Sigma Alpha Iota

Fall 2019 45 PAN PIPES 2019 SAI Annual Awards Philanthropies W ith the generous support of an SAI Professional Development Grant, I was able to travel to Portugal this past June where I guest conducted the University of Aveiro Orchestra, as well as served as an artist in residence and mentored their graduate conducting students. e University of Aveiro Orchestra is comprised of undergraduate and graduate music students from Portugal, Brazil, Spain, among other countries. As the guest conductor and faculty mentor, I lead daily rehearsals with the orchestra, taught daily conducting masterclasses with the graduate conducting students, and observed the conductors in rehearsals and presented individual lessons with each student. e most rewarding part of the project was collaborating with students of a different culture on both a musical and personal level. e daily rehearsals with the orchestra allowed me to expand my musical repertoire, quicken my rehearsal pace, strengthen my communication skills, and provided me with a new sense of confidence. roughout the experience I was also able to explore and hone my teaching methods and mentoring style. Guest conducting an orchestra in a different country is a unique experience that took me out of my comfort zone, made to think more globally, and allowed my confidence to bloom. Working with musicians of a different culture who speak a different language, I improved my language skills, rehearsal techniques, conducting gestures, and built a positive relationship with the musicians. Overall, I gained new insight, respect, and admiration for musicians and orchestras on a global level. In addition to the daily rehearsals with the orchestra, I lead daily conducting masterclasses and coaching sessions with the University graduate conducting students. I provided sessions on score study, analysis and interpretation, conducting gestures, rehearsal technique, and tips and suggestions for the professional field. Guiding and mentoring conducting students challenged me to think in a new manner, yet allowed me to reflect on own pedagogical philosophy and teaching style. It allowed me to explore my conducting technique outside of my traditional gestures and enabled me to push myself to be the best role model I could be for the students. In addition, the conducting sessions I lead also allowed me to reflect on, feel, and express the music in a new and different way. I plan to incorporate some new conducting gestures that I discovered during the journey into my own conducting with my orchestra. Traveling and guest conducting in a new country encouraged me to focus on my artistic and musical creativity and growth, as well as strengthen my language and communication skills. During my visit to Portugal, I was able to pick up on some of the language and experience the delicious cuisine, rich culture, and history. I interacted daily with the locals in the community, the professors and the students on campus, and I learned words and phrases in Portuguese in order to communicate better with the musicians. I explored several cities like Aveiro, Coimbra, and Lisbon and visited historical places, fortresses, and beautiful churches. Overall, it was a total cultural and musical immersion experience that I will forever cherish. I plan to share my experiences from Portugal and Spain with my colleagues and students. Hopefully by sharing my professional development experiences, I can help inspire others to seek professional development opportunities and work on collaborative projects with others from across the globe. In addition, I plan to apply certain pedagogical and conducting techniques I gained during the experience to my own conducting gestures. e communication and rehearsal technique skills I acquired in Portugal will be applied to my own teaching and mentoring style. In conclusion, my visit to Portugal was an inspirational musical, educational, professional, and creative journey that will enhance my teaching, conducting, and communication skills. I am truly grateful for this experience and opportunity, which was made possible without the aid of the generous SAI Professional Development Grant. Dr. Kira Omelchenko, an initiate of Psi Chapter, holds the Sword of Honor and was the 2011 recipient of the Philanthropies Conducting Scholarship. She is an Associate Professor of Music and the Director of the Symphony Orchestra at Wilid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario (Canada). In addition to conducting in Portugal, she has conducted and taught masterclasses in Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, and Russia. Guest Conducting in Portugal The University of Aveiro Orchestra in Portugal. Dr. Kira Omelchenko

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