Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • SUMMER 2018 • PAN PIPES 15 FOR MORE INFORMATION visit www.marinainamerica.com through 2019. Marina's "Unity rough Diversity" concert blends patriotic themes with the rhythms and melodies of many cultures and religions represented in the United States. e concert has been described as a "Symphonic Powerhouse of Patriotism and Passion". West Point honored Marina by inviting her to address the entire Corps of Cadets from the "Poop Deck" (which overlooks the Mess Hall with 4,000 Cadets in session) where Generals MacArthur, Patton, and Eisenhower gave their famous speeches. At the time, she was the fourth woman to be given that honor aer Margaret atcher, Madeleine Albright, and Hillary Clinton. Following the West Point concert, Marina became a citizen of the United States. Marina, born and raised in Serbia, has a superstar reputation in her homeland as well as in Europe. She has focused on transforming different musical genres and styles by seamlessly blending diverse cultural and ethnic rhythms with traditional classical themes and techniques. Her music has been described as "unique to the ears yet familiar to the soul." She was only nine years old when she made her debut solo concert in Belgrade in front of an audience of 2000, performing compositions by Chopin, Beethoven, and Brahms. She studied with some of the world's great piano masters from Yugoslavia, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Germany, and Russia. She went on to win six international piano competitions in Italy, Yugoslavia, and Macedonia. She performed with every major orchestra in Eastern and Central Europe. She completed her formal music studies in piano and composition and received her Master's degree with honors from the University of Arts in Belgrade at the age of 21. Marina's recordings of "Mozart: Marina and the St. Petersburg Soloists" and "Chopin Piano Waltzes" became top- selling classical CDs in Central and Eastern Europe. e disintegration of Yugoslavia into conflict among its diverse ethnic groups greatly affected Marina's outlook on life and her music. She craved peace and unity in the face of ethnic extremism. As a result, she developed her hallmark "Unity In e Face of Diversity" and immediately applied her vision of unity and hope to her musical compositions, creating a new style of the ethno-classical genre. "Whenever I blend diverse cultural melodies with varied ethnic rhythms, regardless of their conflicted history," she said. "e music always reveals our common humanity." e public quickly recognized the upliing spirit in her music, and Marina's popularity soared with sold-out concerts throughout Eastern and Central Europe. She toured with her transparent plexi-glass grand piano, made for her by Herr Schimmel of the Schimmel PianoWorks in Germany. Her album, My Balkan Soul, became the best-selling classical crossover CD in 11 European countries. Marina's CDs have sold over one million copies worldwide. She was featured on 40 magazine covers and hundreds of television programs in Europe. She received the Yugoslav "Oscar" for most popular musical artist in 1996. e following year, she received the Yugoslav Media Award for Most Popular All Media Personality. Yugoslavia's most popular "TV Magazine" explained Marina's unique appeal: "God gave her the look of a model, the talent of an exquisite artist, and the flawless political skill of a chess master. She has an ability to communicate with diverse peoples and nations, which even great diplomats would envy." In America, critics have described Marina as a "James Bond" beauty with a powerhouse technique that delivers an emotional punch like a "Balkan thunderbolt," while her compositions have been described as "breathtakingly original" and "captivating the soul". Marina has performed to enthusiastic audiences and standing ovations at major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Center, the Toronto Center for the Arts, the Chicago Navy Pier Auditorium, and many others throughout the country. Laura Bush and Cherie Blair (wife of the British Prime Minister) along with 2000 other guests were dazzled when Marina played her original arrangement of "America, the Beautiful" at the annual First Lady's Luncheon in Washington D.C. in 2003. at same year, she was initiated as an Honorary Member of SAI by the Pontchartrain Alumnae Chapter. Marina is the 2011 recipient of the "Leaders of Conscience Award" by the Sacred Heart Academies in the United States, which recognized her courage and work in uniting diverse cultures amid the conflict, ethnic strife and violence that once embroiled the Balkans. Marina is also the recipient of the 2014 Tesla Science Foundation Future Icon Award following her performance of her original composition "Tesla's Journey" at the 2013 dedication of a Nikola Tesla statue at the century-old Tesla Wardenclyffe Laboratory in Long Island. e statue was donated by the Government of Serbia. She is also recipient of 2015 Tesla Spirit Music and Performance Award. Marina was selected as a recipient of the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2014. She was honored "for her outstanding achievements and humanitarian efforts in building bridges among diverse cultures and nations through her music". Marina was chosen to open the International Literary Peace Award in Dayton, Ohio, in 2015, which was also the 20th Anniversary of the historic Dayton Peace Accords which ended the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II. Marina in 2017, also opened the Commemoration Program at West Point honoring the 72nd Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. Marina is currently composing music for theatre, film and concert stage commemorating the life of her countryman, the renowned scientist Nikola Tesla. Her "Tesla Rhapsody" will debut in 2018-2019 with orchestras in the United States and Europe. Marina is also busy preparing her multicultural program "Unity rough Diversity" as a Symphony Pops concert series for local orchestras and the United States Army Field Band. She is also composing for a musical play on the life of Mileva Einstein, a gied mathematician and the wife of Albert Einstein, whose overlooked contributions are now believed to be integral to the creation of the eory of Relativity. 15 SAIS IN ACTION Vukica Mikaca Arsenijevic with her parents at the knighthood ceremony.

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