Sigma Alpha Iota

60 Fall 2023 • sai-national.org Moines Youth Wind Ensemble. Meunier and the Drake University Wind Symphony have released ten professional recordings through Mark Custom Recording, many of which have received Grammy Nomination eligibility status in the Best Classical Music category and have received excellent reviews in Bandworld. ey have performed for the College Band Directors National Association North Central Division Conference (2000, 2008, 2012), the Iowa Bandmasters Association Conference (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2019), the North American Saxophone Alliance, and have toured extensively throughout the Midwest. Recordings by the Drake Wind Symphony are featured regularly on public radio stations throughout the United States. A member of the percussion section of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra for over thirty years, Meunier has experiences in orchestral, jazz, show, solo performance, and recording. He includes Don Rickles, Robert Goulet, the Smothers Brothers, Red Skelton, Roger Williams, the Temptations, and many others among his numerous professional performance credits. Meunier is a past-president of the Iowa Bandmasters Association, the South Central Iowa Bandmasters Association, and the Iowa Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. He is a member of the American Bandmasters Association (elected 2014), the College Band Directors National Association, Iowa Bandmasters Association, Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society, and an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He holds a Bachelor of Science in music education from the University of Mary, a Master of Music in percussion performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has pursued doctoral studies in wind conducting at the University of North Texas where he was a student of Eugene Migliaro Corporon and Dennis Fisher. Meunier has been honored by Drake as a recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher of the Year, and as a nominee for the university's Outstanding Teacher of the Year. He is the recipient of the 2019 Iowa Bandmasters Association Karl King-Active Distinguished Service Award. JOHN MORRIS RUSSELL John Morris Russell was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Cincinnati Alumnae Chapter in July. As the Pops Conductor for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, JMR (as he is affectionately known) is an ambassador for American music, diverse programming, and community building. He has invigorated Cincinnati through his work as a conductor, educator, collaborator, preserver of history, and citizen of the community. He has brought international attention to Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Pops through critically-acclaimed domestic and international tours, including Florida in December 2014 and China and Taiwan in March 2017, and the World Choir Games in 2012, which united people and nations together in song. JMR brings pride to Cincinnati through his work on the American Originals Project with the Cincinnati Pops, garnering both critical and popular acclaim in two landmark recordings: American Originals, as well as American Originals: 1918, which received a Grammy® nomination for "Best Classical Compendium." In partnership with CET Public Television, he created the American Soundscapes video series, which featured some of the greatest works in the Great American Songbook, surpassing one million views on YouTube since its inception in 2016. Not only does Russell lead the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, he is also the Music Director of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Pops Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, following in the footsteps of the great Marvin Hamlisch and Doc Severinsen. He has cultivated and performed with some of the world's greatest singers and musicians, including Emmanuel Ax, Rhiannon Giddens, Leslie Odom, Jr, Megan Hilty, Michael McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and many, many more. Over 20 years ago, John Morris Russell was instrumental in the development of Classical Roots, a beloved annual Cincinnati tradition honoring the African American musical experience, which has nurtured long-lasting connections with community members from across the Greater Cincinnati region. No matter where he is, Russell also devotes his time and expertise to coach area teachers and students as well as conduct the annual Side-by-Side performance with the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, providing artistic, educational, and professional guidance to generations of musicians. JOSHUA THOMPSON Joshua ompson was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Indianapolis Alumnae Chapter in April. Joshua ompson is a pianist, social musicologist, teaching artist, lecturer, and producer recognized on a national scale for his expertise on classical composers of African descent. ompson graduated with a B.A. degree in Sociology from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He is a recipient of multiple awards and citations, including the North Central Alumni Hall of Fame and being named the 2020 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr., Emerging Artist Fellow. Joshua successfully completed a residency at the Africana Studies Center for Music and Society at the Berklee School of Music in Boston with Dr. Bill Banfield, has completed a performing and teaching residency at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, and was recently appointed Creative Partner in Residence with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. As creator of the 2020 Best Music Podcast from the Black Podcasting Awards, his award- winning podcast series, "Melanated Moments in Classical Music," has been featured in the Miami Times and the British publication, Alternative Distinguished Members

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