Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • WINTER 2017 • PAN PIPES 3 D E I J K N O P Dear Readers, F or sixty-eight years PAN PIPES has published an update from the SAI Composers Bureau, highlighting premiers, concerts, and special projects of our living composers. e yearly update provides a peek inside the contemporary music scene and is an excellent resource for finding new music to perform and study. If you know of a composer who should be included in the bureau, please have them contact its Director, Dr. Susan Cohn Lackman. We continue to publish this compilation as a separate digital publication, so be sure to visit SAI's website for your copy at: sai-national.org In this issue of PAN PIPES you can read about the life and work of a number of prolific composers, including Cecil Effinger, William Grant Still, Béla Bartók, Ulysses Kay, Kirke Mechem, and omas Coates. Each one had unique life experiences and varying perspectives which led them to create different styles of music. I encourage you to continue your musical education and seek out recordings of their music online or at your local library. We also remember a number of influential and dedicated members of Sigma Alpha Iota in our Grace Note pages. Elsie, Jean, and Ruth had a vision for the Fraternity and its programs. eir hard work made a lasting impact and is still felt in our activities and outreach today. We highlight a few of SAIs programs and their histories in this issue, as well. As always, we welcome new music related stories to share with our readers and new volunteers to write them. Do you have an idea for an article on contemporary music or an interview with a music educator? Is there a research topic or a sister's achievement that you would like to write about? If so, please contact me at SAIPanPipesEditor@gmail.com so we can discuss your potential involvement. I can't wait to hear from you! SAI Roses, Christine Bruns Editor EDITOR'S NOTES Dr. Jane Chu, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and a Sigma Alpha Iota alumna, spoke to students of Ouachita Baptist University on September 27, 2016. Dr. Chu graduated from Ouachita with her bachelor's degree in piano performance and music education, and holds master's degrees in music and piano pedagogy from Southern Methodist University. Additionally, Chu holds a master's degree in business administration from Rockhurst University and a PhD in philanthropic studies from Indiana University. e Epsilon Delta Chapter acted as ushers for her speech, advertised across campus, and chatted with her aerward, where she said "Oh! You're the SAI girls! I remember being in SAI. It was a great time!" e National Endowment for the Arts is an independent federal agency built on the idea that "all Americans have the change to experience arts," said Chu. Since its establishment in 1965, the National Endowment for the Arts has made over 147,000 grants totaling over $5 billion. During her time as Chairman, Dr. Chu has awarded more than $240 million in grants to support various arts projects across the nation. She encourages non-profit organizations to apply for these NEA grants, explaining that they aren't just for large projects like theatrical productions or new musical instruments. "You don't have to be an arts organization to apply for a National Endowment for the Arts grant, as long as the applicant is a non-profit organization. So, you might be a science organization, or a senior citizen center, or a university…so long as it's for an arts project," explained Chu. "We have an opportunity to start a new dialogue on the ways in which the arts – and the ways the NEA supports the arts – are an essential component of our everyday lives," said Chu. "Although many may not realize it, the arts actively intersect with areas such as economy, human development, and community vitality. e arts and artists who are funded and supported by the NEA are an integral part of the solution to the challenges we face in all parts of our society." To apply for an NEA grant, visit arts.gov/grants. — Kacy Earnest Spears, Epsilon Delta editor From left, Kacy Spears, Elizabeth Schutter, Elizabeth Anderson, Lizzie Shelby, Dr. Jane Chu, Beth Crisler, Taylor McKinney, Emily Cooper, and Amy Lytle. Epsilon Delta Greets Chapter Sister Jane Chu, NEA Chairman

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