Potluck and Welcoming our new Patroness

On Sunday, September 25 we kicked off the new season of Sigma Alpha Iota, Washington, DC Alumnae with a potluck and we welcomed our newest member. The Gamma Epsilon collegiate chapter at the University of Maryland School of Music was kind enough to partner with us and host the ritual in the Orchestra Room and the potluck was held in the Clarice Courtyard.

We are so honored to welcome Latia Barret as a patroness of Signa Alpha Iota.

2019-2020

Greetings everyone! It is almost September, which means it is also almost time for a new year of SAI activities. Here are a few of the fun events we have planned for the beginning of the year:

Annual Potluck – Sunday, October 5, 2019

Winter Formal Meeting – Sunday, December 8, 2019

We also wanted to point everyone over to our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/saiofwdc

We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

National Convention 2018

(This was originally posted in the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter newsletter.)

Several of our chapter members attended the National Convention this summer in Scottsdale, AZ! Enjoy some photos and highlights from their trip below.

SAI Regional Officers at 2018 Dinner of Honors (Photo courtesy of Christin Vare)

Leah Hawkins (Kappa Xi Alum) and Deb Volker (Washington DC Chapter President) performing at National Convention. (Photo courtesy of Christin Vare)

National President Leslie Odom Miller performing an oboe trio arrangement. (Photo courtesy of Christin Vare)

Mary K. Traver performing at National Convention. (Photo courtesy of Christin Vare)

“Strolling SAI’s” featuring chapter member Angelica Brooks (Photo courtesy of Christin Vare)

Welcome to Nu Delta!!

Today Iota A Province had the honor of helping initiate and install the Nu Delta Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota at Towson University. This group has been working hard for three years to become a chapter. Enjoy this photo of our new sisters (taken lovingly from the Sigma Alpha Iota National Headquarters Facebook page) with National Vice President, Extension Beth Lopez; National Vice President, Ritual and Fraternity Education Tracey Wygal Withrow; Regional Officer Mary Jennings; and Province Officer Betty Barbe.

Meet the Composer: Bruce Trinkley

Bruce Trinkley with VP of Programming Jane Thessin, Mary K. Traver, and Chapter President Deborah R. Volker

At our Spring Formal Meeting the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter had the honor of listing to a presentation by composer Bruce Trinkley.

From the Penn State School of Music webpage:

Bruce Trinkley taught composition and orchestration and conducted the Penn State Glee Club from 1970 to 2006, and was music director for Penn State’s Centre Stage from 1970 until 1995. He received degrees in composition from Columbia University where he studied with Otto Luening, Jack Beeson and Charles Wuorinen.

Professor Trinkley’s music has been performed in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and China. He has composed incidental music, songs and choruses for theatre and dance productions and has written extensively for choral ensembles, including more than 200 arrangements of folk songs, spirituals and popular songs for various ensembles. In 1976 he collaborated on The Wagon Train Show, which played more than 2000 performances during the Bicentennial. Santa Rosalia, a cantata inspired by paintings of Fernando Botero, was filmed for PBS. Mountain Laurels, a choral symphony using texts by Pennsylvania poets, was written to celebrate the centenary of State College, Pennsylvania, in 1996. Cold Mountain, a piano trio, was commissioned by the Castalia Trio for their concert tour of China in May 1998. His opera Eve’s Odds won the National Opera Association’s 1999 Chamber Opera Competition. Cleo, a comic opera about the making of the movie epic Cleopatra, won the competition in 2001.

Recent works include The Last Voyage of Captain Meriwether Lewis, a cantata for men’s voices; One Life: The Rachel Carson Project, a multi-media work for women’s chorus, soloists, and instrumental ensemble; and York: the Voice of Freedom, a music drama about the life of the only African American on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His operas for young people include The Prairie Dog That Met the President and Chicken Little.

He has had composer residencies at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, the Hambidge Center, the Ucross Foundation, and the Patrick Allan-Fraser Trust in Scotland. His works are published by Alliance, Alfred Music, Oxford University Press, Augsburg Fortress, Lawson-Gould, GIA, Hinshaw, Hal Leonard and Yelton Rhodes.

During Bruce Trinkley’s presentation, he discussed how his compositions have influenced each other over the years focusing on four particular pieces: “Why am I thus bereft?” from The Bawd’s Opera, “Siciliana” from Santa Rosalia, a cantata for vocal quartet, woodwind quintet and harpsichord, based on the painting by Fernando Botero, “To Music, A Song” from Herricks Lyrics, and “Kyrie eleison and Agnus Dei” from Missa Santa Rosalia.

 Please enjoy this video of “Kyrie eleison and Agnus Dei” performed by the Lemberg Sinfonietta, conducted by Ferdinando Nazzaro.

 

Iota A Province Day 2018

Yesterday was Iota A Province Day hosted by Delta Nu (Howard University) and the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter. It was a day of sisterhood and education, and we all had a blast. We were lucky enough to have Dr. Leslie Odom Miller, National President of Sigma Alpha Iota as our special guest. Workshops included topics such as music around the world, SAI Philanthropies, and a panel discussion on women in music (with panelists Dr. Leslie Odom Miller, Dr. Karen Walwyn, and Ms. Leah Hawkins). The day concluded with a lovely musicale with performances from each chapter in Iota A Province.

Group Shot from Iota A Province Day

Delta Nu Chapter with National President Dr. Leslie Odom Miller

Washington DC Alumnae Chapter with National President Dr. Leslie Odom Miller

The beautiful SAI tree outside of the Fine Arts building at Howard University

Thank you again to Delta Nu for hosting us for a wonderful Province Day! We can’t wait for next year!

SAI Colony at Towson University

The Washington DC Alumnae Chapter would like to welcome the ladies of the SAI Colony at Towson University as Members in Training! Good luck and have tons of fun preparing for the National Exam!

SAI Colony at Towson University with representatives from the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter, Baltimore Alumnae Chapter, Iota A Province Officer Betty Barbe, and Regional Officer (Region 8) Mary Jennings. 

Musician Badge Day!

On November 18th, sisters Michelle Fegeas and Ariel Stephens met with a Girl Scout troop located in Vienna, VA to help them achieve their Musician Badge.

Michelle and Ariel taught the girls about Clara Shumann, Amy Beach, and Lori Laitman (an honorary SAI!). They then went over moving to the beats of different genres of music. The troop had the chance to interview Michelle about her job as a private music instructor. They finished out the day by breaking into groups and writing and performing their own short songs.

Thanks to Michelle for organizing this great event, and we look forward to providing more Musician Badge Days in the future!

December 2017 Affilation

We had a wonderful winter meeting and affiliation on December 3rd, filled with lots of laughs and tons of good food. It was wonderful to spend one last meeting together before the holiday season, and to welcome two new members to our chapter! We also enjoyed a wonderful skit performed by Chapter President Deborah Volker and VP of Ritual and Fraternity Education Carolyn Freel in which we learned the proper way to refer to National Headquarters (hint: it isn’t “Nationals” and when you try to call “Nationals” you will get a very helpful employee of the Washington Nationals baseball team!).

Our two new affiliates, Lindsay Covington and Kara Jones with VP of Membership Angelica Brooks.

Sigma Alpha Iota Mixer

This past Friday, October 6th, our chapter sponsored a mixer at Bar Louie in Washington, DC. We had a great time getting to know each other, and hope to hold more events in the near future. If you are a member of SAI in the Washington DC metro area, we would love to see you at our next get together! Contact our Vice-President of Membership Angelica Brooks for more information.

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