Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Spring 2022 29 for Two Violins and Orchestra, and the New York premiere of Paul Dooley's Northern Nights. In 2011, Kalia and two of his colleagues co- founded the Lake George Music Festival, a two- week nationally recognized music festival that presents cutting-edge artists and composers performing classical and new music, traditional and experimental concerts and recitals of various sizes, open rehearsals, informational talks, and a variety of community outreach programs. As Music Director, Kalia programs and conducts all orchestral and large ensemble concerts, including the popular "Sounds of Our Time," series highlighting connections between popular and orchestral music though multimedia concert formats, as well as the festival's Family Concert Series. He also leads the "Uncorked" concert series, creating an immersive experience for the audience by performing chamber operas in unique settings. A staunch supporter of music education, Kalia's tenure as Music Director of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (2015-2020) was highly praised and included numerous commissioned works and a three-city tour of China in June 2016, marking the orchestra's second international tour and its first to Asia. Kalia has conducted numerous youth and collegiate orchestras, and he has collaborated on the education platform with such renowned artists and ensembles as Cirque de la Symphony, Orange County's Festival Ballet Theater, speed painter Dan Dunn, and the Magic Circle Mime Co. Furthermore, Kalia has also served as an instructor of conducting at USC's Thornton School of Music. Among his honors and awards are five Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Awards, a 2019 Solti Foundation Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency with Lyric Opera of Chicago (where he assisted Sir Andrew Davis for Rossini's The Barber of Seville), a Project Inclusion Conducting Freeman Fellowship with Chicago Sinfonietta, and an American Academy of Conducting Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival with Robert Spano. Recently, Kalia was recognized in the League of American Orchestras' Symphony Magazine as one of five first-year music directors for his innovative work during the pandemic. DR. KATHERINE M. LEO The Decatur Alumnae Chapter initiated Dr. Katherine M. Leo as a National Arts Associate in March. Dr. Leo is Assistant Professor of Music at Millikin University, where she teaches music history and ethnomusicology and serves as the chair of academic music studies and coordinator of musicology. In addition, she is faculty advisor for the Nu Chapter of SAI, research advisor for the James Millikin Scholar (JMS) honors program, the University International Cultures and Structures Coordinator, and a member of the International Programs and Policy Committee. She received her Ph.D. in Musicology in 2016 at The Ohio State University and a J.D. in 2015 from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. She was recipient of the 2021 JMS Educator of the Year award. As a contributor to Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, she is a cellist, writer, and speaker. As a specialist in early-twentieth- century US commercial musics, Dr. Leo has written about the piano roll industry, Duke Ellington, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, and Paul Whiteman. Dr. Leo's research interest is music copyright. Her book, Forensic Musicology and the Blurred Lines of Federal Copyright History, was praised for being "meticulously researched, and sparely and clearly written." She contributed a chapter on Forensic Musicology to Oxford Handbook of Public Music Theory (Oxford University Press, 2022). Dr. Leo has presented at national meetings of the American Musicological Society, College Music Society, Society of American Music, and Society for Music Theory, as well as international jazz conferences in Austria, England, and Germany. She has signed amicus curiae briefs in multiple high-profile federal music copyright lawsuits and serves as a contributor to the acclaimed Music Copyright Infringement Resource (MCIR) blog. DR. DIANA LOOMER Dr. Diana Loomer was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Epsilon Theta Chapter at Appalachian State University in March. Dr. Loomer is an active percussionist and music educator, currently teaching and performing in the Asheville, NC area. In addition to her private lesson studio, she is the Director of the Steely Pan Steel Band at Appalachian State University (ASU) and a percussion instructor at ASU, Western Carolina University, and Livingstone College. Dr. Loomer has a D.M.A. in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, a M.M. from Indiana University, and a B.M. from Appalachian State University in Percussion Performance. She was the timpanist for the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps from 2010-12 She has developed a passion for "melodic timpani" playing, and is currently working to expand both the potential of the instrument, as well as the repertoire for this new field. She has been teaching front ensembles, including for the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps in 2016, and the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps in 2017. Dr. Loomer has performing experience in many different areas of percussion from all Distinguished Members

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