Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES • SPRING 2018 • sai-national.org 8 FOR MORE INFORMATION visit www.nationwide. americanclassicalmusic.org T he American Classical Music Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the induction of its newest member, composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, an initiate of Beta Alpha Chapter at Florida State University and member of the SAI American Composers Bureau. Hall of Fame President Gary L. Ingle presented Zwilich with her commemorative medallion at a reception following the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center concert on Sunday, April 8, 2018. A prolific composer in virtually all media, Zwilich's works have been performed by most of the leading American orchestras and by major ensembles abroad. Her works include five symphonies and a string of concertos commissioned and performed over the past two decades by the nation's top orchestras. Zwilich is the recipient of numerous prizes and honors, including the 1983 Pulitzer Prize in Music (the first woman ever to receive this coveted award), the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Chamber Music Prize, the Arturo Toscanini Music Critics Award, the Ernst von Dohnányi Citation, an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, four Grammy nominations, the Alfred I. Dupont Award, Miami Performing Arts Center Award, the Medaglia d'oro in the G.B. Viotti Competition, and the NPR and WNYC Gotham Award for her contributions to the musical life of New York City. Among other distinctions, Zwilich has been elected to the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1995, she was named to the first Composer's Chair in the history of Carnegie Hall, and she was designated Musical America's Composer of the Year for 1999. Zwilich, who holds a doctorate from The Juilliard School, currently holds the Francis Eppes Distinguished Professorship at Florida State University. Founded in 1996, The American Classical Music Hall of Fame seeks to build and sustain enthusiasm for classical music in America by celebrating diverse facets of classical music excellence. The Hall of Fame Inductees are selected through a rigorous process involving nominations and voting. The process is overseen by members of the Inductee Selection Committee, which included Earl Rivers, chair, Janelle Gelfand, Brian Shepard, and Marie Speziale. Additional oversight comes from a National Artistic Council, chaired by composer Samuel Adler. In May, 1998, the first induction took place at Cincinnati's Historic Music Hall during a concert by the United States Marine Band. This event marked the launch of the Hall of Fame as an award-granting body. It now has over 100 inductees, which it honors through special events. American Classical Music Hall of Fame Inducts Zwilich Composer and Beta Alpha initiate Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. MUSIC NOTES T heta Pi initiate Megan Constantinides is pursuing a degree in Music Therapy at Shenandoah University and was awarded an SAI Professional Development/Education Grant to assist with the costs. She shares her story here: "I will never forget the feeling of terror and inadequacy that overcame me on January 1, 2014 — weeks after I'd completed my bachelor's degree in Psychology. After an aggressive seven semesters of undergrad, I wasn't prepared for the uncertainty of my next step. I'd always been goal-oriented, always driven, and was suddenly without direction for the first time in years. Feeling lost, I floated from job to job for a few months before stumbling into the world of early childhood music. Becoming a preschool music teacher was both so unexpected and so rewarding. I became "Miss Megan" to my young students, which quickly evolved into the nickname 'Miss Music Megan.' At the same time, I began working with a high school marching band and drumline, delving into new worlds of teaching, arranging, and composing. It was these experiences that brought me back to an old, long-forgotten potential career: music therapy. Music has always been there for me, has always been my home. When I was lost, music offered me direction. Thanks to my admission into Shenandoah University, and a generous grant from Sigma Alpha Iota, I am discovering my true passions for both music psychology and music therapy. I am studying subjects that I truly enjoy, while continuing to teach and working to inspire a love of music in my students of all ages. My closest friends are teachers and fellow students, and I'm now building connections with the local alumnae chapter! Conservatory life has challenged me in unimaginable ways: I've learned new skills and instruments, written and performed an original song, and worked harder than I ever did as an undergraduate student (all in my first semester)! Music has taught me to learn and to teach, has brought me friendship and sisterhood, has tested me and helped me to grow. I wouldn't trade this life in music, or this home I've found, for anything." Finding My Way Home Megan Constantinides

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