Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES Fall 2018 35 Philanthropies 2018 SAI awards awards awards E mma Gierszal is a 2018 graduate of Furman University with a B.M. in Music Education heading to Eastman School of Music in the fall to pursue an M.M. in Percussion Performance and Literature. While studying at Furman, Emma took every opportunity to perform. She was featured as a winner of Furman's biannual concerto competition in 2016 playing the first movement of Eric Ewazen's Concerto in C Major for Marimba and Orchestra and also performed Pius Cheung's Etude in D Major on Furman's 2017 Spring Honors Recital. During her summers, she attended Brevard Music Center for piano, participated in the John Psathas Percussion Project with funding from the Furman Advantage Research Grant, attended the Advanced Seminar for Musical Studies at Chosen Vale, and participated in an administrative internship with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra with funding from the Furman Advantage Internship Grant. The John Psathas Percussion Project was a particularly enriching experience and a turning point in Emma's musical pursuits because of the role she was able to play in editing and recording transcriptions of new music for percussion ensemble. While at Furman, Emma also served as the drum major of the Paladin Regiment, the president of Furman's chapter of NAfME, the president of the Furman Percussion Club, and the recording secretary of SAI Theta Lambda. PIANO/PERCUSSION, FIRST PLACE M a r y A n n S t a r r i n g M e m o r i a l A w a r d T R I E N N I A L G R A D U A T E P E R F O R M A N C E A W A R D S E M M A G I E R S Z A L T h e t a L a m b d a , F u r m a n U n i v e r s i t y , T a u E , R e g i o n V I N AT A L I E L E E B e t a , N o r t h w e s t e r n U n i v e r s i t y , G a m m a A , R e g i o n V N atalie Lee is a recent graduate of Northwestern University with a Bachelor's of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor's of Music in Violin Performance. She has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi, Almita Vamos and Dmitri Berlinsky. In 2014, Natalie was a National YoungArts Winner and performed in Los Angeles as part of the YoungArts Los Angeles Regional Program. She has also performed at Carnegie Hall as a first place winner of the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition. For the past two years, Natalie has been a co-concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestral She has participated in various music festivals including the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua Summer Music Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp, Michigan Youth Arts Festival and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. Natalie is currently spending the summer performing with Lincoln Center Stage on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean and will be starting her Master's degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in the fall. STRINGS, FIRST PLACE D o r o t h y E . M o r r i s M e m o r i a l A w a r d

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