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PAN PIPES sPRIng 2014 saI-natIOnal.ORg 8 cg: is there anything you would like to add about Kansas city? Js:Mrs. Schaefer and I had no idea that we would be here as long as we have, but the people in this community — not only the artistic but also the spiritual community — are pretty wonderful, and, therefore, we never moved on, although there were opportunities. We think Kansas City is a fine city (although we wish it were cleaner). Editor's Note: Cannon Schaefer was initiated as a National Arts Associate by the Kansas City Alumnae Chapter in 1999. For more about Schaefer and the cathedral's musical offerings, visit kccathedral.org/ music-at-the-cathedral/ clIck For more dIstInguIshed memBers s AI National Arts Associate Clifford Brooks and John Delooper, librarians at Hudson County Community College (HCCC), have been awarded an American Library Association (ALA) Carnegie-Whitney Grant to create the first comprehensive bibliography of children's books published in the United States dealing with opera. is bibliography, later to be accessible online, will provide the data necessary to recognize possible patterns and trends that determine which works in the operatic genre were deemed suitable for a young audience from 1900 to present. e Carnegie-Whitney Grant provides an award that is based on a special endowment first established by Andrew Carnegie in 1902, "the income of which is to be applied to the preparation and publication of such reading lists, indexes and other bibliographical and library aids as will be especially useful in the circulating libraries of this country." e Carnegie Fund was subsequently enhanced by a merger with another gi by James Lyman Whitney in 1910. e Publishing Committee, a standing committee of the American Library Association, administers the grant. Historically, opera was assumed to be an elitist art in this country and oen was not given serious consideration in collection development policies in both children's and adult services. Children's opera books have therefore been an overlooked component of the Dewey and picture book collection, and yet have continued to be published and purchased by libraries consistently for quite some time. What is more, operatic versions of well-known fairy tales such as Cinderella or Hansel and Gretel, as well as opera stories such as Aida, e Magic Flute, e Barber of Seville, or e Love for ree Oranges have more or less entered into the mainstream of children's literature and hold their places on many lists as recommended books for children. A random sampling of books cataloged under several subject headings dealing with opera stories or plots and juvenile literature supports the premise that there has been a continuous trend to publish opera literature in the form of children's books in the English speaking world since the end of the 19th century. Brooks and fellow National Arts Associate Roger Ames have appeared in previous PAN PIPES issues for their work with Music! Opera! Words! series, co-published by OPERA America and GIA Publications, Inc.. e series challenges students to experience communication and storytelling through methods beyond the spoken and written word. e project undertaken by Brooks and Delooper is all the more important given the expansion of arts education efforts by schools and arts collaboratives, both of which are witness to the rise of opera education initiatives since the 1990s. e proliferation of "Create Your Own Opera" programs, as well as the publication of curricula and instructional strategies for integrating opera into Humanities classes, has created a demand for opera resources for the classroom. Opera stories reflect the human condition and as such have universal appeal. Having an extensive bibliography on-line will provide librarians, parents, and the educational community with a resource that will not only serve as a preparation for a performance or operatic event, but also as an introduction to some of the great stories and characters many in the West have grown to know and love. — Hudson County Community College Librarians Receive Grant to Create Children's Opera Books Bibliography For more information, visit Nativetimes.com clIck For more Loren L. Zachary Society for the Performing Arts. e award led to work in Europe, including a 10-year stint in German repertory opera and roles with such companies as Opéra de Monte Carlo (thanks to a letter to Prince Rainier of Monaco), the New Bulgarian Opera, and the Florentine Opera Company. McAlister has numerous roles to her resume, including the aforementioned Carmen, Amneris from Aida, Azucena from Il Trovatore, Ostrud from Lohengrin ,and Santuzza from Cavalleria Rusticana among her favorites. She has performed in operas and as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, Dusseldorf Symphony, Washington Opera, New York Grand Opera, and Tulsa Opera. roughout her career, she always felt the support of her family, particularly her parents. "ey were wonderful, wonderful people. I was very blessed. People used to say, 'You really sacrificed to do what you're doing' … Just recently it dawned on me that my parents sacrificed a lot, too. ey really believed in me as a singer," she says. In 2009, she returned to Muskogee. "is is where I grew up, so I wanted to come home," she says. "When I le New York as a singer, I didn't have any idea what I would do when I got here." But a dramatic mezzo-soprano can find work even in Oklahoma. McAlister is a fine arts instructor and performer for Cherokee Nation. She is also a performing artist registered with the Oklahoma Arts Council. Much of her time, however, is taken up with teaching and painting. McAlister offers free voice training to Cherokee Nation members. She currently has 15 pupils in addition to a few private students. She began painting as a youth when she fell in love with the works of celebrated Muscogee- Seminole artist Jerome Tiger, his brother Johnny Tiger Jr. and their contemporaries. Today, she paints in the style that influenced her then. McAlister is also learning to speak and sing in Cherokee, which she did not hear growing up. Her grandmother, Susie Sevier, was in her mid- 20s when she died. "She spoke Cherokee, but because I never met her, I never really was introduced to Cherokee culture," McAlister says. "My dad was very proud that we were Cherokee, I know that. He always talked about it." She may not live in a city renowned for opera culture, but McAlister is still living the artist's life. ere is no secret to it. MCALISTER continued from page 6 SHAEFER continued from page 7

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