Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • SPRING 2017 • PAN PIPES 9 I J K O P T U X Y Z SAIS IN ACTION On Wednesday, April 12th, the Iota Beta Chapter at Murray State University, in Kentucky, successfully held its annual All Campus Sing philanthropy event. is year's event was entitled "Hope in Humanity" and included twenty-two campus groups and organizations. In its 59th year, the event has blossomed in size, reaching over 2,000 attendees (with 4,000 livestream viewers) and is partially sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs and Murray State Alumni Association. e five-hour event took place outdoors on the main campus quad on the steps of Lovett Auditorium. Participants and spectators were encouraged to bring old musical instruments to the show, which are then donated to area grade school music programs. With an awareness of the current political climate and numerous negative events in the news, the chapter chose the theme "Hope in Humanity" as a statement of love, well-being, and inspiration. It was their desire to provide a positive experience for attendees and participants, so they would leave feeling inspired, hopeful, and with a desire to spread a message of acceptance and unity. "We wanted to spread the message of love, and what better way to do that than through what we all love, the thing that connects us, music," shared Madelyn Hogrebe, Iota Beta Chapter Editor. As this is a campus-wide affair, participating groups included fraternities, sororities, residence halls, sports teams, and clubs. Each ensemble prepared a 4-8 minute song or medley with choreography to perform within one of four categories. e groups were also provided with a vocal coach from the Iota Beta Chapter to guide them towards the final event. is additional element furthered chapter outreach and recognition, while also promoting music education. Allison Adams, the All Campus Sing Committee Chair, said "It's always very cool to walk around campus this time of year, past all of the buildings with steps out front where people are meeting to rehearse. You can walk through the quad and hear all of this singing. It's wonderful." is year's event included an a cappella pre-show with EQ Blu, a kick-off by the Murray State Football team, and ended with exhibition performances by SAI's Iota Beta Chapter and the Gamma Delta Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. e competing groups were awarded cash prizes sponsored by Student Affairs, and a Grand Champion was crowned, which for 2017 was the local chapter of Alpha Delta Pi. is fundraising event raised a total of $5,500 for SAI's People-to- People projects. FOR MORE INFORMATION follow All Campus Sing on Twi er at twi er.com/AllCampusSing Philanthropy Through Music Making T he Metropolitan Opera's 2017-18 season will feature 220 performances of 26 works, including two Met premieres, one co-commissioned by the company and one an older masterpiece having its first Met performances; a variety of repertory favorites, three in new productions; and performances of Verdi's Requiem. The season opens on Sept. 25 with a new production of Bellini's Norma, conducted by Carlo Rizzi, directed by Sir David McVicar, and starring Sondra Radvanovsky, one of the world's leading interpreters of the role, opposite Joyce DiDonato as Adalgisa and Joseph Calleja as Pollione. On Oct. 26, composer Thomas Adès conducts the North American premiere of his The Exterminating Angel, a Met co- commission, based on the screenplay by Luis Buñuel and Luis Alcoriza of Buñuel's 1962 absurdist film. A new production of Puccini's Tosca will open on New Year's Eve, with Andris Nelsons conducting Sir David McVicar's staging. Kristine Opolais stars in the title role opposite Jonas Kaufmann as her devoted lover Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel as Scarpia. A new staging of Così fan tutte, set in the 1950s on Coney Island, opens March 15 and is conducted by David Robertson, directed by Phelim McDermott, and includes Tony Award winner Kelli O'Hara in her role debut as the maid Despina. On April 12, Massenet's operatic adaptation of the Cinderella story, Cendrillon, has its Met premiere, conducted by Bertrand de Billy and directed by Laurent Pelly, with Joyce DiDonato in the title role and Alice Coote as Prince Charming. In November and December, Met Music Director Emeritus James Levine will conduct four concert performances of Verdi's Requiem. Among the season's revivals are some rarely performed stagings, including Verdi's Luisa Miller, starring Sonya Yoncheva, Piotr Beczala, and Plácido Domingo; Rossini's Semiramide, last performed at the Met in 1993, with Angela Meade in the title role; and two recent new productions having their first revivals, François Girard's staging of Wagner's Parsifal and Patrice Chéreau's celebrated production of Strauss's Elektra. Met's Season To Feature 5 New Productions, Including 2 Met Premieres Above, members of Iota Beta Chapter perform at the chapter's annual All Campus Sing at Kentucky's Murray State University.

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