Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • WINTER 2017 • sai-national.org 28 in Chicago as a member of the Lyric Center for American Artists after obtaining a Master's of Music from Northwestern University. Watson's career then took her to Germany and the role of Dorabella in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte by the Staedtische Buehnen Dortmund. This led to many other opportunities in Europe, including her first Niklaus in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann and eater Oberhausen, where she sang such diverse roles as Cherubino, Stefano, and Mrs. Cratchit in the German premiere of Thea Musgrave's A Christmas Carol. Back in the United States, Watson has sung in the Whitewater Opera, Madison Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Portland Opera, the Chicago Opera Theater, and performed with the Grant Park Symphony. She performed the alto solos in Handel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Chorus at Chicago's Symphony Center. She has also sung for the Joffrey Ballet in the Dance for Life benefit concert and joined their regular season in 2008 singing Erik Satie's Cabaret Songs at the Ravinia Festival. Watson previously taught at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music, served as Lecturer of Voice and Opera at Northwestern University, and was a faculty member at Roosevelt University, Loyola University, and the Chicago Academy for the Arts. In addition, she has also been a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Chicago Singing Teachers Guild, and contributed to an article on vocal resonance in the December 2008 issue of Classical Singer Magazine. In 2010, along with tenor William Watson and director Michael Ehrman, she co-founded the Opera Training Institute of Chicago, a young artist summer opera training program. Darla Bair Darla Bair was initiated as a Friend of the Arts by the Rochester Alumnae Chapter in November. A public school music educator for 28 years, she is listed in the 2002 Who's Who in Education and was awarded the Golden Apple from Rochester's Channel 8 in 2010. She serves as the secretary of the Greater Rochester Choral Consortium and is a member of the American Choral Directors Association. She has conducted clinics on children's choirs for college music majors at several colleges in the northeast and has been guest conductor for All-County festivals in New York. She founded the Amadeus Chorale Youth Singers in 1996 and serves as the Artistic Director, leading the group of 7 to 17 year-olds on tours to Hawaii, Montreal, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, and New York City. e Amadeus Chorale has recorded for several composers, including Dr. Cary Ratcliff and Elizabeth Alexander, and has sung with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Brockport Symphony, and the Roberts Wesleyan Orchestra. Bair has led the chorale singers in producing five full-length CDs. She also authored a book of lessons and concepts using the Singing Families CD, useful for elementary music educators and homeschooling families. Bair initiated the use of sign language with the chorale, with the entire chorale signing at least one song at every concert. Bair holds a Bachelor's in Music Education from Millersville University and a Master's in Interdisciplinary Arts from the State University of New York, Brockport. She was ordained as an Interfaith Clergy from e New Seminary, New York. Dr. Michael Blachly Dr. Michael Blachly was initiated as a Friend of the Arts in October by the Gainesville Alumnae Chapter. Dr. Blachly served from 2000 to 2015 as the Director of the University of Florida Performing Arts where he managed performances by world- class musicians for several facilities on the campus. Dr. Blachly is also credited with bringing to campus a wide range of performers, including Itzhak Perlman, Yo- Yo Ma, Twyla arp, Laurie Anderson, Alvin Ailey American Dance eater, and Béla Fleck. Previous to his work in Gainesville, Dr. Blachly served as the director of UCLA Performing Arts. He also served as vice president and West Coast Director of Sales for Columbia Artists Management and as Assistant Vice President for the 1982 World's Fair. In 2015, Dr. Blachly retired from his work at the University of Florida to join Arts Consulting Group in Tampa as vice president, leading the firm's Facilities & Program Planning practice. Dr. Blachly has a long history of volunteerism and community service, including: serving as chair of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters; board of directors member of Chamber Music America; board of directors member of North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents; board of directors vice president of California Presenters; and 2000 congress chairman of the National Conference of the International Society of Performing Arts. He holds a Bachelor's in Speech and Theatre/Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado, a Master's in Communication Theory/Sociology from Washington State University, and a Doctorate in Educational Psychology/Higher Education Administration from the University of Tennessee. Royce F. Blackburn Royce F. Blackburn was initiated as a Friend of the Arts in May by the Iowa City Alumnae Chapter. He is an Associate Professor at the University of North Dakota, where he teaches voice, lyric diction, and opera theater. Dr. Blackburn has given masterclasses and seminars from Manitoba to Texas. His students have performed with opera companies across America and have won prizes in regional and national competitions, including regional finalists in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. A baritone, he has sung professionally with the Greater Grand Forks Symphony, Grand Forks Master Chorale, Indianapolis Opera, Lafayette Bach Chorale, Ashlawn-Highland Opera Festival, and Abilene Opera. He is married to chapter member Louise Pinkerton. Lynda Hasseler, D.M.A. Lynda Hasseler, D.M.A. was initiated as a Friend of the Arts in September by the Kappa Tau Chapter at Ohio's Capital University-Conservatory of Music. She is in her 26th year as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities in the Conservatory of Music at Capital University. She directs three ensembles, including the prestigious Chapel Choir, Choral Union, and a small chamber ensemble, Philomel. DISTINGUISHED continued from page 27 DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS FRIEND OF THE ARTS a man or woman who is supportive of and actively involved in the arts at a local or regional level Bair Blachly Blackburn Hasseler

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