Degree Celebration
3 p.m.
From the Dean
We celebrate you today. We honor you today. We are so glad to be with you today.
And we are so proud (today and always) of your work as artists, scholars, teachers, managers, and students. Some of you who have been in class or rehearsal with me know that I enjoy playing around with words. If you have heard this already, you may skip ahead.
But for the rest, linger with me on the word student for a moment. It comes from Latin (the infinitive form is studere), and the original meanings are full of life and juice. When we are students, when we study something, we engage in it with zeal. We are eager for it. We strive toward it. We care about it.
I think that’s what artists do too, which is what makes studying the arts such a privilege and a pleasure. We never stop engaging, striving, caring, loving this work. Our zeal is a lifetime pursuit. It’s been our pleasure and privilege to be with you on this portion of your journey as students—in all of those rich and productive senses.
Congratulations, graduates! Keep studying.
Rick Davis
Dean,
College of Visual and Performing Arts
PROGRAM MARSHALS
Stephanie Benassi, School of Art
Setarra Kennedy, Arts Management Program
Eric Piccione, Computer Game Design Program
Shaun Boyle D’Arcy, School of Dance
Tommy Britt, Film and Video Studies Program
Lisa Billingham, Dewberry Family School of Music
Emily Green, Dewberry Family School of Music
Kevin Dunayer, School of Theater
PRELUDE: Ceremonial Music
Dewberry School of Music Brass Quintet
Alexander Romanov, trumpet
Grace Bascom, trumpet
August Stamper, horn
COLLEGE MARSHALS
Kristin Johnson-Neshati, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Lauren Wagner, Assistant Dean for Student Academic Affairs
Nathanial Plapinger, MM Performance candidate, euphonium
Steven Bectel, bass trombone
PROCESSIONAL
“Pomp and Circumstance” by Edward Elgar
Dewberry School of Music Brass Quintet
Alexander Romanov, trumpet
Grace Bascom, trumpet
August Stamper, horn
Nathanial Plapinger, MM Performance candidate, euphonium
Steven Bectel, bass trombone
The Academic Processional
Rick Davis, Dean
Mason Arts Awardee Molly Smith, Artistic Director Emeritus, Arena Stage
Kristin Johnson-Neshati, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Lauren Wagner, Assistant Dean for Student Academic Affairs
Justin Sutters, Assistant Dean of Research and Assessment
School Directors
Program Directors
Faculty of the College of Visual and Performing Arts
Graduates
Order of Convocation Exercises
WELCOME
Rick Davis, Dean
DANCE PERFORMANCE
Susan Shields, Director
Through the Fracture of Light (excerpt)
Yue Yin, Choreographer
Dancers: Emily Flugrad, Hannah Freed, Sydney Heldman, and Asiah Moore
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Linda Monson, Director
Violin Concerto in E Minor (III. Allegro non troppo) by Felix Mendelssohn
Annette Lee, BM candidate, violin
GaYoung Lee, DMA candidate, piano
SCHOOL OF ART HIGHLIGHTS
Zoë Charlton, Director
A Tribute to Our Graduates
MASTER OF ARTS MANAGEMENT
Karalee Dawn MacKay, Director
The Vine and Arts Management Graduates
COMPUTER GAME DESIGN PRESENTATION
Sang Nam, Director
Class of 2025–We Make People Smile
FILM AND VIDEO STUDIES FILM TRAILERS
Cynthia Fuchs, Interim Director
Film and Video Studies Senior Project Highlights
THEATER PERFORMANCE
Djola Branner, Director
“Our Time” from the musical Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim, presented by students from Mason Cabaret
MASON ARTS AWARD PRESENTATION AND REMARKS
PRESENTATION OF DEGREES
Rick Davis, Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts
Zoë Charlton, Director, School of Art
Names read by Robert Yi, Assistant Director, and Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, Associate Professor
Karalee Dawn MacKay, Director, Arts Management Program
Names read by Setarra Kennedy, Assistant Director
Sang Nam, Director, Computer Game Design Program
Names read by Seth Hudson, Associate Professor
Susan Shields, Director, School of Dance
Names read by Christina Robson, Assistant Professor
Cynthia Fuchs, Interim Director, Film and Video Studies Program
Names read by Samantha Sinagra, Assistant Director
Linda Apple Monson, Director, Reva and Sid Dewberry
Family School of Music
Names read by Gregory Robinson, Director of Graduate Studies
Djola Branner, Director, School of Theater
Names read by Erin Gardiner, Assistant Professor
WELCOME TO CVPA ALUMNI
Clayton Willis, BFA Dance ’18
CLOSING REMARKS
Rick Davis, Dean
RECESSIONAL
Mason Arts Awardee
MOLLY SMITH
Artistic Director Emeritus, Arena Stage
MOLLY SMITH was artistic director of Arena Stage for 25 years from 1998 to 2023. Her many directing credits at Arena Stage include large-scale musicals, new plays, and classics such as Oklahoma!, which opened the new center and broke box office records. Other highlights include My Fair Lady; The Originalist about Justice Antonin Scalia, which also broke box office records; Camp David with Richard Thomas; Mother Courage and Her Children with Kathleen Turner; and The Great White Hope with Mahershala Ali. Her directorial work has been seen off Broadway at 59E59 in New York, New York Theatre Workshop, Portland Center Stage, Canada’s Shaw Festival, The Court Theatre, The Old Globe, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, Montreal’s Centaur Theatre, and Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska, which she founded and ran from 1979 to 1998.
