Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Summer 2026 3 The 2025 Natial Cvention By Dr. Paula Moseman The 2025 Inter-American Music Awards (IAMA) Concert was held on Friday, July 18 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis as part of the 2025 Sigma Alpha Iota National Convention. IAMA was established by the SAI National Executive Board in 1948, originally named the American Music Awards. e first winning composition was presented at the 1950 National Convention. e first competitions were only open to composers from North America, with an age limit of 22–35 years old. In 1962, the competition was expanded to include composers from North, Central, or South America, thus the name change to the Inter-American Music Awards. Ever since its inception, composers have been asked to serve as judges for the competition. Notable composers such as Vincent Persichetti, Norman Dello Joio, Alberto Ginastera, and Judith Lang Zaimont have served as judges and were commissioned to write pieces for the IAMA Concert. All compositions written by the winners and judges have been published by C.F. Peters/Wise Music Group as part of the Inter- American Music Awards Publication Series. e performance at the 2025 National Convention was the 25th presentation of the IAMA Concert, which included a commissioned work by composer-judge Libby Larsen and the winning composition by Dmitri Volkov. e concert began with Libby Larsen's piece, "Embracés - Reverie Rousseau," written for saxophone quartet. "Embracés" means "hugs" in French. Ms. Larsen wrote this piece in remembrance of her friend, Eugene Rousseau, a well-known saxophonist. Ms. Larsen shared with the audience the story of asking Mr. Rousseau's daughter for some stories to help with her composition. She shared two stories: the first was that he and his wife really enjoyed the song Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael. (Mr. Rousseau once played in Carmichael's band.) e second was about Mr. Rousseau waking up very early to practice. Once he was done practicing, he would bring his saxophone to his children's rooms and play "Reveille" to wake them up. Ms. Larsen used these stories to form a composition for saxophone quartet. "Embracés" was performed by the Ancia Saxophone Quartet, based out of Minneapolis. It was evident that the group had performed together regularly and played well collaboratively. Even though Ms. Larsen described the "Stardust" piece as a watercolor, the Ancia Saxophone Quartet played it like a lovely lullaby, only to be woken up by the baritone saxophone's first statement of "Reveille." It was a wonderful and fun piece, beautifully performed, and thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. e second premiere was the winning composition of the 2025 IAMA Competition, "Chorale for Percussion" by Dmitri Volkov. Mr. Volkov spoke about how a chorale, by form, involves harmony. Since he was composing for percussion, he had to find a way to incorporate the idea of harmony into his composition. He chose to use rhythm and timbre as tools to form the arc of the chorale. e piece is made up of four sections, each corresponding to four core rhythms.e climactic point of each section states that rhythm in its simplest form. Mr. Volkov also shared how the timbre gradually changes over the course of the piece. He began the piece with the drums, moving to high pitched percussive sounds (bongos), then to granular noisy sounds (cabasa), and ending with the cymbals. He also moved things upwards in terms of frequency and dynamics. ere are also solos that connect the four main sections, serving to transition between the different timbres by using instruments that overlap between the categories of percussion instruments. His intention was for the solo sections to help transition between the larger sections, and provide a break from the four core rhythms to help keep the piece varied and interesting. Mr. Volkov's piece was performed by the Minnesota Percussion Collective. e group had a significant challenge preparing and performing this work. It is a difficult task to coordinate the various complex rhythms as an ensemble, in addition to the necessary movement between multiple percussion instruments that each member played. e Minnesota Percussion Collective did this with aplomb. e audience reveled in their playing, as well as the difficulty of Mr. Volkov's piece. e 2025 IAMA Concert was a huge success! A huge thank you to SAI Philanthropies, Inc. for sponsoring the IAMA every triennium. Dr. Paula Neihouse Moseman is the IAMA Director for SAI Philanthropies, Inc. and a member of the Kansas City Alumnae Chapter. She is the owner of Neihouse Piano Studio and is a freelance collaborative pianist in the Kansas City metro area. IAMA Concert Presented at 2025 Convention You can purchase Libby Larsen's "Embracés" at www.libbylarsen.com/works/embraces-reverie-rousseau and Dmitri Volkov's "Chorale for Percussion" at www.wisemusicclassical.com/work/83685/Chorale-for-Percussion--Dmitri-Volkov Pictured from left: Member Laureate Libby Pictured from left: Member Laureate Libby Larsen, IAMA Award Winner Dmitri Volkov, Larsen, IAMA Award Winner Dmitri Volkov, and IAMA Director Paula Neihouse Moseman and IAMA Director Paula Neihouse Moseman after the IAMA Concert. after the IAMA Concert.

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