Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • FALL 2017 • PAN PIPES 9 T he White House Historical Association announced the upcoming release of its newest publication, Music at the White House, a fascinating book detailing the musical ceremonies and performances at the White House as well as musical interests of the presidents and their families. is new edition, updated from the award-winning title first published in 1986, is expanded to include the role of music during the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama as well as the first months of the Donald J. Trump Administration. e book will be available in early September. Award-winning author and musicologist Elise K. Kirk, Ph.D., an Alpha Chapter initiate of Sigma Alpha Iota, traces the story of more than 200 years of musical performance in the White House to present the tale of the American process of music-making — how music in a democracy has been absorbed, shaped, transformed, and perceived from the period of George Washington to early in the Donald J. Trump administration. Whether dramatic or abstract, vernacular or cultivated, music can mold the political process and shape a historic event in a manner like no other. e authoritative and scholarly narrative is supported by a collection of more than 400 images, which includes White House musical programs from the White House archives; period photographs of musicians and performers dating back to the Lincoln administration and newly commissioned photography. Kirk is a member of the Washington, D.C. Alumnae chapter. She was a featured speaker at SAI's 100 th Anniversary Convention in 2003. She is an award-winning author, lecturer and musicologist, who is widely recognized for her research in the fields of opera and American cultural history. Her books include American Opera (University of Illinois Press, 2001) Musical Highlights from the White House (Krieger, 1992) and Music at the White House: A History of the American Spirit (University of Illinois Press, 1986), which won the Deems Taylor/ASCAP Award. She is founding editor of e Dallas Opera Magazine and the author of articles appearing in numerous publications, such as Opera News, Kennedy Center Stagebill, American Music, White House History, e Magazine Antiques, Cambridge Companion to Twentieth Century Opera and others. An accomplished pianist and singer, Elise Kirk earned her Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees from the University of Michigan and Ph.D. in musicology from Catholic University of America. She pursued post-graduate work under Kurt von Fischer at the University of Zurich. Dr. Kirk has received many awards for her research and writing, notably from the Smithsonian Institution, the Hoover Presidential Library Association and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. She was the Primary Consultant for the documentary film, e White House: In Tune with History, produced by John Goberman and the White House Historical Association. e film received the prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award in 2004 and continues to be aired nationally on PBS. She taught music history and musicology at Bernard Baruch College (CUNY), Southern Methodist University, and Catholic University of America, and as a presidential appointee, she served on the National Advisory Board of the John F. Kennedy Center. A popular lecturer, her speaking engagements have taken her across the country and overseas, and have included e Metropolitan Opera, Steinway Hall, NY, the Library of Congress, and the University of Adelaide, Australia. Dr. Kirk also served as the narrator for the Pittsburgh Symphony under conductor Lorin Maazel, and in 2008 and 2011, she narrated two concerts presented by the US Marine Chamber Orchestra, directed by Col. Michael Colburn. Currently, Elise Kirk is on the advisory board of the New Grove Dictionary of American Music and is a director emeritus of the White House Historical Association. In her foreword, acclaimed American soprano and SAI Member Laureate Jessye Norman explains, "For more than two centuries, music has been understood as an integral part of the myriad-cultured educated life of our presidents and their families. eir personal inspiration and enjoyment has gone hand-in- hand with the official presentation of countless performances in the East Room. e long list of musicians of all genres who have crossed that welcoming, intimate stage is at once storied and magnificent…is book on the glorious mosaic of music at the White House shows us who we are and what we strive to be: One nation." Stewart McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association notes: "Since 1962, the award-winning books produced by the White House Historical Association have, through narrative and imagery, opened a door to the rich history of life lived in the world's most celebrated presidential home. But through music, Elise Kirk brings yet another dimension to this uniquely American story. " — White House Historical Association MUSIC NOTES SAI Kirk Pens Music at the White House FOR MORE INFORMATION visit whitehousehistory.org Music at the White House: From the 18 th to the 21 st Centuries written by Washington, DC Alumnae Chapter member Elise K. Kirk.

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