Rebecca Metheny Mason graduated from UMBC as a Linehan Artist Scholar under David LaVorgna, winning various awards and honors including the Alumni Outstanding Student in Music Scholarship and the Music Department’s Outstanding Student Award. She spent a semester in London her senior year to study with famed orchestral flutist, Susan Milan, then earned her Master of Music degree under Tim Day at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Dr. Mason has participated in various music festivals, including the Las Vegas Music Festival, and worked with Michael Parloff, Thomas Robertello, and Renee Siebert, among others in masterclasses. Rebecca received her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree under the world-renowned concert soloist, Carol Wincenc, at SUNY Stony Brook, where she also served as the undergraduate teaching assistant. While in NYC, Rebecca performed at the Kaufmann Center’s Merkin Concert Hall and The Juilliard School’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater, and she played several seasons as principal flute with the Richmond County Orchestra in Staten Island where she was the winner of their Young Musician’s Concerto Competition in 2007.

Dr. Mason has competed as a semi-finalist in the Frank Bowen Competition in New Mexico, won first-place in the San Diego Flute Guild Young Artist Competition while in CA, and has been a prize winner in the Mid-Atlantic Flute Convention’s Young Artist and Collegiate Competitions. She was selected to perform at the 2018 and 2023 Mid-Atlantic Flute Conventions, and as a member of DCFlutes, Rebecca performed as one of their featured soloists in 2018. She has played principal flute with the Monticello Chamber Orchestra in Alexandria and is part of the music ministry at Alexandria Presbyterian Church. An avid music instructor, Dr. Mason works with flute sections of several middle and high school bands throughout Northern VA, and as a woodwind instructor for the Adult Extension Program with the Levine School of Music. Her primary musical endeavor has been her “Benefit Recitals” Concert Series, spanning over a decade to raise thousands of dollars for non-profits that fight against human trafficking.

Appointed in 2015 as an Instructor of Oboe and Saxophone with Opus Community Music School (Opus), Principal Oboe with the Freedom Philharmonic, and Faculty Clinician with the Academy of St. Cecilia Youth Orchestra (ASCYO) in Damascus, Mark Runkles completed his Doctor of Musical Arts in Oboe Performance at UNLV. In 2013, Dr. Runkles published the culmination of his doctoral research, a critical edition of Gustave Vogt’s 4ème Solo de Concert, with TrevCo Music Publishing. Dr. Runkles became the Artistic Director at Opus in 2018. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in Oboe Performance and Master of Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Iowa and his Bachelor of Arts in Oboe Performance from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Dr. Runkles has been a featured oboe and saxophone soloist with the Clazzical Project, Carroll Concert Band, Carroll County Jazz Band, Carroll Singers, Freedom Philharmonic, ASCYO, and Liberty High School Symphonic and Jazz Bands. He formed the Twin Arch Duo, which plays a mixture of standards and his own contemporary jazz compositions, with guitarist Charlie Trapp in 2013. In 2008, Dr. Runkles performed a series of Jazz Vespers services in Scotland. He served as the Assistant Principal Oboe with the Chesapeake Orchestra from 1999–2004 and performed on 2nd Oboe with the Las Vegas Philharmonic from the winter of 2009 through 2012. Dr. Runkles is an oboe student of Stephen Caplan, Mark Weiger, and Vladimir Lande and a saxophone student of John Rapson and Don Stapleson. Follow Dr. Runkles on his blog, Dr. Mark’s Music Notes (https://drmarksmusicnotes.wordpress.com), and his YouTube channel.

Oboist Lydia Rose Consilvio’s fearless composure has been described as, "making the impossible seem easy." An avid chamber musician, she has appeared on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center with her ensembles, the Fischoff Competition, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Avaloch Farm Music Institute.

Lydia holds degrees from the Yale (MM) and Eastman (BM) Schools of Music and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland.

Lydia played on the Naxos recording of Hannah Lash’s Requiem. She performed the Albinoni double-oboe concerto alongside Roger Cole of the Vancouver Symphony at the Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy in British Columbia. Lydia has also played with the Annapolis (MD) Symphony and Rochester (NY) Chamber Orchestras.

Lydia’s positive attitude and creative outlook make her an unconventional musician and an easygoing collaborator in both large and small ensembles, and across musical genres. Her instructing style is equally spirited, open-minded, and accessible.

Adjunct Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Ensemble at Northern Virginia Community College Loudoun Campus (2019-present)

Saxophonist, Maryland Army National Guard Band (2014-present)

Saxophonist, The Marine Corps Band in Quantico (2004-2007)

Doctor of Musical Arts, Candidate at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (2016-present)

Performed at the Mansion at Strathmore, Johns Hopkins University’s Shriver Hall, the Peabody Institute, Seoul Arts Center, Lotte Hall in South Korea, 2007 Super Bowl XLI, Cherry Blossom Parade and Governor’s Inauguration.