Music Faculty and Staff

  • Shawn Purcell

    Adjunct Faculty, JAZZ GUITAR, Jazz Arranging, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Shawn Purcell, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a jazz guitarist, educator, arranger, and composer in the Washington DC region. Purcell has shared the stage, recorded with, and/or toured with top jazz artists including: Terell Stafford, Nicholas Payton, Tim Warfield, Sean Jones, Brian Charette, Steve Fidyk, Dana Hall, The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, Jim Pugh, Chip McNeill, Jeannie Bryson, Eddie Daniels, Chris Potter, Jerry Bergonzi, Steve Allee and many others.
  • Jonathan Rance

    Adjunct Faculty, PERCUSSION, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Originally hailing from New Zealand, Jonathan has been involved in musical pursuits of one form or another since the age of four. While attending the University of Auckland where he completed studies for a Bachelor of Music (Honors), Jonathan was a regular performer with the Auckland Philharmonia.
  • Director of COMPOSITION, Associate Professor, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Dr. Andrea Reinkemeyer, internationally performed American composer, joins the faculty of George Mason University in Fall 2023 as Associate Professor and Director of Composition. Widely commissioned by orchestras, universities, and chamber ensembles across the United States, critics hail Dr. Reinkemeyer’s unique synesthetic soundscapes that blur the boundary between sound and vision, to “magical” (Fanfare) and even “enchanting” effect (International Choral Bulletin).
  • Elaine Rendler

    Professor, MUSIC THEORY and ORGAN, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Elaine Rendler-McQueeney, received a Doctor of Musical Arts in organ with minors in theory and liturgy from The Catholic University of America under the tutelage of Daniel Roth (St. Sulpice, Paris) and Conrad Bernier.
  • Lauren Rigby

    Assistant to the Director and Marketing Coordinator, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Ms. Lauren Rigby joined our administrative staff as the new Assistant to the Director and Marketing Coordinator at the Dewberry School of Music. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with a Vocal/Choral Teaching License and a Minor in Spanish.
  • Ellen Rizzuto

    Operations Manager (Music), Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Ellen Rizzuto is the Operations Manager of the George Mason University Dewberry School of Music. Serving in this role since 2016, she manages the Dewberry School of Music event calendars; scheduling and production of concerts, master classes, faculty recitals, and special events; and the day-to-day operations within in the school.
  • Associate Professor and Director of GRADUATE STUDIES and ETHNOMUSICOLOGY, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Dr. Gregory Joseph Robinson is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Ethnomusicology at George Mason University’s School of Music. He received the Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and graduated summa cum laude from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
  • Adam Rothenberg

    Adjunct Faculty, MUSIC IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY and MUSIC THEORY, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Prof. Adam Rothernburg is an adjunct faculty in Music in Computer Technology and Music Theory & Composition
  • Scott Seifried

    CLASS GUITAR, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Dr. Scott Seifried earned the BFA degree in Classical Guitar Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, the Master of Music degree from James Madison University, and the PhD in Education from George Mason University.
  • Adjunct Faculty, Class Woodwinds, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA

    Clarinetist Kristen Grattan Sheridan has dedicated her career to teaching. In 2001 she established the Sheridan Studio of Music in Fairfax, VA and has consistently maintained a roster of 50 students. Her students regularly earn top positions in district, regional, and state ensembles, gain admission to prestigious summer programs, receive scholarships to study music at the collegiate level, and go on to become music educators and professional clarinetists. She is in demand as an adjudicator, guest clinician, recitalist, lecturer, and freelance performer on the East Coast.