Sigma Alpha Iota

SAI-NATIONAL.ORG SPRING 2015 PAN PIPES 11 By Dr. Liana VaLente, Director E very member of Sigma Alpha Iota can be proud of the work accomplished by our People-to- People Project these past three years. rough the generous donation of funds and materials, your P2P Project has brought music to thousands of students around the globe, and the project has expanded its reach to include organizations in such diverse places as Kenya, Uganda, and even Canada. Here then is a review of many of the successes of the project during this triennium. INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS CANADA SONG (Sounds of the Next Generation) SONG is a socially inclusive choral and orchestral music program for under-served children and youth in Northumberland County. e P2P Project purchased two ¼-size violins for SONG, and thanks to the fundraising efforts of the sisters of Iota Tau at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, SONG recently received a new ½-sized violin. Additionally, vocal scores and string and percussion teaching guides were sent to SONG as a donation from Northern Delaware Alumnae Chapter member Kristi Pizzini, and Delta Gamma initiate Lisa Ulseth donated a large collection of sacred and secular choral music. ECUADOR Sinfonia por la Vida While the political landscape continues to change throughout Ecuador, one of the constants in the lives of young musicians is the work they do in their local orchestras supported by Sinfonia por la Vida. Donations from P2P have included violins, violas, and a cello, plus supporting materials such as music stands, rosin, replacement strings, and music. As reported in the Spring 2012 PAN PIPES: e People-to-People Project began working in 2011 with Dr. Albert Hunt, SAI National Arts Associate and International Coordinator of Sinfonía por la Vida (Symphony for Life). e program serves over 700 hundred students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds ranging in age from 6 to 18 in the cities of Quito, Guayaquil, and Esmeraldas, and is coordinated by the Symphonic Youth Orchestra Foundation of Ecuador (Fundación Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil del Ecuador), created in 1994. e students take academic classes in the mornings and attend music schools in the aernoons where they participate in youth and children's orchestras. HAITI Zanmi Lasante Band, the Fanfare Band in Cange e Fanfare Band in Cange continues to grow because of donations of music, instruments, stands, and other accessories from P2P. All materials are transported to Cange thanks to the generosity of Partners In Health, a Global health organization committed to improving the health of poor and marginalized people. ese kinds of worldwide partnerships have been a part of the People-to-People Music Project since its early inception. As reported in the Spring 2013 PAN PIPES: e People-to-People Project has been assisting the Fanfare Band in Cange for the past three years. I work closely with Jacquelyn Williams, Director of Sant Art ak Kouti (Centre d'Art) in Cange, to fill the musical needs of Maestro McClay. anks to the assistance of the Boston staff of Partners in Health, our project is able to send instruments and accessories on Partners In Health cargo ships that depart from a shipping port in Miami, FL. e staff has also taken instruments as carry- on baggage when flying to Haiti. "ese gis have benefited enormously our young people who compete vigorously for the privilege of playing in the Fanfare de Cange. Once hooked into music, these students have no time to get into trouble. Our two organizations, Eglise Bon Sauveur (the Episcopal church of Good Savior) and the secular Partners in Health work hand in hand for education and health. For both, we endorse [William Congreve]'s adage that music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." — Jacquelyn Williams PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE Looking Back at a Triennium of Music Donations CUBA - SAI sister Tiffany Feltner (standing far right) made multiple trips to Cuba to assist with teaching and making repairs to instruments. Armed with boxes of pads, springs, shellac and other materials provided by P2P, Tiffany assisted members of the Cuba National Orchestra to make much needed repairs to their instruments. P2P continued on page 12

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