Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • WINTER 2016 • sai-national.org 20 F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z By Sara Bong, inter-aMerican MuSic awardS Project director Music, in all its facets, defies easy description. Its creation can spring from one artist laboring alone, or a throng of conjoined voices. Its source can be joy, sorrow, a search for connection, an exploration of the unknown. It may open a portal into the depths – or flash back a startling reflec- tion. But there is no question that, when we are truly touched by music, the tingle along one's spine lingers long aer the last note has faded. ere is no question that the extraordinary 2015 Inter-American Music Awards (IAMA) Compo- sition Competition Concert touched everyone present. IAMA had its genesis in the mid-1900s, when Sigma Alpha Iota began to hold regular com- position competitions starting in 1948. Albeit previously known under varying titles, this com- petition evolved over the years into its current three-year cycle. For each triennial competition, a particular focus is designated. is year, the stipu- lated format was for adult SATB chorus. Works are submitted anonymously and reviewed by the composer-judges, who are under no obligation to select a winner. e winning work, along with companion works created by the composer- judges, are then published by C.F. Peters as part of their Sigma Alpha Iota Inter-American Music Awards series. e two eminent composer-judges selected this cycle were Dr. Tania León and Dr. Daniel Brewbaker. Both judges hold honorary member- ship in SAI and their respective achievements are breathtaking. As any effort to distill their vast accomplishments into a sentence or even a paragraph apiece would be a disservice to them both, I enthusiastically invite you to become ac- quainted with them via the websites mentioned below. e judges began their deliberations during the fall of 2014, following the September 2014 deadline for submissions. ey made their selec- tion in January 2015, which was then kept under wraps until the convention itself. For this compe- tition cycle, the judges' choice was the complex, elegant, and haunting Salve Regina for double SATB chorus by Timothy Roy. A graduate of Southern Methodist University and University of Missouri-Kansas City, Tim returned to his home state of Texas this fall, where he began a doctor- ate in composition at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, serving also as the Teaching Fellow for the Rice Electroacoustic Music Labs (REMLabs). Mr. Roy shared the following: "As a Catholic, part of my childhood was spent memorizing and learning to recite a hand- ful of important prayers. e text that has stuck with me the most is "Hail Holy Queen," or "Salve Regina" in Latin. I have always been drawn to the striking imagery of the prayer, capable of stirring feelings of joy, sadness, fright, peace, and hope. Like many prayers, Salve Regina is divided into two parts: an exclamation of praise and glorifica- AMERICAN COMPOSERS Reflections on 2015 IAMA Competition Concert IAMA Director Sara Bong opens the IAMA Composition Competition Concert held Friday, July 24 at the National Convention in St. Louis.

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