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22 Winter 2026 • sai-national.org Distinguished Members LEAH HAWKINS Leah Hawkins was initiated as a Member Laureate by the New York Alumnae Chapter in January. She was a collegiate initiate of the Kappa Xi Chapter at Morgan State University. A native of Philadelphia, soprano Leah Hawkins is the 2024 recipient of the Beverly Sills Artist Award from the Metropolitan Opera. The 2025–26 season brings a role and house debut as Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites at The Dallas Opera; Serena in Porgy and Bess at the Metropolitan Opera; Tosca in her house debut at La Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels; and several concerts and recitals. In the 2024–25 season, she made a role debut as Leonora in Il trovatore at the Met; returned to both Arizona Opera for her role debut as Aida and the Philadelphia Orchestra for Beethoven's Symphony No. 9; and held several recital and concert appearances in New York City, including a recital at the Park Avenue Armory. Hawkins began the 2023–24 season in Verdi's Messa da Requiem and X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X at the Metropolitan Opera; reprised her roles in X at Seattle Opera; and debuted as Giorgetta in Il Tabarro at Dutch National Opera. Hawkins is winner of the 2023 Marian Anderson Award, a 2022 Richard Tucker Career Grant, and the 2021 Women in Classical Music Career Development Award, nominated by SAI Honorary member Renée Fleming. She gave a recital at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; sang La bohème with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and performed Verdi's Messa da Requiem with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel. In 2018, she completed the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera, which included premieres of Mohammed Fairouz's The Dictator's Wife and the revised version of Philip Glass' Appomattox; and performed in Justice at the Opera with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. On the concert stage, she has appeared with the Yale Philharmonia, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Apollo Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Orchestra, among others. She has been a guest artist in concert in Accra, Ghana, and at the White House, singing for the President of France. Hawkins earned a Master of Music in Voice from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Morgan State University. She received awards from the Young Patronesses of the Opera/Florida Grand Opera Vocal Competition, The Chautauqua Opera Guild, Yale School of Music, George London Foundation, Marcello Giordani Foundation, Opera Ebony, NANBPWC, Inc., and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. DR. SARAH E. PERRY Dr. Sarah E. Perry was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Lambda Tau Chapter at Westminster Choir College in April. Dr. Perry is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Westminster Choir College, where she prepares future educators to design inclusive, research-informed music learning environments. Her teaching and scholarly work centers on music in Special Education and Integrated Arts Learning, with an emphasis on addressing the needs of learners with disabilities across music, visual arts, and dance settings. Previously, Dr. Perry served as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University; Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music; and Purdue University Fort Wayne. She taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Music and Special Education, Inclusive Arts Practices, Integrated Arts Learning, and the Psychology of Music. Dr. Perry is an active clinician and consultant in arts education programs. She serves as a Director of VoiceAbility, a choir for children with special needs, through her work with Every Voice Choirs. She is frequently invited to lead professional development workshops for music, visual arts, and dance/ movement educators across New York and Maryland, focusing on responsive teaching strategies and supporting individual differences in public school settings. Her consulting work includes collaborations with numerous prominent arts organizations, including The Harmony Program, The Juilliard School's Global K–12 Teaching Artists Program, The New Jersey Performing Arts Center, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Art-Reach, The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, The New York Philharmonic School Partnership Program, and Midori. She also performs on classical and folk guitar and maintains an active choral performance practice as a member of Cantigas Women's Choir, where she additionally serves on the Board of Directors. Dr. Perry earned a Doctor of Education in Music and Music Education, a Master of Education in Music and Music Education, a Master of Arts in Music and Music Education from Teachers College at Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Therapy from Elizabethtown College. NATIONAL ARTS ASSOCIATE a person who is nationally recognized for distinguished contribution to the arts MEMBER LAUREATE an initiated member of the Fraternity who has achieved international distinction in the music profession