Smith has been a passionate leader in new play development for over 40 years. She is a great believer in first, second, and third productions of new work and has championed projects including Dear Evan Hansen and Next to Normal, which were both produced by Arena Stage and moved to Broadway, receiving multiple Tony Awards. Following its critically acclaimed premiere at Arena Stage, she directed The Velocity of Autumn on Broadway with Estelle Parsons, who received a Tony nomination for her performance.
Smith led the reinvention of Arena Stage, focusing on the architecture and creation of the Mead Center for American Theater and positioned Arena Stage as a national center for American artists, American plays, and American ideas through its artistic programming. She created the Power Play Cycle, commissioning 25 new plays about the life of America from the 1770s to 2020s with writers like Craig Lucas, Lauren Yee, and Eduardo Machado. During her time with the company, Arena Stage workshopped more than 100 productions, produced 39 world premieres, staged numerous second and third productions, and was an important part of nurturing nine projects that went on to have a life on Broadway.
Smith was awarded honorary doctorates from American University and Towson University. In 2018, she was honored as Person of the Year by the National Theatre Conference, named a Washingtonian of the Year, and inducted into the Washington, D.C., Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was awarded the Director of Distinction from the Academy of Arts in Cairo, Egypt. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she and her staff hit the ground running and created programming online, including three films, countless classes, Molly’s Salons, and many commissions that helped support artists who were reeling from the pandemic.
Victoria N. Salmon Outstanding Graduate Student Award
The recipient of the Victoria N. Salmon Outstanding Graduate Student Award is a currently enrolled CVPA graduate student who demonstrates thoughtful and artistic reflection while creating high-quality research in the arts. The student’s original research in one component of the arts will enhance an understanding of the arts in general.
Traci Reynolds, MFA Visual and Performing Arts
Michael Stern, DMA Conducting
CVPA Sound Design Achievement Award
The recipient of this award is an outstanding undergraduate major specializing in the multidisciplinary field of sound design.
Ann Tran, BM Music Technology
SCHOOL OF DANCE
Excellence in Academic Endeavors
This award is given to a graduating dance major with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher who has demonstrated intellectual curiosity and creativity.
Katlyn Cerda, BFA
Excellence in Choreography
This award is given to a graduating dance major who demonstrates professional commitment to the field, has a proven record of produced choreography, and has contributed to George Mason productions.
Sloan Daley, BFA
Joseph Schuman, BFA
Excellence in Performance
This award is given to a graduating dance major who demonstrates professional commitment to the field and who has performed in numerous, diverse dance roles.
*Sidney Durand, BFA
Outstanding Achievement in the Major
This award is given to a graduating dance major who participated fully in every aspect of the program, earned a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, pursued every opportunity for growth and development, and demonstrated professional commitment to the field.
Jessica Brown, BFA, Minor in Well-Being
*Student has applied to graduate in summer 2025.
FILM AND VIDEO STUDIES PROGRAM
Academic Excellence
This award recognizes the students with the highest GPA with 120 credits at George Mason.
Cecilia Ohanian, BA
Bodhi Bryan-Roig, BA
Academic Achievement
This award recognizes the students with the highest GPA with credits transferred to George Mason.
EJ Chicky, BA
Paolo Rivas, BA
Jonathan Strauch, BA
Nate Henry, BA
Professional Achievement Award
This award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in professional preparation for the film and video studies field.
Daniel Vo, BA
Nataly Wright, BA
Erica Worthington, BA
Patrice Pannell, BA
Service Award
This award recognizes outstanding service to the Film and Video Studies Program.
Sonja Phillips-Thomas, BA
James Bah, BA
REVA AND SID DEWBERRY FAMILY SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Undergraduate Academic Studies Achievement Award
Annette Lee, BM, Performance
Emma Stewart, BM, Performance
Jessica Taylor, BM, Music Technology
Telah Harper, BM, Music Education
Ross Calvin, BM, Performance
Undergraduate Performance Achievement Award
Nareg Boghosian, BM, Jazz
Andrew Bell, BM, Performance
Elaine Hopkins, BM, Music Education
Marcos Sonnenberg-Nieves, BM, Music Education
Graduate Academic Studies Achievement Award
Calvin Evans, DMA, Composition
*Julie McDonald, DMA, Performance
Ahn Nguyen, DMA, Performance
Graduate Performance Achievement Award
GaYoung Lee, DMA, Performance
Derik Wright, MM, Conducting
Ya-Chi Tang, MM, Performance
Departmental Service Achievement Award
Annette Lee, BM, Performance
Treyvian Samuel Clark, BM, Music Technology
Mj Carpenter, BM, Jazz
*Student has applied to graduate in summer 2025.
