Sigma Alpha Iota

saI-natIOnal.ORg sPRIng 2014 PAN PIPES 5 musIc notes E ri Kim is the winner of the 2013 Margaret Blackburn Biennial Composition Competition. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she earned her Doctorate from Ewha Womans University in 2010. Aer receiving her degree, she moved to France for further study. Ms. Kim is a doctoral student at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris (ENMP) where she received both the Diplôme Superieur degree in Composition and Diplôme degree in Orchestration with highest distinction. She is currently completing her study with Professor Michel Merlet at the ENMP and Professor Stéphane Delplace at the Debussy Conservatoire in Paris. She was awarded the "excellent composition" prize at the 2 nd European Institute for Commercial Communications Education International Competition in Japan, 1 st Prize at the 4 th Choir Music Competition Concours for University Students, 2 nd Prize at the 17 th Young-nam Composition Concours in Korea and has received other academic awards. Her compositions have been performed at music festivals and conferences including the Bach Music Festival in Germany, Nagano Music Festival in Japan, the Choir Music Festival (Olympics) in China, the Yun-sang International Music Festival and the Daegu International Modern Music Festival in Korea. Her winning composition is a chamber work, "P.A.R.I.S.", for flute, clarinet in Bx, violin, viola, cello, and piano. e award is $1,000. e judge for the competition was SAI National Arts Associate Dr. Reza Vali, composer and Professor of Music, School of Music, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. e Competition is a project of the Pittsburgh Alumnae Chapter in honor and memory of Margaret Blackburn, SAI member and composer of the SAI Chorale. It is open to female composers enrolled in an accredited university or college undergraduate or graduate degree program. — J. Barbara McKelway Chairman, Margaret Blackburn Committee SAI Pittsburgh Alumnae Chapter pittsburgh 2013 Blackburn Competition Winner a small business in Knoxville, TN, ViolettesbyBecky.com, held its 1 st Annual Music Composition Competition for Youth with the challenge to write a song with or without words titled "Being Me Now". e winners are from California, Illinois, New York, and Maryland, with honorable mentions from British Columbia and Florida. e 1 st place $100, went to 16-year-old California composer David Ghesser for his piano composition, "Impressions.' You can view his entry on ViolettesbyBecky.com/blog. David has just begun to learn orchestration, and to write for viola, cello, violin, alto flute and bass clarinet. Future plans call for David to continue writing and learning from listening to other composers and attending concerts. Writing large orchestral pieces and music for motion pictures are among David's thoughts as he contemplates a future in music which is wide open. • 2 nD place: Helena Abbey-McPeek, 13, Chicago, Illinois, string quartet • 3 rD place: Tie, Leon Yu, 15, Ardsley, NY, Piano and Griffin Koelbel, 14, Brooklyn, NY, Piano • 4 tH place: Juliana Lynch, 15, Frederick, Maryland, Piano and Voice • HonoraBle mentions: Jill Collis, 16, British Columbia, Canada, fiddle, Benjamin Noah Shifrel, 10, Brooklyn, NY, Piano; and Christopher Moore, 10, Coconut Creek, Florida, Piano. We had two notable volunteer judges who took great care with comments for each student . One judge was Grammy Award-winner Maestro Lucas Richman composer and Director of Music for both the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO) and Bangor Symphony Orchestra in Maine. He comments, "I am always interested in doing whatever I can to help foster and guide creativity from our younger generations. e mentorship that I received in my own formative years has always stayed with me and, if the competition entries were any indication of the talent being mentored today around the country, I would say that we will have some very bright spots arising on the musical horizon." e other judge was Klezmer Jazz composer, musician, and writer, Paul Brody, who is in the April 2014 German Time Magazine for his new album, e Rose Auslander Project, and has records with his band, Sadawi, on Tzadik and Enja records labels. Next year we would like to pair mentors with students through Skype. Readers who are interested in being notified about our next competition as a competitor, mentor or judge, please contact Violettes through our web site or Facebook page and sign up for our newsletter. "It's exciting to me to think that I have encouraged even one child with creativity," says Becky. Violettes By Becky is a licensed SAI vendor, and the purses and gig bags, designed as pianos, guitars, and violins, can be personalized. More can be seen at ViolettesByBecky.com. Violettes by Becky Announces Children's Music Competition Winners Eri Kim

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