Sigma Alpha Iota

20 Fall 2025 • sai-national.org Music Histy By Rebekah Strain It was the summer of 2012. We were halfway through our trip across Europe. Seven countries over sixteen days, with concert band, choir, and orchestra performances every other day. The Kentucky Ambassadors of Music was my dream ever since middle school, and as I was taking a morning hike in the Swiss Alps, my heart swelled with pride at the reality I had created for myself. The higher we climbed, the steeper our path became. My steps became lunges, and the mountain air was so thin it made my head spin. I played drill sergeant as we slogged through the endless gray. "Come on, let's hustle! No pain, no gain!" It may have been too early for my jokes, but I didn't want anyone to see how much I was struggling. Yet I kept pushing forward; if Dr. Speck's stories from his previous trips were anything to go by, the view had to be worth it. So I kept moving. One step, then another, and another, until we emerged from the clouds and faced the dawn. If the exertion it took to make our way up there hadn't stolen my breath, the view certainly would have. All around us, stony snow-topped peaks pierced the heavens. Patches of green peeked through the white, as if reminding us that, yes, there is life here. A crystal blue lake below seemed as little more than a puddle. I watched in awe as white clouds swirled above it. "Hey, look! Edelweiss!" one of the students shouted as they pointed to a small group of flowers. I moved carefully toward them, like I was treading on holy ground. Crouching down on my knees, I took a closer look. White pointed petals sprouted from a center of yellow bulbs. In that moment, a particular song came to mind. "Edelweiss, edelweiss…" The Sound of Music was a key part of my childhood, and I guarantee the childhood of many readers of PAN PIPES. How many of us learned solfege from "Do Re Mi," swayed to the rhythm of "My Favorite Things," and swooned over Captain Von Trapp as he tore down a Nazi flag and ripped it with his bare hands? 2025 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the premiere of this film, and the cultural impact of its story, characters, and music deserves to be recognized. Our story begins in Austria. Maria Kutschera was born on a moving train in 1905. She grew up on the outskirts of Vienna, raised by her cousin after her mother passed. After attending grade school, high school, and spending a few years at the State Teachers' College, her life drastically changed after meeting Father Kronseder, the priest of her college's Catholic church. Maria then decided to join Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg. In 1926, Maria was tasked with becoming a tutor for the youngest daughter of the Von Trapp family, also named Maria, who was recovering from scarlet fever. In total, there were ten children, under the warm, watchful eye of Georg von Trapp, a retired naval captain. As time passed, Maria and the children grew close. They begged her to stay, even suggesting to their father that he marry her. Georg and Maria did marry in November 1927, although Maria herself would attest that she truly "married the children," and grew to love their father over time. As the 1920s steamrolled into the 1930s, Austria's next door neighbor Germany was steamrolling into fascism. Tensions between the two nations rose higher with each Sixty Years of The Hills Are Still Alive

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