Dr. Linda Apple Monson

Dr. Linda Apple Monson, International Steinway Artist, serves as the Director of the Dewberry School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University. A Distinguished Service Professor, Monson was awarded the John Toups Presidential Medal for Excellence in Teaching at George Mason University’s 2018 Spring Commencement Ceremony. The Toups Presidential Medal is presented to “a faculty member whose teaching exemplifies Mason’s commitment to ongoing innovation and excellence in delivering a transformative learning experience to our students.”

Linda Apple Monson has recently been inducted into the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame in New York City on October 4, 2023. The Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame is a prestigious designation “recognizing the work of North America’s most committed and passionate piano educators.”

Named the George Mason University Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year (2012), Monson also received the Influential Women of Virginia award (2014). Monson delivered two TED-X talks and received the Toastmaster’s International Communication and Leadership Award (2014) “in recognition of outstanding dedication, leadership, and contributions in the areas of education and international understanding.” Monson is the recipient of the George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award (2009) “for exemplary dedication to student learning and commitment to educational excellence.” In honor of the extraordinary impact of Monson’s teaching and music leadership at George Mason University, multiple donors established in 2011 the Dr. Linda Apple Monson Music Endowment Fund. A professor at Mason since 1999, Monson has also served as Director of Music at Springfield United Methodist Church for many years.

A $5 million scholarship commitment from the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family established the Dr. Linda Apple Monson Scholars Endowed Fund to support outstanding artist-scholars in Mason’s School of Music. Monson was recognized through the renaming of the Grand Tier III of Mason’s Center for the Arts in her honor to the Dr. Linda Apple Monson Grand Tier. The Board of Visitors approved the renaming of Mason’s School of Music to the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music in 2020, in honor of the Dewberry’s legacy of giving and generous support of the School.

A nationally recognized arts leader, Monson was elected to the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) Commission on Accreditation, the board granting accreditation for music programs at universities and conservatories across the nation. Monson currently serves as Chair of Region 7 of NASM (representing seven states) and she serves on the NASM Executive Board. She was selected for the Fulbright Senior Specialist Roster, in collaboration with the U.S. State Department and the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. Monson served as a juror for the 2023 International Young Artist Piano Competition (2023) in Washington D.C., International Juror of the Washington Piano Invitational Competition (2013) at the Kennedy Center and was named a Visiting Guest Professor at Nanjing Normal University, China (2010).

An active performer-scholar and an internationally recognized master teacher, Monson has given lecture-recitals, solo piano recitals, and piano master classes throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. An advocate of new music, Monson has presented numerous world premieres of solo piano works. Her research and performance have been featured in invited lecture-recitals at the College Music Society International Conferences in Lithuania and Estonia in July of 2023. She has been a featured presenter at CMS International Conferences in Brussels, Sydney, Stockholm, Helsinki, Buenos Aires, Dubrovnik, Bangkok, Madrid, and San Jose. Monson has also given lecture-recitals and piano masterclasses internationally in Seoul, Oxford, Dublin, Nanjing, Kuala Lumpur, San Jose, and San Juan. Monson delivered an interdisciplinary lecture-recital at the Oxford Round Table in England and was a featured lecture-recitalist for the Alban Berg International Festival in Hannover, Germany. She was an invited concert artist, lecturer, and piano master class clinician at Nanjing Normal University, China where she has been appointed a visiting guest professor. Monson has presented her research and delivered lecture-recitals at National Conferences of the College Music Society held in Minneapolis, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and Miami. In addition, Monson has also presented solo piano recitals and piano master classes at countless universities throughout the United States and abroad.

Monson currently serves as Chair of the Provost/Chairs Forum for George Mason University. She previously served as President of Mason’s chapter of Phi Beta Delta, a national honor society dedicated to recognizing scholarly achievement and excellence in international education. She also served five terms as a Faculty Senator at George Mason University and was elected by the university faculty to serve on the Mason Presidential Search Committee (2011-12). Additionally, she served on the University Provost Review Committee (2018). Serving on the Friends of Music at Mason Board and the Faculty Arts Club, Monson is also a presenter for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of George Mason University. In addition, Monson is a frequent performer at Mason as a solo and collaborative piano artist.

An active adjudicator in piano competitions and festivals, Monson served as a juror for the 2023 Young Artist International Piano Competition and the 2019 International Artist Piano Competition. Additionally she served as a juror for the 2018 Concerto Competition for the Sewanee Summer Music Festival and the 2016 National Symphony Orchestra piano concerto auditions for young artists. She also presented a piano master for the 2016 –17 International Piano Competition (I Institute–Beijing). Monson also served as an American Juror for the 2009 Washington International Piano Competition. She was invited as a panelist and concert commentator for the Virginia Chamber Orchestra satellite broadcasts, Music of the Romantic Era and Music by Modern Masters, which were sent to all community colleges in the United States.

A native of central Pennsylvania, Monson earned three degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore: the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance, the Master of Music degree in Piano, and the Bachelor of Music Education Degree with a double-major in Piano and Bassoon. She also received a Diploma in Piano from Musica en Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. In addition, she studied chamber music at the Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, California. Monson previously served on the music faculties of the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore School for the Arts, and Northern Virginia Community College. She is married to Dr. Keith L. Monson, a forensic scientist. The Monsons are blessed with two children, Kristofer and Linnea.

University Distinguished Service Professor

• Applied Piano

Degrees

• D.M.A. Piano Performance, Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University
• M.M. Piano Performance, Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University
• Diploma in Piano from Música en Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
• B.M. Education (Piano and Bassoon), Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Linda Monson in the news:

• Linda Monson named director of Mason’s School of Music (Aug 2, 2016, The George)
• Mason Stories: Linda Monson (Jun 4, 2015, YouTube)
• Watch Dr. Monson's TED Talk on Overcoming Stage Fright (Jul 14, 2012, YouTube)
• George Mason University's Linda Monson on why we need music education (Sep 2, 2011, The Washington Post)
• Mason's Monson (May 29, 2012, Northern Virginia online)