Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • SUMMER 2017 • sai-national.org 16 SAI PHILANTHROPIES Partnering with the McDowell colony to conduct a major renovation of Pan's Cottage, we are building a "virtual rose garden" by placing a red rose on the cottage drawing above for every $1,000 raised. We are well on our way to meeting the $100,000 goal by June 30, 2018, but still need your help. What can you do to support the Pan's Cottage Campaign efforts? • Hold chapter fundraisers – photos of chapters that donate will appear on the national website; • Match pledges made by Regional or Province Officers; • Donate an individual minimum gift of $25, matching Delta Chapter's 1916 request to the National Convention; • Speak about the MacDowell Colony and Pan's Cottage at Province Days; • Read quarterly PAN PIPES for Pan's Cottage Campaign articles. Thank you for helping Sigma Alpha Iota Philanthropies make the Pan's Cottage Campaign a success! of artists including Kristina Trask (Yaddo) and Helen Wurlitzer (Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico). I feel privileged to have been a MacDowell Fellow 5 times, and I never tire of this ritual at Hillcrest - sitting in this historic room with fellow Fellows, watching the old movie, humbled (and sometimes teary-eyed) as we realize that we are part of a century old lineage of creators. Very moving." What project were you working on while residing at Pan's Cottage? "When in Pan's Cottage/Irving Fine during the summer of 2011, I was just beginning a piece that would become for me a major turning point in my work. I had returned from my second trek to a remote area in the northern Nepalese Himalayas to record Tibetan melodies with an anthropologist that had not previously been documented. e region, Lo Monthang, Nepal, is close to the border of Tibet and one of the last remaining enclaves of traditional Tibetan culture. At MacDowell, I was listening to the audio of the 100+ recordings that we had made, and with permission from the performers, transcribing some of them into western notation. It was not an easy task. Some rhythms were difficult to identify, some melodies seemed like microtonal renderings of an ever-varying scale, some words could not be translated, and some vocal ornaments were perplexing even to the scholars. I reached out to my composer colleagues at MacDowell who listened and gave insightful feedback. at summer I succeeded in transcribing seven of the songs and started to sketch a large scale cantata, Tse Go La (At the threshold of this life). e cantata was sung in the region's Mustangi dialect of Tibetan with two movements in English to poetry by anthropologist and writer Dr. Sienna Craig. Tse Go La cantata is on the theme of the life cycle, rites of passage, and threshold moments. It is scored for double chorus (SATB/SSA), electronics, and chamber orchestra. I was developing a new tonal, rhythmic, and textural language in the voices and orchestra, as well as exploring the idea of "threshold" or "transition" in music. I also was experimenting with a merging between electronic sound created by treating my field recordings digitally in the context of the large ensemble. At MacDowell I also created the overarching structure for the 7 movement work and wrote its centerpiece: Tse Go La (III) on young love where a boy meets the girl that he knows will be his destiny, and he likens her to a vast lake, a mountain pasture, a flower. I also began composing Shar Ki Ri (II) which is performed by the Girlchoir, advising youth to look not to the east where the sun has already risen, but rather to the west where the sun has not yet set to build a meaningful life. Here is a link to a three minute interview with original audio and video from the treks: youtube.com/watch?v=9a_AJQ7Kh0w I remember each day at MacDowell that summer of 2011 spending time contemplating on what needed to be conveyed in this large scale piece. I was not only pushing the boundaries of my own work but was inspired by a vision of singers of all ages and backgrounds learning about this ancient and spiritually rich, endangered horse culture through music. ere were many challenges involved: choosing the songs, identifying the common threads, creating the "seed" musical materials that would lend themselves to both cohesiveness and contrast, working on a choral friendly Tibetan transliteration and pronunciation key, exploring harmonic and textural layers to support the original melodies while keeping them intact, and always treading gently with respect. Returning to Pan's Cottage in the evening provided the gentle tranquility needed for rest and rejuvenation before the next day's work." What has drawn you to keep returning to Peterborough? "I love everything about MacDowell: the beautiful natural setting with lots of paths to walk and think, wonderful studios tucked away in the forest, the great care of the staff to provide artists with a place that can be free from the stresses and distractions of the outside world, the exceptional community of gied artists. I am inspired by the community, learning from the creative process, language and aesthetic choices that other artists make and always leave with new friends and collaborators. A dreaming space for art to be manifest, MacDowell is no doubt a bit of heaven." Dr. Clearfield's 2011 fellowship at MacDowell paved the way for a new body of work, including her recent Rabsong Shar (e Eastern Room of the Palace) for soprano and chamber orchestra, commissioned by the University of Arkansas, inspired by the power of music to tell a story of a culture, and even help preserve an endangered language. She continues to be involved with the documentation project as well as an initiative to help preserve the Mustangi dialect. e Tse Go La cantata set her on the journey to compose her first opera, MILA on the venerated Tibetan yogi Milarepa, who lived in the Himalayas in the 11th Century. Clearfield returned to MacDowell in the summer of 2014 to work on the opera and is currently completing the orchestration. e opera is set to libretto by NYC writers Jean-Claude van Itallie and Lois Walden, commissioned by Gene Kaufman and Terry Eder, to be directed by Kevin Newbury. Now celebrating its 30th year, Dr. Clearfield is also the founder and host of the award- winning Salon, featuring contemporary, classical, jazz, electronic, multimedia and world music. e performance series was winner of Philadelphia Magazine's 2008 "Best of Philadelphia" award. She is also curating and hosting Salon concerts around the country and you can read more at andreaclearfield.com.

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