Sigma Alpha Iota

28 Spring 2022 • sai-national.org DR. JACKSON BORGES Dr. Jackson Borges was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Statesboro Alumnae Chapter in March. Dr. Borges holds Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees in Organ Performance from San Diego State University, Westminster Choir College, and the University of Alabama, respectively. He has been heard as an organ recitalist, silent movie accompanist, vocalist, choral director, musical theatre player, pianist, accompanist, composer, and educator in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, in cathedrals and concert venues across the United States and abroad, and at regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and the American Guild of Organists. Dr. Borges has twice been a featured artist at the Kimmel Center Organ Day in Philadelphia (one of which was featured on the radio program Pipedreams, hosted by Michael Barone) and has premiered new organ works and transcriptions by American composers Daniel Gawthrop, Carolyn Hamlin, Jason Klein-Mendoza, and Stephen Tharp. As a composer, his works represent a wide variety of genres, and his work for choir and organ titled The St. George Responses (for use at Episcopal evensong services) was premiered on the Feast of the Epiphany at St. George's Chapel, Harbeson, DE in 2015. In August 2021, he was appointed Organist & Minister of Music for Statesboro First United Methodist Church and Adjunct Professor of Music at Georgia Southern University. This fall, Dr. Borges will perform the complete major organ works of César Franck in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth. Prior to his appointment he was Organist & Director of Music for The Episcopal Parish of All Saints' Church & St. George's Chapel in Rehoboth Beach and Harbeson, DE and held positions with Morristown United Methodist Church, The Princeton Girl Choir, and The American Boychoir, all in New Jersey. Dr. Borges' orchestral debut was made in 2005 as organ soloist for Joseph Jongen's monumental Symphonie Concertante with the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony. He has also appeared in Europe as duet partner and vocalist with American concert organist Stephen Tharp. He is also the artistic director and administrator of the "Concerts by the Sea" and the annual "Summer Organ Recital" series, both of which present the finest musicians in the immediate area and abroad in programs ranging from Broadway to sacred, to instrumental and choral. He has won top scholarship and competition awards from the American Guild of Organists, the Spreckels Organ Society, and the Pacific Council of Organ Clubs. ROGER KALIA Roger Kalia was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Evansville Alumnae Chapter in March. A respected collaborator with orchestras and artists alike, and a compelling presence both on and off the podium, Indian-American conductor Roger Kalia is known for his eloquent and passionate interpretations and for bringing a "fresh view to classical music" (The Republic). Music Director of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony NH (Symphony New Hampshire), and Orchestra Santa Monica, he is also the Co-Founder and Music Director of the celebrated Lake George Music Festival in upstate New York, which celebrated its ten-year anniversary in August 2021 (postponed due to Covid-19 from August 2020). A native of New York State, Kalia holds degrees from Indiana University, the University of Houston, and SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. A versatile communicator, amongst the many orchestras that Roger Kalia has appeared with are the National Symphony Orchestra at Washington DC's Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Chicago Sinfonietta at Symphony Hall, the symphony orchestras of Lima, Long Beach, Spokane, and Wheeling, as well as the Boise Philharmonic, and Camarada Chamber Orchestra. Kalia has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including singers Shayna Steele and Steve Lippia, Electronic Dance Music (EDM) duo MAKO, singer/ songwriter Randy Newman, Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim, pianists Fei-Fei Dong and Misha Dichter, the B-52s, PROJECT Trio, the Brooklyn-based electronic Indie band Balún, actor Jack Black, and visual artist and astronomer Dr. José Francisco Salgado. Roger Kalia is a passionate advocate of contemporary music, and has commissioned and/or programmed numerous works by some of today's most exciting living American composers, including Paul Dooley, Reena Esmail, Brendan Faegre, T.J. Cole, Missy Mazzoli, Narong Prangcharoen, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Paul Chihara. Kalia has led the U.S. premieres of Michael Murray's Pilgrims and King David's Dance with musicians of Pacific Symphony and has commissioned and led several world and state premieres at Lake George Music Festival, which are frequently broadcast on NPR's "Performance Today." They include Chris Rogerson's Four Meditations for Orchestra, Sheridan Seyfried's Double Concerto Distinguished Members NATIONAL ARTS ASSOCIATE a man or woman who is nationally recognized for distinguished contribution to the arts

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