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Carol Boyd Leon - News & Reviews

May 2002 - New Alma Mater Evokes Patriot Pride

From Mason Gazette:

New Alma Mater Evokes Patriot Pride and Begins New Tradition
(By Fran Rensbarger)

Just before the Homecoming game against the Drexel Dragons in February, the a capella group Take Note! took the floor to sing "Patriots' Dreams," George Mason's new alma mater written by Carol Boyd Leon.

University Life and the University Traditions Committee sponsored a contest to create the new alma mater. Contributions were sought from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the community. Leon's submission won her the $500 prize. Adrian Durlester arranged the four-part choral version of the new alma mater performed by Take Note!

"The committee had a difficult time deciding between two finalists," says Alissa Karton, Johnson Center and University Life program manager and member of the Traditions committee. "Ultimately, the Traditions Committee chose 'Patriots' Dreams' because it was easy to sing and learn. The goal was that new freshmen would learn their alma mater at Orientation and be able to sing it throughout their time at Mason."

Leon learned of the alma mater contest from friend and Mason alumna Amy Hausman, M.A. '97, who heard the anthem Leon had written for her son's bar mitzvah.

"I was very much in a post-Sept. 11 patriotic mood and composed a melody that I felt could be an appropriate tribute to a university steeped in American history and ideals," says Leon. "I wanted to create a song that was as stirring as the American patriotic songs that give us all a special sense of pride in our nation." The song was designed so that anyone could sing it, not just professionals, she adds.

In addition to the song Leon wrote for her son, she has recorded a CD and songbook set of original compositions, Songs from the Heart: Family Shabbat. Leon also owns and teaches Music Fun, a secular music program in Burke, Va., that includes parent-and-tot classes and a children's summer music camp. Leon is song leader, music teacher, and youth choir director at Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, Va., and song leader at Congregation B'nai Tzedek in Potomac, Md., as well as a preschool music specialist at five local preschools, and director of the Community Youth Choir at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia.

"Having 'Patriots' Dreams' as our alma mater will allow all members of the Mason community to connect in a new way. It is a great song that allows us to show pride in our university," says Karton. "We have received positive feedback on the song. It seems that people have a hard time getting the tune out of their heads. We think that's a good thing."

Patriots' Dreams

To the green and gold
We will ever be true
Here and wherever we roam.
And we sing of a place
Where the young and the old
Give the patriots' dreams a home.

To our alma mater,
To George Mason,
Our University,
To the place where freedom
And learning stand proud,
Where the past and the future meet.

From Pohick Creek
And around the globe,
We sing in unity,
With our voices raised
And our spirit strong,
We go forth to reach our goals.

To the green and gold
We will ever be true
Here and wherever we roam
And we sing of a place
Where the young and the old
Give the patriots' dreams a home.
And we sing of a place
Where the young and the old
Give the patriots' dreams a home.

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