Presidents Letter

Dear Sisters, I hope that you all enjoyed your summer. I cant believe that the year is about to begin. Last year we had an amazing year. Throughout the year, we affiliated five new members, initiated two distinguished members (one Member Laureate, Emily White and one National Arts Associate, Michael Skipper) and hosted a hugely successful Benefit Concert in October. We accomplished so much that in June, we were awarded Phi B's Alumnae Chapter Achievement Award. I would like to be the first to congratulate everyone in the chapter on a successful year! Thanks to each and every member of the chapter, we were able to achieve the goal. I'm so proud to be part of such a special group of women. I look forward to having yet another successful year next year. Congratulations again to everyone on such an amazing achievement. Without everyone's help, we would not have been able to win this award. This year will be a very busy and exciting year. On January 1, the New York Alumnae Chapter will celebrate its 80th Anniversary! I have asked Rosemary Metcalf to chair a special committee that will help plan an event to celebrate this momentous occasion. Im positive that it will be an amazing event! As always, we will also have opportunities for sisters to perform in musicales, meetings and our upcoming Province Day. Im looking forward to what will no doubt be another great year for this wonderful chapter. If you have any ideas or suggestions at all for our chapter, please dont hesitate to contact myself or any other members of the executive board. Love and roses,

Fall 2011
Amy E. Hawley, Editor

f
Inside this Issue
Page 2 - Postcard from Greece - Support a Good Cause - Volunteers Needed Page 3 - Musics Gift of Voice - Phi A& B Province Day Page 4 - Have a Heart for Haiti - Amber Womack Soprano Page 5 - Sharpen up Your Scissors - National Arts Associate and the Rose of Honor Recipient Page 6 - Membership Info - Rose of the Year - Dr. Emily White Pages 7-8 - Mark Your Calendars

Michelle Ingram
Attention:
We will be publishing seasonal (so, just four) newsletters this year instead of monthly newsletters.

Winter Newsletter Deadline:

Friday, November 25 Send submissions to the editor at amyehawley@gmail.com or call 718.309.5734.

Support a Good Cause

submitted by Stefanie Britton

I will be running in the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure again this year. This 5k is a fundraiser for breast cancer. Help us find a cure by making a donation today! You can either give me money at our first meeting on September 17, or you can click on my page. https://secure2.convio.net/nyk/site/Donation2?idb=5 68328662&1400.donation=form1&df_id=1400&FR _ID=1230&PROXY_ID=2012984&PROXY_TYPE =20

Postcard from Greece

submitted by Sara Bong

Long-time NYAC member Sara Bong recently returned from three weeks in Greece, where she oversaw key aspects of MidAmerica Productions' seventh Festival of the Aegean on the beautiful island of Syros in the Cyclades. Festival highlights included an unforgettable sunset concert at historic St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church for an overflowing audience; consecutive sold-out performances of La traviata plus a choral gala at the Apollo Municipal Theatre in Hermopolis, built in 1864 as a replica of La Scala in Milan; and an exciting outdoor presentation of Carmina Burana "under the stars" in the Miaoulli Plateia featuring a chorus of 300+ singers and the Pan-European Philharmonic. Overall, 24 ensembles from the U.S., Canada, and Greece totalling over 400 choristers participated. The multi-disciplinary festival also featured theater, ballet, film, and orchestral presentations, as well as the Greek Opera Studio, an opera training program (for which Sara also served as accompanist). When not performing, festival participants also had the opportunity to visit the famous islands of Mykonos, Paros, and Delos; along with the not-to-be-missed Acropolis, Parthenon, and Plaka in Athens. Opa!

Volunteers Needed
submitted by Kim Manley

Would anyone be interested in volunteering their time to perform with my preschool students? This would be an excellent way to expose my kids to different instruments and types of music. Most performances would be at 5:00 p.m. You can perform any type of music you want, but please make sure it is age appropriate for 3-5 year-olds. If you are willing to shadow me during music classes they run from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday. Please call 973-356-8587 or email kim.manley82@gmail.com I would love to have as many voices and instruments as possible support this wonderful cause!

