Sigma Alpha Iota

PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE SAI Sisters Share Beauty of Music in Cuba By Tiffany Feltner S ince its formation 1953, the Lee University Symphonic Band has maintained a strong tradition in world missions through the eyes of music. The Symphonic Band has traveled to the Bahamas, Trinidad, South Africa, Botswana, Guatemala, Jordan, Brazil, Israel and, most recently, Cuba. In 2004, the Lambda Eta Chapter was chartered, and, since then, sisters have been traveling all over the world with the Lee University touring ensembles. In June of 2011, I had the great pleasure of traveling to the nation of Cuba with the Lee University Symphonic Band. As an alumna of the Symphonic Band, I was invited on the trip to help with instrument repairs for the musicians of Cuba. As I learned more about the trip, I came to understand that the musicians of Cuba deal with a shortage of instruments, supplies, and repair supplies. Hearing this made me think of one of the fundamental purposes of Sigma Alpha Iota: to further the cause of music in our community and throughout the world. I immediately went to work, and SAI Philanthropies, Inc. was the first place I called. I contacted Dr. Liana Valente, Director of the People-to-People Project, and asked if the fraternity could donate some repair supplies. She arranged for materials to be sent directly to Mark Bailey, director of the Symphonic Band, and the People-to-People Project sent more than $500 worth of supplies to help get instruments into functioning condition again. I began to use Facebook as a means of collecting donations and asked my employer, the owner of Giant Steps Music, to make a donation. In addition to this, Lee University made a generous contribution of instruments to the mission. All told, we were able to collect seven instruments, 700 method books, a load of percussion supplies, and the $500 worth of repair supplies from SAI. On June 6, the Lee University Symphonic Band departed Miami for Cuba with these supplies and instruments and landed in Havana 30 minutes later. We went straight to work. The next day, we traveled to a local music conservatory at Guanabacoa where younger musicians train before moving on to the professional conservatory. We played a concert that delighted them, and they returned the favor by playing a concert of Cuban music for us. The only real way of describing these young musicians is by saying that they were "beyond 4 Above, Mark Bailey and Tiffany Feltner (right) with members of the Cuban National Band and supplies collected by the Lambda Eta Chapter. At right, Tiffany Feltner discusses the French Horn with Cuban National Orchestra Horn Player Moises Hernandes. their years" — which is still somewhat of an understatement. We heard a choir sing some music by the Beatles which they had learned specifically "for their American friends." There was a young boy who was barely tall enough to see over the Timbales who played them like I had never heard before. The following day, we were able to prepare for a public concert with the Cuban National Band. They rehearsed in a medium-sized room with a handful of small windows and no air conditioning. They rehearse in this room for two hours every day of the week. Admittedly, there was quite a language barrier. The university band had one person who spoke Spanish, and the Cuban National Band had one person who spoke English. The most interesting part of this, and every overseas trip I have ever taken, is the fact that music translates when words fail. I PAN PIPES SUMMER 2011 sai-national.org could not talk with the French Horn section of the Cuban National Band, but through music we were able to hold a conversation without limitations. The highlight of the trip for me and the other members of the Symphonic Band was being able to gift these musicians with supplies such as reeds, valve oil, and mouthpieces along with the instruments. Later that evening, the Symphonic Band performed with some musicians at a Baptist Seminary in Havana. After the service, one of the Symphonic Band trumpet players was talking with a trumpet player from the church. Through their conversation, he came to know that the trumpet player performed every night in restaurants on an instrument that was taped together in order to help make a better life for his family. The trumpeter from the Symphonic band was extraordinarily moved by his story, and

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