College of Visual and Performing Arts

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.

“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.

Rick Davis is Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Executive Director of the Hylton Performing Arts Center, and Professor of Theater. From 1991 until the company’s closure in 2012, he was artistic director of Mason’s professional theater company, Theater of the First Amendment (TFA). Under his leadership, TFA became one of the Washington area’s most respected theaters, winning twelve Helen Hayes Awards and producing more than twenty world premieres.

On Saturday, November 20 at 8 p.m., George Mason University’s Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music is proud to present the Jazz4Justice™ 20th Anniversary Concert, a one-of-a-kind event celebrating Northern Virginia’s love of music while raising funds to support legal services for low-income Northern Virginians and the George Mason University Jazz Studies program.

Beginning October 18, and until further notice, all attendees of indoor events or performances at the Center for the Arts, regardless of age, must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the date of their visit or show a negative COVID-19 test result upon entry. Face coverings will be required for patrons ages two and up.

In what ways can a classical music ensemble build resonance and relevancy in modern society? Mason’s second Artist-in-Residence of the 2021/2022 season, Sphinx Virtuosi, one of the nation’s most innovative and pioneering chamber music ensembles, tackles that issue with a two-pronged approach

CARTOGRAPHY is a “stunning” (The New York Times) and timely theatrical work that follows five young refugees searching for a new place to call home. Created in collaboration with Artist-in-Resident Kaneza Schaal and writer and illustrator Christopher Myers, CARTOGRAPHY draws on their work with refugee youth from around the world.

The Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music presents A Song of Freedom: Featuring World Premieres by Evelyn Simpson-Curenton and Michael W. Nickens, Saturday, May 8 at 8:00 p.m. as part of Mason Arts at Home.

Celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a national holiday.