Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • SUMMER 2018 • sai-national.org 10 I t was announced at the RPS Music Awards on May 9 that American soprano Jessye Norman, in the year she celebrates 50 years since her professional debut, has been awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal – one of classical music's highest honors. Jessye Norman becomes the 105th recipient since the medal was founded in 1870 in celebration of the centenary of the birth of Beethoven (London's Philharmonic Society commissioned Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and enjoyed a close association with the composer). e medal has a special resonance, given by musicians as a mark of admiration and esteem to a fellow musician of exceptional artistry and profound musical understanding. Jessye Norman joins an outstanding international list of current and previous recipients – an extraordinary roll call of some of the world's most influential musicians, from across three centuries. Current Gold Medallists include singers Dame Janet Baker, Placido Domingo, omas Quasthoff, and Sir John Tomlinson. She is a collegiate initiate of the Delta Nu Chapter at Howard University and was then honored as a Member Laureate by the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter. She is also a recipient of the SAI Graduate Performance Award. e Jessye Norman School for the Arts in her hometown of Augusta, GA, is a tuition-free arts education program for talented middle-school students otherwise unable to experience private arts tutoring. e school, now celebrating ten years of joy in the arts, is Miss Norman's response to the understanding that given the opportunity to explore the arts, students perform better in their other studies and become more involved citizens. Her work with not-for-profit organizations, including the New York Public Library, e Dance eatre of Harlem, Howard University, Carnegie Hall, e Partnership for the Homeless along with a graduate fellowship and Master Class series in her name at the University of Norman Awarded Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal Carol Friedman The Royal Philharmonic Society presented its Gold Medal to SAI Member Laureate Jessye Norman in May.

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