Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • WINTER 2017 • sai-national.org 26 D R. BA R BA R A FOX D E M A I O Dr. Barbara Fox DeMaio was initiated as a Member Laureate in October by the Delta Iota Chapter at the University of Central Oklahoma. Soprano Dr. Barbara Fox DeMaio is known for her modern repertoire, including e Makropulos Affair in Bologna and Torino, as well as William Bolcom's Medusa and Julia Child in Lee Hoiby's Bon Appetit! with Long Leaf Opera. She has continued to add to her repertoire with highly regarded interpretations of the Gingerbread Witch in Hansel and Gretel with Greensboro Opera and Piedmont Opera, both in North Carolina. Her vast repertoire includes all of the great roles of a Puccini and Verdi soprano; Tosca (Palermo, Torre del Lago Puccini); Lady Macbeth (Firenze); Turandot (Genova, Torre del Lago Puccini, Seoul, Cagliari, Palma de Mallorca); Aida (Caracalla in Rome, Arena di Verona, Taiwan, Avenches), Abigaille in Nabucco (Bern, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Brussels, Torino, Genova), and also Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera, Elvira in Ernani, Lucrezia in I Due Foscari, Leonora in La Forza del Destino and Odabella in La Scala's Attila directed by Riccardo Muti. In 2003, she returned to the United States, and is a renowned teacher of both Opera and Contemporary Commercial Music Styles at the University of Central Oklahoma, where she is Assistant Professor of Voice. She is also Artistic Director of the American Singers' Opera Project, Executive Director of the Painted Sky Opera Company, and a Level III Certified Somatic Voicework The LoVetri Method teacher. She recently completed a Doctorate in Vocal Pedagogy at Shenandoah Conservatory with her dissertation titled "The Effect of Menopause on the Elite Singing Voice: Singing through the Storm." She previously earned her Bachelor's in Voice Performance and Master's in Opera Performance from Oklahoma City University, where she was initiated into the Alpha Zeta Chapter. She is currently affiliated with the Edmond Alumnae Chapter. D R . R U S S E L L R O B I N S O N Dr. Russell Robinson was initiated as a National Arts Associate in September by the Delta Gamma Chapter at the University of Florida (UF). Dr. Russell L. Robinson is Emeritus Professor and Head of Music Education at the University of Florida. He holds a Bachelor's of Music Education from Drury University and a Master's and Doctorate in Music Education from the University of Miami. Known for his innovative and practical teaching and conducting techniques, Dr. Robinson has made over 300 appearances as a conductor, speaker, and presenter at festivals, workshops, and conferences of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). He has also presented at international conferences in Canada, Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, Mexico, South America, the Middle East, and Central America. Robinson is past President of the Florida Music Educators Association (FMEA), Associate Dean for the UF College of the Arts, and National Collegiate Chair for NAfME. His conducting venues have included prestigious performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Washington's National Cathedral, the White House, Linz (Austria) Festival, Boston's Symphony Hall and the Wiesbaden, Germany Kurhaus Concert Hall. He has served as music clinician for the European Council of International Schools in Berlin and as clinician and conductor for the Singapore Choral Association Convention. In the fall of 2004 he was the featured clinician for the Australian National Choral Association in Adelaide. He also served as the featured music clinician for the Association of International Schools in Africa's (AISA) conferences in East, West, and South Africa. He has conducted workshops for Department of Defense music teachers in Japan, Germany, and the US on the topic of Optimizing Musical Performance, working with composer Libby Larsen, an SAI Member Laureate. In 2006, he conducted the world premiere of the Missa Brevis, by renowned composer Paul Basler, with choir and orchestra at Carnegie Hall. In 2012, along with the Schubert Mass in G, Robinson premiered his De Profundis for choir and orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. In 2014 he conducted the Mozart Solemn Vespers along with his De Profundis at Carnegie Hall with choir and orchestra. In the spring of 2007, Dr. Robinson presented workshops for international school teachers in Prague and Bangkok, and he returned in the fall of 2007 to Africa at the request of the Association of International Schools of Africa. In 2008, he conducted the DoDDS-Europe Honors Chorus at the Kurhaus Concert Hall in Wiesbaden Germany and was an invited presenter for international schools conferences in Nice, France and San Jose, Costa Rica. In 2010, he presented workshops to international schools conferences in Manila, Philippines, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Monterey, Mexico. at same year, Dr. Robinson and his wife, Brenda, founded a University of Florida Study Abroad program called Teach the World. Since 2012, he has been a consultant for on-site Professional Development and a Conference Presenter for international schools and conferences in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Qatar, Bulgaria, and Poland. Robinson is a recipient of the UF College of Fine Arts Teacher of the Year and Doctoral Adviser/Mentor awards, the UF Research Foundation Professorship, and the University- wide recipient of the UF College of Education's Scholarship of Engagement award. In addition to being named Teacher of the Year and Doctoral Adviser of the Year in the UF College of Fine Arts, Dr. Robinson was the recipient of the FMEA Leadership Award and the Alumni Achievement Award from Drury University. He was the 2016 DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS NATIONAL ARTS ASSOCIATE a man or woman who is nationally recognized for distinguished contribution to the arts MEMBER LAUREATE an initiated member of the Fraternity who has achieved international distinction in the music profession

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