Sigma Alpha Iota

grace notes Honorary Member Camilla Williams Passes at Age 92 S AI Honorary Member Camilla Williams, the first AfricanAmerican woman to perform under contract with a major U.S. opera company, died in January. She was 92. Born in Danville, VA, during segregation, Williams performed initially at church. She took private voice lessons and was introduced to classical material beginning at the age of 12. She graduated from Virginia State College for Negroes, now Virginia State University, with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education. She returned to her hometown to teach third grade and music before moving to Philadelphia with other VSC alumnae to study privately under Juilliard instructor Marion Szekely-Freschl. She earned two consecutive Marian Anderson Fellowships in 1943 and 1944 and garnered accolades in vocal competitions. In 1944 she began performing on The Music America Loves Best for the national RCA radio network. That same year, she gave a recital in Connecticut attended by, among others, renowned soprano Geraldine Farrar, who performed the lead role in The Metropolitan Opera's first production of Madama Butterfly in 1907. Ferrar championed Williams, securing for her a recording contract, a manager, and an audition with Laszlo Halasz, New York City Opera's founder and director. Williams made her debut with the company in Madama Butterfly with what became her signature role as Cio-Cio-San in 1946 to a rave New York Times review. She performed with the City Opera until 1954, performing as Nedda in Pagliacci, Mimi in La Bohème, and as Aïda. She also appeared with the Boston Lyric Opera and the Vienna State Opera and performed as a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. In April 1954 she became the first African-American to sing a major role with the Vienna State Opera singing as Cio-Cio-San. At the invitation of President Eisenhower, Williams toured Africa, Asia, and Europe on behalf of the State Department. She sang the National Anthem before Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963. Williams left the opera stage in 1971 and taught at Brooklyn College, Bronx College and Queens College, eventually becoming the first AfricanAmerican professor of voice at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Carl Van Vechten Honorary Member Camilla Williams, the first African-Amerian woman signed to a major U.S. opera company. She was initiated as a Sigma Alpha Iota Honorary Member by the Iota Epsilon Chapter at Indiana University, Bloomington, on Jan. 27, 1980. She retired from the university 1997 as an emerita professor of voice, and, in 1984, was named the first African-American instructor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Her autobiography, The Life of Camilla Williams, African American Classical Singer and Opera Diva, was published in April 2011 by Edwin Mellen Press. Afro-Blue Enjoys Extended Run on The Sing-Off T he Nov. 21 episode of NBC's hit show The Sing-Off narrowed down the pool to the final three groups, whose fate in the competition stood with America's vote.  After tackling a mash-up song, jazz ensemble Afro-Blue was eliminated. The night began with an all-group mash-up of "Baba O'Riley" by The Who, "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry and "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani. Each group then tackled their own signature mash-up before being challenged by the judges with songs they chose specifically for each group. Afro-Blue, the fun-loving Jazz/Pop a cappella ensemble from Howard University that includes Delta Nu members of SAI, began as a class in the music department in 2002. The current members of the group have been singing together since 2009. With beautiful harmonies, soaring solos and plenty of soul, all nine members meld together to create memorable performances. Afro-Blue took on an arrangement of "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly and "Fly" by Nicki Minaj featuring Rihanna and then brought the house down with "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. After much deliberation, one final "sing-off" took place between Afro-Blue and Dartmouth Aires before the judges could decide who would go home. Even after a killer performance, Afro-Blue's "American Boy" by Estelle was not enough to best the Dartmouth Aires' version of "Somebody to Love" by Queen. Afro-Blue left "The Sing-Off" stage with a final performance of "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters. Pentatonix, from Arlington, TX, was named the season's winning group. The Sing-Off is hosted by multi-platinum recording artist Nick Lachey, and aired Mondays on NBC in a weekly format featuring two-hour episodes.  The groups perform for celebrity judges Sara Bareilles ("Love Song" and "King of Anything"), Ben Folds (Ben Folds Five) and Shawn Stockman (Boyz II Men) and compete for the prize of $200,000 cash and a Sony Music recording contract. — NBC sai-national.org WINTER 2012 PAN PIPES 9

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