Dr. Connor Mikula is an active performer and teacher in the Washington D.C. area and currently serves as a saxophonist with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in Washington, D.C. He joined the organization in 2019 and has performed regularly at the White House as well as in concerts around the D.C. area and throughout the United States.
Originally from the great state of Michigan, he holds degrees from University of Michigan (MM Music Performance) and Michigan State University (DMA, BM Music Performance & Jazz Minor). Dr. Mikula has studied under Dr. Timothy McAllister, Prof. Joe Lulloff, and Dr. Jonathan Nichol.
June 18, 2025Throughout a career that has spanned new works for orchestras, chamber ensembles, solo performers, and multi-institution commissions, Reinkemeyer has built a reputation for music that defies traditional expectations. Her works often weave together unexpected elements—soundscapes inspired by nature, compositional structures drawn from scientific data, and reflections on urgent social issues like environmental crises and justice movements.
June 18, 2025Rebekah Wingert-Jabi grew up in Reston, Virginia, a place built on the belief that dignity, connection, and community could stand at the center of progress. That vision, established by the town's founder Robert Simon, was not just an idea Wingert-Jabi grew up hearing about. It was a value system she carried with her into the world.
September 26, 2025Federico Frum, BA Art and Visual Technology ’05, believes in the power of art to bring people together. Known professionally as MasPaz—Spanish for “more peace”—Frum has spent his career fusing activism and creativity, using bold street murals, community engagement, and cultural storytelling to spread a message of unity.
Dr. Patrick LeStrange is an Adjunct Applied Faculty in Viola at George Mason University's Dewberry School of Music, Fairfax VA.
June 2, 2025Christopher Kardambikis never set out to create work that would sit behind glass or live in private collections. Instead, he found his voice and purpose through publishing zines, artist books, and prints—things people could hold, trade, collect, and care about without needing a trust fund.
June 2, 2025For Boris Willis, the future of games has always been bigger than pixels and code. Long before the rise of virtual production and interactive storytelling, Willis was blending technology, dance, and design into new forms of creative expression.
May 22, 2025Historical dramas may be nothing new to the theater, but an original opera based on a landmark Supreme Court Civil Rights case? Rick Davis knew this was something different. After learning that Virginia Opera was planning to stage their new opera, Loving v. Virgina—based on the historic Supreme Court case striking down a Virginia law that banned interracial marriage—Davis seized the unique opportunity for his students.
May 2, 2025Only five years after graduating from George Mason University, alumna Rhyan Elliott, Film and Video Studies ’20, was recently a production supervisor for the five-time Oscar-winning film Anora (2024), directed by Sean Baker.
May 2, 2025The evening raised $162,500 and featured a cocktail reception, dinner on Merchant Hall Stage, special tributes to Honorees Marion Wall and Dominion Energy, a lively after-party, and more.
