” “Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah,” paired with jazz arrangements and classic cartoon characters including Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, Popeye the Sailor Man, Porky Pig, and more! Join us to experience your holiday favorites anew in Holiday Hurrah! Recommended for all ages.
Chanticleer: A Chanticleer Christmas
Sunday, Nov. 27, at 4 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Join us in our tradition of ushering in the holiday season with peace, joy, and a cappella! Chanticleer’s 12 male voices, from soprano to bass, blend together perfectly in spellbinding harmony. Since forming four decades ago, Chanticleer has sold more than one million albums and won two GRAMMY Awards. This performance is appropriate for all ages.
Steel Pan Ensemble and Braddock Road Brass Band Concert
Dewberry School of Music
Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Join the Steel Pan Ensemble (Director Victor Provost), Latin American Ensemble (Director Juan Megna) and Braddock Road Brass Band (Director Graham Breedlove) for an evening of music from the Caribbean, Latin America, and the birthplace of Jazz, New Orleans!
Jazz Combos Concert
Dewberry School of Music
Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 8 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Professor Wade Beach directs the Mason Jazz Combos in their fall 2022 performance.
Wind Symphony Concert: Music for Uncommon Times
Thursday, Dec. 1, at 8 p.m.
Dewberry School of Music
Center for the Arts
Over the past two years, society has experienced a collision of significant events and phenomena unimagined by previous generations. COVID-19 and social unrest are two experiences that have impacted how we live today and dream of tomorrow. In this concert, the Mason Wind Symphony presents works by living composers Valerie Coleman, Katahj Copley, and Joel Puckett that respond to these uncommon times with remembrance, reflection, and hope. There will be a 7:30 p.m. pre-concert discussion.
Mason Opera presents Amahl and the Night Visitors
Dewberry School of Music
Dec. 2 and 3, at 3 and 8 p.m.
Gregory Family Theater
This celebrated operetta by Italian-American composer and librettist Gian Carlo Menotti tells the classic story of the Magi’s journey to Bethlehem.
Fall: Dance Innovations
School of Dance
Dec. 2 and 3, at 8 p.m.
Harris Theatre
Step out of this cool weather and into the theater for a performance filled with diverse choreography and talented dancers from the School of Dance.
Soweto Gospel Choir: HOPE – It’s Been A Long Time Coming
Friday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m.
Hylton Performing Arts Center
Direct from South Africa, welcome the three-time GRAMMY Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir for an exuberant night of African Gospel, spirituals, reggae, contemporary pop, and holiday music. For more than 20 years, Soweto’s awe-inspiring 20-member ensemble has spread its earthy rhythms, rich harmonies, brilliant costumes, and infectious spirit around the globe. This performance is appropriate for all ages.
Mason Symphony and Choirs Holiday Concert
Dewberry School of Music
Sunday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m.
Center for the Arts
Join us for a joyous concert celebration by the Dewberry School of Music as we ring in the holiday season! Showcasing Mason’s Symphony Orchestra and Choirs, this evening will feature holiday favorites and festive new works performed by extraordinary student artists.