Sigma Alpha Iota

74 SIGM AL PH A I O T A 19 PIES, INC . , INC. 19 RO S IE 2013 PHILANTHROPIES AWARDS L A NT H PHI N T HR O ILA P A 7 • Arts M a nage m e nt Sum m er In t er n s hi p at t he Kennedy Ce n t er • 4 SIGMA Ang el a M . Be thoney E Eta Mu, The Hart t School at the Universit y of Hartford, Phi B, region VIII ver wonder what it would be like to meet Joshua Bell, one of the most famous violinists in the world? Just ask Angela Bethoney, Eta Mu. She was able to meet him as a part of her Kennedy Center Internship for the Summer Music Institute with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC. The internship is open to any initiated SAI member in good standing who is a junior, senior, graduate student, or graduate out of school for no more than two years. Angela was awarded the internship through SAI Philanthropies, Inc. She chose this opportunity over the other opportunities SAI Philanthropies provides because she is a double major in Violin Performance and Music Management at the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, Connecticut. Her goal after she graduates this year is to work with a youth orchestra. She enjoyed her experience working with the youth at the Summer Music Institute (SMI) and wants to continue that. The Kennedy Center internship is eleven weeks starting in May and ending in July. When asked about her favorite moments from the internship, Angela had a hard time naming just one. "Of course, meeting and speaking with Joshua Bell was a great moment for me but I most enjoyed performing with the orchestra in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall." The director of the orchestra asked her to rehearse and perform with the students, who range in age from 15 to 20. The Summer Music Institute is a four week full-scholarship orchestra and chamber music program that includes young musicians from all over the country. Being a violinist gave her that opportunity to sit in with the students that being a wind player or vocalist may have not allowed. She said it was also great to be able to attend all of the amazing performances at the Kennedy Center, sometimes getting to experience the performances alongside the Presidential Box. "Interns received free tickets to all Kennedy Center performances through the DeVos Institute of Arts Management and we were able to attend the free concerts that the Kennedy Center performs every night during the summer. The exposure to these world renowned artists is something I would have never been given if I wasn't at the Kennedy Center for the summer internship." 24 PAN PIPES FALL 2013 sai-national.org As part of her internship, she had several jobs to complete. She had to plan the daily lessons for all of the SMI members, which totaled almost 60 students. The lessons were given by the National Symphony Orchestra members, and Angela also had to schedule and work with several volunteers who would provide transportation for the students to their lessons and back. "Sometimes the students would get mixed up in their busy schedule. I had to keep constant communications with the volunteers and the National Symphony Orchestra members to ensure everyone was on the same page. That could sometimes be a challenge." Another responsibility that Angela had was to create the website for the SMI and two additional Facebook pages to promote the SMI. This is a lasting contribution that Angela will always be able to say that she started. Future interns will always work with the website and social media sites that she created. She was also given the opportunity to experience every aspect of the SMI. "It was very important to know as much as I could about SMI and I studied the information thoroughly before the beginning of the Institute. It was expected that you were aware of everything before you started." One of her biggest challenges was that some of the participants were only a year or two younger than she. "I had to act professional at all times and have the participants understand that I was in a role that had to be respected. Dressing in a professional manner helped that process." One thing that she was able to do was to wear her SAI pin and of course the members of the orchestra asked her what it was and what it meant. "Being able to talk about SAI was great and I was able to recruit women orchestra members to search for colleges with SAI chapters after they graduate high school." Her background also helped in her understanding of the many aspects of managing a youth orchestra, such as the one she assisted at SMI. Angela began playing violin in the fourth grade and was a member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra growing up. Also, while in high school she participated

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