Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • WINTER 2017 • PAN PIPES 27 FMEA Hall of Fame inductee. Dr. Robinson is a published author, composer, and arranger with over 200 publications and has received numerous ASCAP composer/arranger awards. e Complete Choral Warm-up Book, co-written with Jay Althouse, is widely used by choral directors internationally as are his choral arrangements. He has conducted the classical choral recordings for the educational catalogs of Warner Bros. Publications, Lawson- Gould, and Alfred Publishing. His latest book for classroom teachers, Creating Poetry and Songs to Teach ANYTHING! along with the 20-track CD is published by Superior Educational Publishing. M E LV I N S T E C H E R and N O R M A N H O R O W I T Z Melvin Stecher and Norman Horowitz were initiated as National Arts Associates in September by the Buffalo Alumnae Chapter. Acknowledged as leading duo-pianists in America, Stecher and Horowitz are equally renowned as composers and important music educators. e duo has been responsible for creating a major revival of interest in the two- piano concert. ey have performed with overwhelming success both in recital and as soloists with orchestras for almost five decades throughout the United States, Canada, Central and South America, Europe, Israel, Japan, and Australia. Still in their teens, the two New York-born pianists had already made impressive solo debuts. Deciding to form a team, they made their first appearances on the major hotel circuit, playing everything from Gershwin to Chopin. ey were the first duo-piano attraction to be engaged at Radio City Music Hall, where they played a record 84 performances. For the following five consecutive years, they toured the United States and Canada playing 50 solo recitals plus 60 concerts as guest artists with the Roger Wagner Chorale. ey also toured Central and South America under State Department sponsorship. Noted performers and music educators, Stecher and Horowitz founded e Stecher and Horowitz School of the Arts in 1960. In 1975, the school in Cedarhurst, New York, became a non-profit educational institution for students of all ages and educational backgrounds. It has been highly regarded as a center for the encouragement of creative potential through its innovative learning programs. In addition to having served as educational consultants to the publishing firm of G. Schirmer, the duo-pianists have written and edited the Stecher and Horowitz Piano Library, a comprehensive teaching series. e scope of the library ranges from beginning piano material for the young student to the highly respected college text, Keyboard Strategies. Stecher and Horowitz are equally regarded for their unique piano clinics, a series of workshops for piano teachers given throughout North America, Japan, and Australia. ey have been honored twice by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) for Distinguished Service to America. In 2012, they also received the MTNA Citation for Leadership — a special recognition for significant and lasting contributions to MTNA, music teachers, and the music teaching profession. ey are only the third recipients in the 140-year history of MTNA. Messrs. Stecher and Horowitz are as passionate about their fourth career, e Stecher and Horowitz Foundation's New York International Piano Competition, and its professional programs for young artists, including e Young Artists Series. e Foundation mentors aspiring professional pianists ages 16-25, developing them through its flagship programs: e New York International Piano competition and e Young Artists Series. J O E L R A N E Y Joel Raney was initiated as a National Arts Associate in June by the Oak Park Alumnae Chapter. Joel Raney started playing the piano before learning to read. His taste for gospel music began in a rural Baptist church in Alabama, an influence that shows strongly in his work to this day. After completing his degree in Choral Conducting at the University of North Alabama, he went on to sharpen his keyboard skills, earning a Master's in Piano Performance from The Juilliard School. His interest in music of all kinds has led to classical, jazz performance, and pop vocal arranging. He has conducted national tours of Broadway productions and has been honored for outstanding musical direction of theater in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Since 1988, he has worked as a composer and producer of commercial music in Chicago and has written soundtracks for more than 2000 television and radio commercials, plus numerous scores for short films. Since 1999, he has composed choral anthems, musicals and cantatas, hand bell compositions, piano solos, and instrumental works in the church-music field, with over 200 titles in print, primarily with Hope Publishing, where he serves as Editor. Joel is a sought-after choral and keyboard clinician, and he stays busy performing throughout North America as a piano soloist and in duo-concert with organist and fellow Hope Editor, Jane Holstein. For more than a decade, Joel was Artist-in-Residence at the First Presbyterian Church of River Forest, Illinois, and currently serves as Minister of Music at the First Baptist Church of Oak Park, Illinois. He makes his home in River Forest with wife Susie and their three sons, Charlie, Sawyer, and Jesse. T R A C Y WAT S O N Tracy Watson was initiated as a National Arts Associate in October by the Eta Xi Chapter at Central Michigan University. Tracy Watson, a mezzo-soprano, is known for the depth and beauty of her voice, as well as her interpretive skills. She began her career DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS DISTINGUISHED continued on page 28

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