Sigma Alpha Iota

30 Spring 2022 • sai-national.org Distinguished Members over the world, with performances with the Western Piedmont Symphony, Johnson City Symphony, Austin Symphony, and Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to her orchestral background, she also has an extensive background in world percussion, including steel pan, tabla, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and West African percussion. She is a current member of Zabumba Asheville Samba, and she regularly teaches and performs with her steel pan duo, Blue Iron Percussion. WILLIAM SAUERLAND William Sauerland was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Zeta Psi Chapter at Purdue University Fort Wayne in January. Mr. Sauerland is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Purdue University – Fort Wayne, conducting the University Singers, Chamber Singers, and Choral Union, teaching classes in music education, and supervising student teachers. He was previously a Lecturer in Voice at San Francisco State University, and the Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Chabot College in Hayward, CA, where he received an Educator of Excellence Award from the Chabot Black Scholars. Dr. Sauerland has presented at regional, national, and international conferences for the American Choral Directors Association (2015), Chorus America (2017, 2019), Society for Music Teacher Education (2017), College Music Society (2018), and Royal Musical Association (2019). Dr. Sauerland's research interests include social justice pedagogy in vocal music education, trans and non-binary vocality, and student-centered teaching. His publications appear in the Journal of Singing, Journal of Music Teacher Education, VOICEPrints (Journal of the New York Singing Teachers' Association), and in the forthcoming choral textbook, The Art of the Choral Music Educator from Pavane Publishing. Dr. Sauerland received a Doctorate of Education in College Teaching (Ed.D.C.T.) of Music and Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. His doctoral dissertation examined the experiences of trans and gender non-binary singers and their teachers in the applied voice studio. As a Marshall Scholarship recipient, he earned a Master of Music and Post-Graduate Diploma in Advanced Vocal Performance from the Royal College of Music in London. Born in Indiana and raised on a small dairy farm in Ohio, he received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Vocal Performance from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. JAKE SHIMABUKURO Jake Shimabukuro was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Washington DC Alumnae Chapter in February. Over the past two decades, performer and composer Jake Shimabukuro has proved that there isn't a style of music that he can't play. While versatility for any musician is impressive, what's remarkable about Shimabukuro's transcendent skills is how he explores his seemingly limitless vocabulary – whether it's jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass, folk, or even classical – on perhaps the unlikeliest of instruments: the 'ukulele. Responding to the urgent calls of his fervent imagination, the Hawai'i-born virtuoso has taken the 'ukulele to points previously thought impossible, and in the process he has reinvented the applications for this tiny, heretofore under appreciated four-string instrument, causing many to call him "the Jimi Hendrix of the 'ukulele." Humbly, the good-natured musician, who first picked up the 'ukulele at the age of four, says, "From the time I started playing, I was just doing what came naturally and what felt like fun. I love all types of music, so I never thought, 'Oh, I can't play that on the 'ukulele.'" He laughs and adds, "If you don't know the rules, you don't need to follow them, and then nothing can hold you back." Shimabukuro's incredible journey has taken him from local phenom to YouTube sensation, from playing tiny clubs to headlining the world's most prestigious concert venues, such as the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, and the Sydney Opera House. He has performed on the biggest TV shows and released a string of award-winning, chart-topping albums. Just recently, he was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a Member for the National Council on the Arts. His latest album, Jake and Friends, is a work full collaboration with big-name guest artists, including Willie Nelson, Bette Midler, Jimmy Buffett, Vince Gill and Amy Grant, Ziggy Marley, Moon Taxi, and Jesse Colin Young, among others. Shimabukuro has written numerous original compositions, including the entire soundtracks to two Japanese films, Hula Girls (2007) and Saidoweizu (2009), the Japanese remake of Sideways. An award-winning documentary was released in 2012 about his life, career, and music: Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings. DR. KATHERINE STRAND Dr. Katherine Strand was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Epsilon Theta Chapter at Appalachian State University in March. Dr. Strand is the Dottie Sink Sykes Distinguished Endowed Professor of Music

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