Sigma Alpha Iota

7 sai-national.org | Fall 2026 S GRACENOTES Sigma Alpha Iota honors the life of Ann Schein, concert pianist and SAI Honorary Member. She passed away on April 16, 2026, at the age of 86. Schein was initiated as an Honorary Member in 1960 at the age of twenty, making her the youngest person to receive the distinction at the time. She made her professional debut at the age of seventeen in Mexico City, which was immediately followed by debuts in twelve countries worldwide. Winner of the Concert Auditions at the National Music Camp at Interlochen at the age of thirteen, the youngest in camp history, Schein continued her piano studies at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. She performed with such orchestras as the Scottish National Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, and the Hague Symphony Orchestra, in addition to countless tours throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. She performed at such venues as the UNESCO General Conference, Carnegie Hall, and at the White House in Washington, DC. She was featured performer at the SAI National Convention Benefit Concert in 1965 and 1978, the latter alongside her husband, violinist and National Arts Associate Earl Carlyss. As President of the People-to-People Music Committee (now the People-to-People project), Schein's international tours doubled as humanitarian work for the arts. During a Latin American tour for the State Department in 1976, the US Embassy arranged for her to meet with each country's cultural leaders. During that tour, she helped provide musical instruments and supplies to the countries' orchestras, conservatories, and schools. In an Ecuadorian village, she was famously gifted a live chicken in appreciation for a gift of cymbals to the village's band. Schein's most notable philanthropic contribution was in 1971: a catastrophic fire destroyed the National Theater in Montevideo, along with most of the National Orchestra of Uruguay's instruments and equipment. At the request of the US Embassy, People-to-People raised funds to replace some of the major instruments, but fell short for a full set of kettledrums. Schein and her husband pledged to cover the balance. Schein served on the piano faculty at the Peabody Conservatory for over twenty years, and was an Artist-Faculty member of the Aspen Music Festival and School. She was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Performing Arts by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in 2018. She was a recipient of SAI's Ring of Excellence, and was honored by the Steinway Company in 2015 for over fifty years as a Steinway Artist. Schein was a close friend of the late Jessye Norman, an SAI Member Laureate, and composed her memorial in PAN PIPES on her passing (Winter 2020). Of Norman, Schein wrote, "In my heart, it seems as if the seeds planted by Sigma Alpha Iota have come safely to a final resting place… Jessye Norman [is] surely at this moment singing joyfully with His angels." Through her artistry, philanthropy, and service to Sigma Alpha Iota, Ann Schein exemplified the power of music to inspire, connect, and serve around the world. Remembering Ann Schein Honorary Member Ann Schein performed at the 1965 SAI National Convention Foundation Benefit Concert. Schein with SAI initiate Jessye Norman recording together in 1980.

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