News

My Music with Rhiannon Giddens returns to PBS this May with six new episodes, two of which were filmed at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University in November 2023, in conjunction with Silkroad Ensemble’s three-year residency.

Right before Earth Day, Small Island Big Song (SIBS) presented an "impassioned" (Roots World) concert experience at the Center for the Arts on April 20, combining music, spoken word, and stunning projections of indigenous artists from Pacific and Indian Ocean island nations while shining a light on the devastating effects of the climate crisis on our world’s oceans. As a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Small Island Big Song also deeply engaged with the community through a series of education and engagement programs.

The Center for the Arts at George Mason University announced its 2024–25 season of mainstage performances on the Concert Hall stage, featuring wide-ranging artists and acts across performing arts disciplines, as part of Great Performances at Mason and the Family Series.

Internationally celebrated pianist, scholar, and devoted champion of Frédéric Chopin, Brian Ganz partnered with the National Philharmonic in 2011 on a multi-year performance project striving to perform Chopin’s entire catalogue. On May 4, Ganz performs Romantic Revolutionary which includes Chopin études from Op. 25 and Op. 10, Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, and Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31 in D-flat major.

Founded in 1957, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) has been hailed by the Washington Post as “a crown jewel of the cultural landscape” and has continued to promote its mission to inspire and engage a large, diverse audience in the Northern Virginia region and beyond. Under the direction of award-winning Christopher Zimmerman, the FSO brings its incredible group of musicians and featured soloists to Fairfax this summer and into the 2024-25 Great Performances at Mason season.

The 2023/2024 season at the Center for the Arts had something for everyone whether it was classical music that left audience members swooning or shadow puppetry that transported viewers to an ancient land. Looking back on the season, audiences share their favorite moments and memories.

A joint message from Virginia Opera and the Center for the Arts. 

You’d be just as likely to spot GRAMMY Award-winning musicians Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing hiking a backwoods trail through the Rockies as you would be to catch them playing a sold-out concert. Coming to the Center on April 21, The Okee Dokee Brothers' passion for nature inspires their lively original folk music for kids and their families.

Whether it’s wagging your tail or exploring the great outdoors, it’s not too late to experience the Center’s Family Series with Mutts Gone Nuts or The Okee Dokee Brothers this April.

One of Germany’s premier orchestras, Bamberg Symphony, and virtuoso pianist Hélène Grimaud join forces to perform a program inspired by The New Yorker music critic and Pulitzer Prize finalist Alex Ross’s book Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music on April 27. The program explores and emerges music from Wagner with his German contemporizes, Schumann and Brahms, to create an evening of unforgettable classical music.

On April 13, the oldest modern dance ensemble in the country, Martha Graham Dance Company, returns to the Center with a program that celebrates the company’s 100th anniversary through iconic classics and new work. The spectacular program features pieces by choreographers Agnes de Mille, Jamar Roberts, and of course, Martha Graham, including a special performance by Mason School of Dance students.  

Right before Earth Day, Small Island Big Song presents a "jaw-dropping" (Billboard) concert experience at the Center for the Arts on April 20, combining music, spoken word, and stunning projections to showcase unique oceanic grooves and soulful island ballads, while shining a light on the devastating effects of climate crisis on our world’s oceans. As a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Small Island Big Song will also deeply engage with the community through a series of education and engagement programs.