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911����’s (CVPA) celebrated the 21st annual benefit event on October 3, raising $400,000 to support student scholarships and Mason Arts programs. The event, headlined by actor and musician Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, brought the total raised through ARTS by George! to more than $5 million since the event began in 2006.  

Funds raised support of student scholarships in visual arts, dance, music, theater, game design, film, and arts management, as well as programs including the , , and the season at the Center for the Arts. 

“We take tremendous pride in 911���� serving as the cultural hub of our region,” 911���� President Gregory Washington said at the event. “When you come out here today and you support these artists, and you supported our students earlier today, you are not just supporting an individual going through a program. You are literally becoming a part of someone’s life. You have impacted them in a way that they will, quite frankly, never, ever forget.” 

Throughout the evening, more than 270 CVPA students and faculty presented a wide variety of performances and exhibits. Arriving guests were welcomed to the festivities by lively music from Green Machine’s Green & Gold Soul on Wilkins Plaza. The School of Theater offered a preview of their fall production of Urinetown, while students from the School of Music captivated audiences with jazz, piano, opera, and symphonic works. At the Virginia Serious Game Institute showcase, guests played games created by Computer Game Design students and watched virtual reality demonstrations, including a tour of a state-of-the-art nanofabrication lab. 

Just down the hall, the School of Art and Mason Exhibitions collaborated to create an interactive gallery space featuring prints, sketches, and handmade books, where student and alumni artists discussed their work. A screening room showing films from students in the Film and Video Studies Program drew guests who sat down, slipped on headphones, and quickly became absorbed in the stories unfolding in front of them. School of Dance students and faculty packed their studio with performances that included “Without,” a moving work choreographed by School of Dance Professor Shaun Boyle D’Arcy that explored the nature of grief. And alumni from the Arts Management program reconnected with friends and faculty alike, posing for photos throughout the event, and offering guests an opportunity to create miniature art for a Free Little Art Gallery.  

As the showcases wrapped up, guests gathered at the Center for the Arts, where this year’s distinguished alumni performer Adelina Mitchell sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a nod to her own involvement in the Wicked universe, as well as to “the Wizard” himself, Jeff Goldblum. She told guests that the support she received from 911���� played a key role in her success. “Having access to that scholarship was the sole reason I began working professionally as quickly as I did in 2019. That is exactly what scholarship support can do. It gives young artists a way in, and a way forward.” 

Following Mitchell’s performance, CVPA Dean Rick Davis led the annual Fund-A-Student appeal, which raised more than $83,000.

 
 

Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra took the Center for the Arts stage at 8:30 p.m., where—before opening with the rousing number “Grease Patrol”—Goldblum told the audience about his own lifelong passion both the arts, which, he said, “saved my life.” Over the following 90 minutes, Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra entertained the crowd as jazz vocalist Khailah Johnson occasionally joined in on songs that included “If I Only Had A Brain” and “Mean To Me.” In one of the night’s highlights, Goldblum invited three CVPA students, saxophonist Jeremy Fagen, vibraphonist Phillip Todd, and guitarist Silas Lewis, to perform with him and the orchestra during “The Kicker,” where each delivered solos that brought down the house.  

The �𱹱�Ծ��Բ�’s program concluded with an onstage champagne toast, during which Goldblum and Davis mingled with CVPA students and faculty as well as with ARTS by George! guests and supporters, including snapping selfies and sharing hugs. 

“There was a special feeling at this year’s ARTS by George!—you could sense it from the earliest student showcases,” said Davis. “With the record-breaking paddle raise for scholarships to Jeff Goldblum’s delightful performance and generous after-show remarks, a palpable excitement grew throughout the evening. We believe the arts create community, and this year’s event served as Exhibit A for that case.”