Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES Summer 2019 13 ADVOCACY artists and 12% of country music songwriters are women. In 2016, the New York Post ran an opinion article of a male theatre critic who felt Broadway's Waitress – led by an all-female production team – was waging a feminist war in musical theatre, and lambasted the creators for its emphasis on domestic violence. He closed his article with, "Let's leave domestic violence to Tennessee Williams and David Mamet." It's worth noting that nearly 85% of all intimate partner violence victims are women, so the suggestion that the topic of domestic violence be le to male playwrights is insensitive and ill-informed. In Fall 2017, Elise Allen – a member of the Denton Alumnae Chapter, a music teacher in Jacksboro Independent School District (ISD), and a graduate student at the University of North Texas (UNT) – led a presentation of her research on women in music teaching and conducting. is was a requirement as part of the generous Professional Development Grant she received from SAI Philanthropies, Inc. Her research identified the immense lack of representation women have in music education professions, particularly in instrumental teaching and conducting, and gave a call to action on what can be done to address this issue. Elise graciously repeated her presentation for the 2018 Kappa B Province Day. Needless to say, Elise's research resonated loudly among a large gathering of female musicians. By Spring 2018, Denton's Tri-Chapter coalition of SAI chapters – Denton Alumnae, Iota eta at UNT, and Iota Omega at Texas Woman's University (TWU) – were committed to raising awareness of this issue in our community. Our chapters collaborated on a vision: to commission a work by a female composer and to have that work premiered by an all-female ensemble under the baton of a female conductor. TWU's Department of Music was eager to support the effort; the university offered performance space and other services relevant to this initiative, and the Iota Omega chapter received a generous grant from SAI Philanthropies, Inc. to make our collective vision a reality. With this grant, we were able to commission a piece written by Dr. Kirsten Broberg, Assistant Professor of Composition at UNT. Dr. Broberg also gave a presentation on her piece at the 2019 Denton Alumnae Chapter member Elise Allen. At right, flutist Paula Hartsough opens the musicale with " To Greet the Sun" by Katherine Hoover.

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