Faculty and Staff List
Director of JAZZ STUDIES, JAZZ VOICE, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA
Origin Records recording artist, Darden Purcell is a Washington DC based featured soloist with symphony orchestras, big bands and small ensembles and jazz educator. Ms. Purcell has shared the stage with top jazz artists including Maria Schneider, Christian McBride, Branford Marsalis, Terell Stafford, Joe Locke, Walt Weiskopf, Eric Alexander, Eddie Daniels, Alan Baylock, Byron Stripling, Bobby Floyd, The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, US Navy Band Commodores, Airmen of Note, US Army Blues, American Festival Pops Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra, performing nationally and internationally, including Blues Alley, Club Bonafide (NYC), The Jazz Kitchen, Blue Wisp, Bop Stop, Chris’s Jazz Café, Blue Jazz+, Con Alma, JazzB (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Aalt Stadhaus (Luxembourg), Wolf Trap and The Kennedy Center (back-up vocals for Mr. George Benson, Caroline Shaw, Ben Folds, Sara Bareilles). Dr. Purcell is the Director of Jazz Studies, Jazz Voice Instructor and Director of the Downbeat Award-winning, Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble at George Mason University.
Adjunct Faculty, JAZZ GUITAR, Jazz Arranging, Dewberry School of Music, CVPA
Dr. Shawn Purcell, originally hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a jazz guitarist, composer, arranger and educator based in the Washington DC region. Purcell has shared the stage, recorded with, and/or toured with Walt Weiskopf, Pat Bianchi, Regina Carter, Steve Fidyk, Chip McNeill, Sean Jones, Steve Allee, Brian Charette, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, Lucas Pino, Peter Erskine, The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, Eddie Daniels, National Symphony Orchestra and many others.
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).
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.
Business and Operations Manager (Music), Dewberry School of Music, CVPA
Ellen Rizzuto is the Business and Operations Manager of the George Mason University Dewberry School of Music. Ellen has an MA in Arts Management from George Mason University and a BM from Oberlin Conservatory in Horn Performance.
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.
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.
Professor (retired 2023), Dewberry School of Music, CVPA
Glenn Smith is a composer, teacher, performance-artist, and sound healer. He has written more than 500 pieces, including choral, chamber and orchestral works, as well as jazz and electronic music for concert, dance, video, film and television.