Mason Bands and Choirs Concert: Picture This... (2027)

The Mason Symphonic Band, Choirs, and Wind Symphony join forces for “Picture This…,” an evening-length concert that celebrates the dialogue between visual art and music. The program takes audiences on a journey through imagined galleries, landscapes, and star-filled skies, with repertoire that spans cinematic and evocative choral works. The night’s culminating piece brings the Mason Choir and Wind Symphony together for Jake Runestad’s “Vincent’s Sky,” a richly expressive work that draws on Walt Whitman’s poetry and the life and vision of Vincent van Gogh. Rather than focusing on the artist’s suffering, the piece highlights Van Gogh’s capacity for wonder, his compassion, and his ability to find beauty in the commonplace, pairing his luminous paintings with Runestad’s radiant score. The concert as a whole reflects on perception itself, inviting listeners to see familiar things with renewed eyes and to recognize that beauty often lives in small, everyday moments.

The performance is interpreted in American Sign Language and is presented by the George Mason Dewberry School of Music. The digital program for the performance will be available during the week of the event.

When: Tuesday, April 20, 2027, at 7:30 p.m.
Venue: George Mason University Center for the Arts, Concert Hall, Fairfax Campus
Performers: Mason Symphonic Band, Mason Choirs, and Mason Wind Symphony
Featured work: Jake Runestad’s “Vincent’s Sky,” featuring the Mason Choir and Wind Symphony
Tickets: $20 adults, $15 seniors, $10 youth; prices include fees
Accessibility: ASL-interpreted performance
Program: Available digitally the week of the event
More information: Tickets can be purchased through the Center for the Arts website; individual performances go on sale August 4, 2026, and subscriptions for three or more performances save 15% on the 2026–27 season.