Sigma Alpha Iota

P PIES, INC . 4 of V e rn a R o s s O rn d o rff ( $5, 000) S SIGMA A E rin ( Christ i ne) Helg eson Torres Volusia Cou nt y Alu m nae, La m b d a C, R egion VI s Flute Graduate Teaching Assistant and a Fellow of Ohio State University, Errin Tores endeavors to be an orchestral and solo performer and a studio professor but her ultimate goal is to share music with society at large in any manner that may become available. A past chapter president at Stetson University's Eta Pi and a Ruby Sword of Honor recipient, Torres has received a Volusia County Alumnae Chapter Student Musician Scholarship, a Stetson University Presidential Scholarship, and an Ohio State University Full Fellowship. As an undergraduate, she received a Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience Grant to study pedagogy in France and the United Kingdom. She presented this research at the 2007 Florida Flute Festival. In 2008, she performed with the American-Austrian Mozart Academy Orchestra in the Salzburg Festival, and this past winter, she toured China with the New Sousa Band. As a soloist, Torres performed with the OSU Orchestra as the winner of its Concerto Competition. She also toured as the solo flutist with the Stetson Orchestra throughout the UK. She has served as principle in university ensembles and has won substitute positions in the Orlando Orchestra and the Central Florida Symphony Orchestra. She also performs with the woodwind quintet, Melos Winds. She also has plans, through her performance career, to develop a method book derived from the study of language as an integral part of flute study, with research conducted in Dijon, France. "Torres has proven herself as a dedicated teacher," said Richard L. Blatti, Professor and Director of the School of Music at OSU. "The experience she will bring to the next collegiate arena, along with her musical gifts and outstanding work ethic, will be welcome assets to the university program dedicated to music education. "It takes a very special person to be the chief GTA and see to the needs of the professor, the demands of all the majors, the OSU Flute Troupe, the masterclasses, workshops, festivals, and camps. Simply put, Erin is the type of individual who has an enormous impact on everyone around her without drawing attention to herself. " Dr. Russel C. Mikkelson, the Director of University Bands and Professor of Conducting, at OSU, says that in Torres's role as a teaching assistant, "her students adore her, they work very hard for her, and they make great improvement under her tutelage. Even the Master's students take occasional lessons with Erin due to their high level of respect and admiration for her playing and teaching. In addition to her work here at the university, Erin has developed a burgeoning private studio loaded with some of the finest high school flutists in metropolitan Columbus. She has established a reputation among area band and orchestra directors as being the finest teacher in the city. " Conducti n g Sc h o l arsh ip f o r g r a d uat e s t u d e n t s In Memory of B o bb i e B u r k ( $2, 500) Kira Horel Ps i , K nox College, Upsilon A , R egion V ira received a Bachelor's Degree in Music and Theatre magnum cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board as a student at Knox College where she joined the Psi Chapter of SAI. She continued her education at the University of New Mexico where she earned a Master's in Orchestral Conducting with distinction. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Iowa where she serves as orchestra manager, graduate teaching assistant, and student conductor of the University of Iowa orchestras while maintaining a 4.0 average. She is music director/ conductor of the St. Ambrose University Community Symphony Orchestra. She served as a conducting fellow with the Des Moines Symphony and Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony as well as participating in conducting workshops in Yakima, WA, Cincinnati College Conservatory, Bard College, and the Bulgarian State Opera. She is also an accomplished violinist and mezzo-soprano. She is a recipient of the Sword of Honor and the College Honor Award. 32 PAN PIPES FALL 2011sai-national.org 74 SIGM 19 P P 74 SIGM 19 RO IOTA IOTA HA LP SIGMA A S HA LP 4 Memory PH A I O T PIES, INC P . 7 in AL TH , INC. 19 9 7 7 C are e r P e r f o r m a n ce G r a n t A PH S IE , INC. 19 L A NT LA H PHI N T HR O LA P HI RO PH A I O T philanthropies awards 2011 AL A A A ES IE N T HR O LA P HI

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