Sigma Alpha Iota

Fall 2019 8 PAN PIPES GRACE NOTE A merican soprano Jessye Norman has died at the age of 74. An initiate of the Delta Nu Chapter at Howard University, she was later honored as a Member Laureate by the Washington, DC Alumnae Chapter; she was also a recipient of the SAI Graduate Performance Award. A five-time Grammy Award winner, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Norman received forty-five honorary doctorate degrees, was a Kennedy Center Honoree, and held the National Medal of the Arts. "We are so proud of Jessye's musical achievements and the inspiration that she provided to audiences around the world that will continue to be a source of joy," a statement from her family reads. "We are equally proud of her humanitarian endeavors addressing matters such as hunger, homelessness, youth development, and arts and culture education." Jessye Norman was born on September 15, 1945 in Augusta, GA to Janie King Norman and Silas Norman. Following her participation in Philadelphia's Marian Anderson Vocal Competition in 1960, Norman received a full- tuition scholarship to attend Howard University, where she completed her B.M. degree in 1967. She earned her M.M. degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1968. She made her mark across Europe, resulting in triumphs at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Elisabeth in Tannhauser in 1969, in L'Africaine and Le nozze di Figaro at the Berlin Festival, and in Verdi's Aida at La Scala in 1972. Norman continued to perform internationally as a soloist and recitalist, earning worldwide acclaim. She returned to the stage, performing in Oedipus rex and Dido and Aeneas with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in 1982. e following year, Norman performed at the Metropolitan Opera for its 100th anniversary season. Following a 1987 performance with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Norman was featured in Erwartung, the Metropolitan Opera's first single-character production, and Bluebeard's Castle in 1989. In 1990, she performed in Tchaikovsky: 150th Birthday Gala from Leningrad along with Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman. In 2003, she started the Jessye Norman School for the Arts in her hometown of Augusta, GA. It is a tuition-free arts education program for talented middle-school students otherwise unable to experience private arts tutoring. e school was 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 Michigan, spoke to her concern for the larger community and the citizenship she credited her parents for demonstrating through their own community service. She was also an artist with a social conscience, believing that "if you're participating in life and politics, it makes you a fuller person and a fuller artist." She spoke out publicly to deplore casual racism and to defend civil rights. In 2009 she directed a major festival for New York's Carnegie Hall saluting African-American culture. With seventy-five recordings to her credit, in 2010, Norman released Roots: My Life, My Song. In 2014, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published her memoir, Stand Up Straight and Sing! A full article about Jessye Norman's life and accomplishments will be shared in the Winter 2020 issue of PAN PIPES. SAI Board Member Jean Whipple Tyndall Conwell presents a Foundation Scholarship to Delta Nu initiate Jessye Norman at the 1968 National Convention. Norman Passes SAI Member Laureate Jessye Norman JAMES E ALEXANDER PHOTO

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