Sigma Alpha Iota

saI-NaTIONal.ORg WINTER 2015 PAN PIPES 7 F or over 30 years, Fort Worth Alumnae Chapter member Patricia Barr has been at the forefront of supporting and encouraging young musicians and enriching the musical landscape of America — in particular at Texas Wesleyan College and in Fort Worth, Texas. A charter member of Beta Kappa Chapter at Texas Wesleyan University in 1950, Patricia had the distinction of performing the area premiere of the first commissioned work of the American Music Award competition of SAI, the very difficult Toccata, by Roy Harris, at Texas State Day that year. Patricia and fellow Texas Wesleyan student Howard Barr formed a partnership in marriage and in music for over 50 years — teaching, lecturing, and concertizing all over America as a duo- piano team, towing their two concert-grand Baldwin pianos behind their vehicle! Following the Barrs' retirement, these pianos were gied in 2005 to Texas Wesleyan, where students, faculty, and guest performers enjoy their use. A personal friend of Paul Creston, the Barrs premiered several of his works, and were known for performing and promoting the works of contemporary composers. e Patricia and Howard Barr Institute for American Composition Studies was launched in 2004 at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, from which Howard received the DMA in 1971. e Institute celebrates their love of American music and their dedication to its continuing study and performance. e mission of the Barr Institute is the acquisition, care, preservation, use and promotion of materials related to American composition since 1890, relevant research, supplemental funds for students interested in the period, and the promotion of national symposiums and other events related to the Barr Institute and its collection. e cornerstone of the Institute's corpus is the Paul Creston Collection. In 1981, the Barrs inaugurated the Stephen Barr Memorial Concerts at Texas Wesleyan University, to honor the memory of their only son, who was avidly interested in the field of music management but died in his early 20s. By bringing rising young musicians to the campus of Texas Wesleyan to present master classes and perform a public concert, the Barrs have contributed immeasurably to the university and the music community of Fort Worth. e 2014 Barr Memorial Concert was presented on October 24 by Alex MacDonald, who had greatly impressed many area musicians as a competitor at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Alex previously had taken 2 nd prize at the 2007 New Orleans International Piano Competition and 2 nd at the 2001 Gina Bachauer International Young Artist Piano Competition. He is currently on faculty at Texas Woman's University as well as maintaining a private studio in piano, theory, and composition. Alex has performed across the United States as well as in Israel, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and South Korea, and has been a featured performer on PBS and stations in DFW, Houston, and New York. MacDonald's effervescent stage presence and rapport with a legacY oF music Three Decades of Nurturing Music Above, Patricia Barr with pianist Alex McDonald at the 2014 Stephen Barr Memorial Concert. Below, McDonald in performance. CONCERT continued on page 8

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