Sigma Alpha Iota

FALL 2020 38 PAN PIPES SIGMA ALPHA IOTA ANNUAL AWARDS 2 0 2 0 T hanks to an SAI Professional Development/Education Grant, for the first time in over forty years I went back "home" to Interlochen. I found an opportunity to study voice, my secondary instrument (my primary is flute), at the Interlochen Center for the Art's College of Adult Studies in the summer of 2019. When I let my friends know through Facebook that I was going to Interlochen they all replied, "You're going home!" since they know how special Interlochen is to me. I spent four summers (1974-1977) in All- State and High School Girls, wearing those blue corduroy knickers while I studied flute and graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in 1978. When I arrived on campus and walked through the Scholarshop, past the Melody Freeze and down the concourse, I felt like I had one foot in the past and one in the present. Although much of the Interlochen campus had changed with the addition and improvement of many buildings, the atmosphere of the quiet woods and the sounds of music coming from them was the same. We attended Opening Night in Kresge Auditorium where I was able to sing Sound the Call! My dear friend Linda and I checked into our cabin in the staff and family area and waited for the music-making to begin. Our week started with a 2-day Vocal Pedagogy class of nine students, where we worked on breath control, diction, and phonetics, and spent time on a yoga mat which gave us the total-body aspect of singing. We were able to have an individual voice lesson within the group class, which helped me to more fully implement the skills I had learned. Monday evening, we began our intense Choral class with ninety singers led by Dr. Jerry Blackstone. Our days began with sectionals for an hour, choir rehearsal and lunch, afternoon choir rehearsal from 1-4, and a continuing education option with various musicians. Jerry Blackstone runs his choral rehearsals with high energy, discipline, and physical movement, with no distractions. When a starting pitch is given, no one may hum their pitch out loud: singers must internalize the sound. The importance of diction was emphasized in every rehearsal. The audience must be able to understand the language and the story, and the singer must not let their ego get in the way of the performance. Once we were familiar with a piece, we spent time singing in a circle, which enabled us to hear all the parts clearer, and helped us with balance and tone quality. Our choral repertoire was varied and included texts in English, Latvian, and Russian; performed a cappella, or accompanied by piano. Our most ethereal piece was entitled Northern Lights, a Latvian folk song arranged by Eriks Esenvalds, accompanied by hand chimes and tuned water glasses. If the Northern Lights had a sound, this is what Esenvalds envisioned they would sound like. We also performed Home, by a woman composer from the University of Michigan, Kristian Kuster. She composed and dedicated it to her father after being by his side through his illness and death. Not one rehearsal went by where someone did not break down crying at the intense emotion this piece inspired, based on many members' connection with a similar experience. The choir consisted of a wide variety of musicians, from the community choir singer who is used to a more relaxed atmosphere to top-quality musicians with doctorates and much discipline. In the past seven years, the program has gone from thirty students to a cap Back Home to Interlochen Cathy Feldman-Duncan at Interlochen in 1978 ... and in 2019.

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