College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) School of Music

Prof. Brendan Sweeney is a newly appointed adjunct applied composition faculty in the Dewberry School of Music effective Spring 2025. An award-winning educator, arts technologist, and internationally-performed composer whose music and research explores the intersection of modern technology and human expression.

Praised by the Pizzicato Magazine as “enchanting,” Taylor Ann Fleshman is an award-winning soloist and active ensemble performer with a diverse performance history. Prof. Fleshman performed the world premiere of Mosolov’s Harp Concerto with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in Russia and recorded the work with Naxos Records in 2019

Caroline Steiger is an active teacher, clinician, and performer. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan (DMA, BM Music Performance with Teacher Certification) and Penn State University (MM Music Performance).

For the second year in a row, Mason's own Green Machine Ensembles performed for delighted locals at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, an event where roughly 40,000 guests were welcomed throughout the day's festivities.

We applaud Dr. Monson's remarkable commitment and her significant influence on the world of piano music. Her inclusion in the 2023 Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame is a well-deserved recognition of her outstanding contributions to music education.

Returning for their second of three years as a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Silkroad Ensemble and Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens present the world premiere of American Railroad, an initiative that maps American music through the various communities involved in building the late-1800s Transcontinental Railroad and its connecting railways. As a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Silkroad artists will also work with the community through classes and workshops surrounding the performance, which are detailed within.

ARTS by George! returned on Saturday, September 30, 2023, hosted by the College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at George Mason University. The benefit event, which was headlined by GRAMMY and Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, raised more than $275,000 for student scholarships in visual arts, dance, music, theater, game design, film, arts management, as well as for the Mason Community Arts Academy, Green Machine Ensembles, and the Great Performances at Mason season at the Center for the Arts.

“An evening like no other,” ARTS by George! returns on September 30 for an evening that showcases the remarkable talents of Mason students amid an array of spectacular food and beverages, culminating with a special performance by Broadway superstar, Renée Elise Goldsberry in Concert.

The GRAMMY Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble debuted their newest program, Uplifted Voices, at the Center for the Arts on January 29, launching their multi-year participation as a Mason Artist-in-Residence. Championing women and non-binary members of the Silkroad Ensemble, alongside special guest Tuscarora/Taíno musician Pura Fé, Uplifted Voices featured a musical tapestry connecting the sounds and rhythms of indigenous North America to the World. Silkroad Ensemble’s radical cultural collaboration seeks to build bridges of understanding to combat fear and build a more hopeful and inclusive world.

GaYoung Lee Graduate Teaching Assistant as Collaborative Pianist