Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • SUMMER 2017 • sai-national.org 12 N O P R S T U W X Y Z Sharp eyes will have noted the announcement of the 2018 IAMA Composition Competition in the last edition of Pan Pipes. Next year marks the 22 nd recurrence of the competition, by any measure a venerable run and still going strong. What is IAMA? Since its inception, the Inter- American Music Awards Composition Competition has epitomized Sigma Alpha Iota's commitment to fostering new music. IAMA not only provides an opportunity for composers to achieve the goal of publication by an established and highly regarded music publisher, C.F. Peters, but also provides a very public — and very receptive — springboard for their winning work's debut. ere's no disputing that the IAMA concert is an eagerly anticipated component of every triennial convention. As a singular convention event stoked by the prospect of surprise, the very air in the room on the eve of the performance palpably crackles with frissons of energy and suspense. is cycle should prove no exception. Composers who embrace the challenge of entering a piece have until September 1 to submit. e category/instrumentation for 2018 is solo piano. (Visit the SAI National website for full application criteria and instructions.) But the ultimate winner is not the only one whose composition will be unveiled at Convention; the Composer-Judges tasked with reviewing the entries and selecting a winner from among them will share the 2018 IAMA concert program, as their respective companion works composed specifically for the occasion receive their world premieres on the IAMA concert as well. Who are the Composer-Judges for this cycle? Meet Bonnie Ruth Janofsky and Dr. Richard Crosby. Each of our two distinguished judges have exhibited a career-long devotion to music of the Americas, old and new. Both began their music journey as pianists, later delving into composition in earnest. And both are eager to share their unique perspectives and talents with the gloriously diverse membership of SAI. Californian Bonnie Ruth Janofsky is a native Angelino from a musical family. Her father played alto sax with some of the most legendary names in jazz. A multi-faceted writer and performer, Bonnie's experience covers a broad range of styles and musical idioms. She is a highly regarded pianist and drummer, in addition to her composing career. Bonnie completed her bachelor's program and graduate work at California State University, Los Angeles, and was a participant in the world-famous Earle Hagen BMI Film Scoring Workshop. At the University of Southern California, she completed the Advanced Studies Program, Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television, also receiving the annual BMI Award. She studied composition with noted film and television composers David Angel. Bonnie's writing credits include composing and arranging for a multitude of shorts, film, jingles, live shows—including Jay Leno's "Tonight Show"—vocalists, big bands, and symphony orchestras, from combos to large ensembles, and from Dixieland to jazz to Latin to classical to pop. She has been featured in Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States. Her award-winning film scores have been featured in numerous festivals, including the 2016 independent release, "Breaking Legs" featuring Chris Kattan and Lee Merriweather. On the performing side, Bonnie created an all-women Big Band, Maiden Voyage, and has appeared on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" as well as on a Big Band Weekend opposite Count Basie, Woody Herman, Harry James, and Maynard Ferguson. She has served on the boards of the American Society of Composers and Arrangers, Los Angeles Women in Music, and Local 47 of the American Federation of Musicians, and is active in numerous other organizations including the Alliance for Women Film Composers, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. On the distinction of being asked to serve as a Composer-Judge for the 2018 IAMA competition, Bonnie had this to say: "My father played alto sax with Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Xavier Cugat, and the Dorsey Brothers, then le music and the road for family life. I never heard him perform and always say that music was in my genes. I began on piano. In college, in jazz band, I tried drums and loved them! Aer a music theory class, I changed from pre-med to a music major! Art Danner at West Los Angeles College encouraged me to compose and orchestrate. While at WLAC, I wrote the school song! At Cal State University-Los Angeles, I majored in piano and percussion performance, then shied toward music prep and orchestration. I was always told I was a natural as an orchestrator! Many "old school" musicians thought a woman should not play drums. Nevertheless, I played on! I created my own big band in which I played drums. I was encouraged to have an all- women band and that band became Maiden Voyage, then played on e Tonight Show! Later, not wanting a novelty, I had a coed band for which I wrote all the charts and played drums. I decided to stretch and enrolled in the USC Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program. My latest film, Breaking Legs, was recently distributed by Vision Films. Aer USC, I INTER-AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS Spotlight on IAMA and Our Composer-Judges Bonnie Ruth Janofsky and Dr. Richard Crosby, the 2018 SAI Inter-American Music Awards Composer-Judges.

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