Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Fall 2021 43 International Bulletin of Choral Music, numerous conducting resource guides in Teaching Music through Performance in Choir, Volumes 4 and 5, and articles in e Choral Conductor's Companion. Dr. Haygood's current focus within his research is the completion of a new resource that addresses the diversifying demands of the choral pedagogue in the 21st century. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music from the ornton School of Music at the University of Southern California with additional fields in Vocal Arts, Sacred Music, and Instrumental Conducting. He earned the Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Mississippi, the Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Arts in English with honors from Samford University, and completed international honors study in English and Music at the University of Cambridge. DR. JEFFREY LOEFFERT Dr. Jeffrey Loeffert was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Iota Alpha Chapter at Oklahoma State University in May. Dr. Loeffert serves as Professor and Director of the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University. Prior to his appointment as Director, Dr. Loeffert was an active Professor within the School of Music, establishing a strong saxophone studio and teaching courses in music theory. Dr. Loeffert is an accomplished educator, having received the Oklahoma State University College of Arts & Sciences Junior Faculty Award for Scholarly Excellence, the Wise-Diggs-Berry Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Friends of Music Distinguished Music Professor Award. Dr. Loeffert has also had a very accomplished career as a performer and chamber musician. He is a founding member of the renowned h2 Saxophone Quartet; the quartet has claimed prizes such as First Place at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, First Place at the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, and First Place at the Union Française des Artistes Musiciens Chamber Music Competition. Dr. Loeffert also appears on several commercially available discs and has performed in many prestigious venues across the world, such as the Avalon eatre in Easton, MD; the Canker Dom in Ljubljana, Slovenia; Clowes Hall in Indianapolis, IN; the Guarnerius Center for the Performing Arts in Belgrade, Serbia; the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland; the Sarajevo Music Academy in Sarajevo, Bosnia; the Times Center and Merkin Hall in New York City; and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Loeffert graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Music double major in Saxophone Performance and Jazz Studies. At Northwestern, Loeffert won the Program Honors Award for his graduating class. A Frank Huntington Beebe Scholar, Loeffert studied in Paris at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Cergy-Pontoise where he received the Médaille d'Or à l'Unanimité - Saxophone, and the Médaille d'Or à l'Unanimité - Musique de Chambre. Dr. Loeffert also studied at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Boulogne-Billancourt where he received the diploma Cycle d'Orientation Professionnel. Loeffert completed graduate studies at Michigan State University (MSU) as the recipient of a University Distinguished Fellowship. He received a Master of Music degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance as well as a Master of Music degree in Music eory Pedagogy. Dr. Loeffert is a Yamaha and Vandoren Performing Artist and plays exclusively on Yamaha saxophones and Vandoren reeds, mouthpieces, and ligatures. MICHAEL PECAK Michael Pecak was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Evanston Alumnae Chapter in April. Polish-American conductor and pianist Michael Pecak performs to great acclaim throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. As a conductor, Pecak collaborates with numerous American opera companies and festivals, including Chicago Opera eater, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Saratoga, Winter Opera St. Louis, Miami Music Festival, and Chicago Summer Opera. Based in his hometown of Chicago, he is on the music staff at the Northwestern University Opera eater. As Music Director of the Chicago Citywide Symphony Orchestra, Michael leads major symphonic works by Beethoven, Dvorak, Brahms, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and others. He has also collaborated with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and the Cameristi del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Italy. An ardent lover of opera and art-song, Mr. Pecak regularly works with singers as an accompanist and coach. He frequently collaborates with soprano Hannah De Priest. is fall, they will participate as one of ten invited duos in the Oxford Lieder Mastercourse. e duo was also named Rising Young Artists by Pegasus Early Music for their 2021/22 season. A heritage speaker of Polish, Mr. Pecak is an advocate for Polish art-song and opera. From November 2020 to January 2021, under the aegis of the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, he curated and led an intensive workshop devoted to Polish diction and performance traditions in art songs from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Michael Pecak earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University where he studied piano performance with Alan Chow and orchestra/opera conducting with Victor Yampolsky, Stephen Alltop, Mallory ompson, and Julian Dawson. A Fulbright Fellowship enabled him to spend a year at the F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland, where he explored the music of 20th and 21st- century Polish composers. Building on this experience, Michael was subsequently named an Artist-in-Residence at the Polish Studies Center of Indiana University (Bloomington) where he also earned his Masters Degree in piano performance, studying with the renowned American pianist André Watts. PAUL REISLER Paul Reisler was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Baltimore Alumnae Chapter in May. Paul Reisler is a composer, songwriter, Distinguished Members

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