Sigma Alpha Iota

4 Winter 2022 • sai-national.org Convention Performers: the Welcome Luncheon The featured performance group for the Welcome Luncheon at the 2022 SAI Convention on Friday, July 29th will be the UMKC Community Accordion Ensemble from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory of Music under the direction of Joan Cochran Sommers*. e group includes accordionists who have studied with Joan Sommers and have earned music degrees at UMKC. Several of them have traveled with her larger UMKC Accordion Orchestras on concert tours in Scandinavia, Europe, and Russia, as well as with smaller groups such as the Accordionaires on USO Tours to many other countries in the Pacific Command, Germany, and Northeast Command of Greenland and Newfoundland. is group is honored to perform during the Sigma Alpha Iota National Convention, particularly since Professor Sommers served as the SAI Faculty Advisor during several different years at UMKC. ey perform many different types of repertoire, including music originally composed for them and for this appearance. Members of the group are: Betty Jo Simon*, Jane Christison*, Kevin Friedrich, Ron Barrow, Samantha Wagner, Christine Nichols*, Ron Dake, Cathy Sue Weiss*, Mary Ann Covone*, and Joanna Darrow. Joan C. Sommers is Professor Emeritus of the Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri-Kansas City. She initiated the Accordion Major program in 1961 beginning with the BM, BA, and BME. Later the MM and the DMA were added. She conceived and taught all of the accordion courses directly related to those degrees. Her accordion students have won acclaim in both national and international solo competitions. Upon her retirement in 2000, she remained to teach another two years since there were students completing their requirements. Since then, she has kept the UMKC Accordion Orchestra (winners of more First Place Awards in competitions than any other similar virtuoso group) or the smaller UMKC Accordion Chamber Ensemble active as performers at many accordion festivals. Groups under her direction have had concert tours in many different countries. During the last twelve years at the Conservatory of Music, Joan also served as Assistant Dean. In 2007 she established the World Accordion Orchestra under the auspices of the Confédération Internationale des Accordéonistes, the world accordion organization which sponsors the Coupe Mondiale competitions. ere have been as many as 153 members in this group which has members from all over the world and has performed in the USA, Scotland, New Zealand, Croatia, China (twice), Italy (twice), Canada, Austria, and Lithuania. Professor Sommers is a recipient of many awards from both national and international groups as well as the Sigma Alpha Iota Sword of Honor. She continues to adjudicate, arrange music for, and conduct accordion orchestras at many accordion events all over the world. (* Indicates SAI Member) The University of Missouri-Kansas City Community Accordion Ensemble The University of Missouri-Kansas City Community Accordion Ensemble 2022 Natial Cvention Register now for the 2022 SAI National Convention! Register now for the 2022 SAI National Convention! https://www.sai-national.org/resources/2022-convention.html https://www.sai-national.org/resources/2022-convention.html

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