SCHOOL OF THEATER
Excellence in Performance
This award is given to graduating actors whose work at George Mason has exemplified the talent, dedication, and collaborative spirit required to enter the professional theater.
Aadith Iyer, BA
Excellence in Design and Production
This award is given to a graduating designer, stage manager, or technician whose work at George Mason has demonstrated mastery in one or more of the technical and design areas and commitment to the professional theater.
Bertem Demirtas, BA
Excellence in Writing and Dramaturgy
This award is given to a graduating playwright, screenwriter, or dramaturg whose work at George Mason has been carried out with distinction and elevated the collaborative achievements of one or more Mason Players production.
Aven Hagen Grote, BA
Excellence in Academics
This award is given to graduating theater majors with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher whose academic achievements across the university have been outstanding.
Renée J. Wortendyke, BFA
Outstanding Achievement in the Major
This award is given to graduating theater majors who participated fully in the program, earned a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, pursued every opportunity for growth and development, and demonstrated professional commitment to the field.
Brett Womack, BFA
Yena Shin
Louis Simon III
Tiffani Sierra Stringfield
Sean Anthony Tindal
Nicole Carandang Tiongson
Jeremy Christopher Turner
Andres Valbuena
Rachael D. Webb
Sean Edward White
Micah D. Williams
*Brendon Carl Wright
Hyoju Yang
Somaya Zaheereldeen
DANCE
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Jordan Simone Antoine
Jessica G. Brown
Katlyn Jeanine Cerda
Sloan Sophia Daley
Addison James David
Elisa Anisha Dey
*Sidney M. Durand
Taylor Rose Gati
Courtney Madison Green
Brooke Ashlee Katsafados
Aiden Michael Moriarty
Eirwen Isobel Moshier
Gabriella Grace Pate
Joey Roderic Schuman
Fabio Tello Munoz
Sky Vitetta
Kenidee Nevaeh Wedlaw-Farmer
FILM AND VIDEO STUDIES
Bachelor of Arts
*Samantha Ajebon
James Babba-Galeh Gao Bah
Matthew Baltar
Joshua Hunter Biedrycki
*Nikolai Luke Bonshire
Bodhi Ethan Bryan-Roig
*Christopher Sean Odell Burley
Edward Jon Chicky II
Dominique Shanta Dargan
Emma E. Davenport
Marko Djordjevic
Jared Dodge
Héctor Elías Figueroa Rodriguez
Emilee A. Hayward
Kailee C. Hayward
*Naomi Tram-Huong Ho
Nickolas D. Horenberger
Douglas Xavier Jimenez
Bailey Christopher Kearns
Megan Elizabeth Keough
Ashlyn Elizabeth King
Madison Lee Koren
Maya Lang
*Iana Lee
Jason Geoffrey Mabry
Alissa LuAnn McKay
Aidan Xavier Moriarty
Patrice Pannell
Sonja Victoria Phillips-Thomas
Norma Estela Reyes
*Michael Anthony Rivera
Chloe Isabella Salman
Alexander Salmeron
Andrew James Shaffer
*Marjaan A. Simab
Gabriel Matthew Stone
Jonathan Valentino Strauch
Liam Riley Tipler
Miles Tison
Erica Danielle Worthington
Nataly Helen Elisabeth Wright
MUSIC
Doctor of Musical Arts
Calvin Duane Evans Jr.
Quincy Jones: Film Composer
Advisor: Emily Green, PhD, Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
Yiyao Hao
Application of Musical Narrative Theory in Chinese Piano Solo Works
Advisor: Megan Lavengood, PhD, Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
Yiran He
A Musical Expression of the Traditional Chinese Calendar Through Yang Kai’s Piano Suite: The Twenty-Four Solar Terms
Advisor: Tom C. Owens, PhD, Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
Ga Young Lee
Theological Themes in Shinuh Lee’s Chorale Fantasy for Piano, No. 1: “Comfort, Comfort My People” (2007/2009)
Advisor: Emily Green, PhD, Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
William F. Rosenfeld
Edward Elgar’s Part-Songs in the Secondary Choral Curriculum: Evaluation and Pedagogical Rubric
Advisor: Lisa Billingham, DMA, Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music
Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education
Vicki Walker
Inspiration from the Podium: The Experiences of Maestra
Anne Lundy
Advisor: Charles R. Ciorba, PhD, Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music