CVPA faculty

Djola Branner (he/him) is an interdisciplinary artist/educator who combines movement, sound and light to give voice to individuals historically absent from the stage. Co-founder of the award winning performance group Pomo Afro Homos, he toured nationally and internationally with their shows Fierce Love: Stories from Black Gay Life and Dark Fruit, and subsequently performed in regional theaters across the country.

Originally from Newark, Delaware, Emily Foster joined The United States Air Force Band in Washington, DC in 2013 and was appointed as Adjunct Oboe Faculty at George Mason University in 2019.

Dr. Mira Yang earned her D.M.A. Degree at The Catholic University of America, her M.M. from Peabody Conservatory, and B.M. from Ewha Womans University. She studied at Der Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. She also attended Altenburg Academy in Germany; Societa dei Concerti in Italy; AIMS in Graz, Austria; the Minnesota Opera Center; Dicapo Opera and the Shaker Mountain Festival.

Kerry Wilkerson made his Carnegie Hall debut in June 2017 to rave reviews as baritone soloist in the Vaughan Williams Sancta Civitas. His solo career has taken him up and down the east coast performing renowned oratorios and exciting recitals.

Angela Ammerman, referred to by the Washington Post as the first “music teacher prodigy,” earned degrees in Music Education from the University of Cincinnati: College-Conservatory of Music, Boston University, and her PhD from George Mason University.

Minne Zhang, a native of China, completed her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education degree at the Shandong Normal University, China. Minne graduated from Temple University (4.0 GPA) with a Master Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy.

Estrella Sejin Hong is an Adjunct Faculty of Keyboard skills at Mason. A native of Seoul, South Korea, she was a doctoral piano student of Dr. Linda Apple Monson. She completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from Mason in 2016 and graduated in May 2017 with a Master Degree in Piano Performance at George Mason University under the tutelage of Dr. Monson.

Dr. Eunae Ko Han, Term Assistant Professor in Collaborative Piano at Mason, has previously served as an adjunct opera coach and collaborative pianist in vocal studies at George Mason University since 2014.

Originally from Miami, Florida Xavier has performed in 13 countries and 48 states with a wide range of artists in the jazz and Latin music worlds. Xavier was the only U.S representative selected to perform in the final elimination round at an international saxophone competition where he placed 2nd place out of hundreds of applicants from more than 20 countries.

Juan Megna is a drummer/percussionist from Argentina who has lived for 12 years in Brazil where, in 2008, got his degree in Brazilian Popular Music at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP, Campinas, SP).