Sigma Alpha Iota

Sai-natiOnal.ORg SummER 2014 PAN PIPES 9 SAi member laureate norman Honored By metropolitan Opera guild, releases memoir O n Nov.21, an expected 700 passionate opera lovers will attend the Metropolitan Opera Guild's tribute to one of the greatest singers in the world, SAI Delta Nu initiate Jessye Norman, on the occasion of the Guild's 80th Annual Luncheon. e Spoken Tribute to Norman will be presented by author Toni Morrison. All proceeds from the Luncheon will benefit the Education Programs of the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Norman, whose performance at the memorial concert for fellow Washington DC Alumnae Chapter member Helen Byrn May was documented in the Spring 2014 issue of PAN PIPES, is admired and respected for her artistry presented on the world's opera and concert stages and in her newest expansion into jazz — as well as for her humanitarian contributions. e Jessye Norman School for the Arts in her hometown of Augusta, GA, is a tuition- free arts education program for talented middle-school students otherwise unable to experience private arts tutoring. e school, now celebrating ten years of joy in the arts, is Miss Norman's response to the understanding that given the opportunity to explore the arts, students perform better in their other studies and become more involved citizens. Her work with not-for-profit organizations, including the New York Public Library, e Dance eatre of Harlem, Howard University, Carnegie Hall, e Partnership for the Homeless along with a graduate fellowship and Master Class series in her name at the University of Michigan, speaks to her concern for the larger community and the citizenship she credits her parents for demonstrating through their own community service. Norman is an honorary ambassador to the United Nations, a Kennedy Center Honoree, a National Medal of the Arts awardee, a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and a member of France's Legion D'Honneur. She has received five Grammys and over 40 honorary doctorates. On May 6, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published her memoir, Stand Up Straight and Sing! saI MeMbers In actIon SAI Member Laureate Jessye Norman is a Delta Nu initiate of Howard University.

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