Musics Gift of Voice

submitted by Carolyn Geer

I have been asked to describe for our newsletter my experience singing to the elderly over the last dozen years. It all began with my mother. She had Alzheimer's disease and lost the ability to speak at the very beginning of her dementia. I visited her when she was still in her home out in Tulsa about once a month. One day I found an old evangelical hymnal that she had used as a girl, and I began to play the piano and sing the hymns to her. She sat down with me on the piano bench and began to sing with me. She could actually sing the words to all the hymns even though she could not speak. After my sister moved her to a nursing home, we continued to sing with her. At that time, it all seemed like a miracle. We know so much more now with all the research on music and the changes it can make in the brain. After she died, I began to explore the possibility of singing to the elderly in nursing homes. I wanted to donate my time. Music and singing have given me so much over my lifetime that I wanted to give something back, and gifts in the form of singing to the elderly, demented or not, seemed like the perfect way. I found the perfect pianist in Richard Duncan, and our work has evolved into several nursing homes, two senior centers, and lately in two homes reserved exclusively for those with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. Over the years the work has been truly satisfying. And I am singing to my mom every time.

Phi Province Conference Weekend

The Boston Alumnae Chapter and Epsilon Zeta Chapter will be hosting a Phi Province Conference the weekend of November 4-5, at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 3 Maple Street, Framingham, MA 01702-2915. Parking is available. The registration form, housing information, driving directions and musicale forms can be found at: www.bostonalumnaechapter.org From the Boston Alumnae newsletter: It is exciting to note that we will be featuring on Friday evening the recognized artistry of soprano MARIA FERRANTE, National Honorary Member of SAI. Her credentials are very impressive. This open concert is free to the community and the public at large. Saturday is jam-packed with activities which will feed the hearts and souls of those in attendance. We request that each chapter be responsible for sending at least one delegate and invite you to spotlight one of your members in performance on the open musicale, Inclement weather of New England may be a factor. Do remember to bring an additional sweater. Watch for further announcements closer to the date. If any NYAC sister is planning on attending, please contact Michelle Ingram at: SAINYAC.President@gmail.com 631-335-6637

Greetings! Hello! It's been a very HOT summer here in the Big Apple, and I've got some exciting news! First, my website has a whole new look and I would like to invite you to check it out at amberwomack.com. Here, fans like you will be able to keep in touch, see what I'm up to, and get info on upcoming performances! I'd also like to invite you to LIKE my new Facebook fan page! Here, fans like you will be able to keep in touch, see what I'm up to, and what my upcoming schedule of performances looks like! Finally, I've uploaded some videos to my YouTube channel, and I'd love it if you subscribed! You can find links to all of the above and more beneath my picture to the right. Keep checking in, and thank you for reading! Sincerely, Amber

Have a Heart for Haiti

submitted by Karen Birch Blundell

On Sunday May 15, the newly formed Essex Consort (www.essexconsort.weebly.com) performed to a full house at the First Congregational Church of Essex, CT. The concert, Have a Heart for Haiti benefited the charity Sister Cities Essex Haiti. NYAC Sister Karen Birch Blundell (oboe, English horn) teamed with Adam de Sorgo (oboe, piano) and Kristen Leitterman (oboe, voice) to perform a variety of repertoire. The program included Bach, Beethoven and contemporary composers Bill Douglas, Philip Rothman and Cecilia McDowall. Sister Cities Essex Haiti supports projects in rural Deschapelles, Haiti, including the Hpital Albert Schweitzer. Currently the charity is working to establish a library for the community. Sister Cities is also working with the Deschapelles community band, Fanfare, to supply band instruments, scores and equipment such as music stands. The bands goal is to increase the number and quality of their instruments and to slowly create a music school. Sigma Alpha Iotas People to People program generously offered to help with the purchase of instruments such as a tuba, a baritone, and bass drum as well as the purchase of music scores, technique books and music stands. In June, Jennifer Grant (founder of SSEH) travelled to Deschapelle with the first set of musical equipment donated through SAI. She and several other musicians worked with the Fanfare band for a week of rehearsals and concerts. Sister Cities Essex Haiti hopes that anyone with a band instrument languishing in their closets will be interested in putting them back in use by donating them to this effort. If you would like to make a donation, please contact SCEH through their web site SisterCitiesEssexHaiti.org.

National Arts Associate and the Rose of Honor Recipient

On Sunday, June 5, the NYAC was honored to welcome our newest National Arts Associate. Michael Skippers career began as an actor, appearing in soap operas such as Days of Our Lives and General Hospital, and many prime time shows, including Archie Bunkers Place, Falcon Crest, Dallas, and Hart to Hart to name a few. Since 1995, Mike has been actively involved in producing live stage plays and musicals both on and off-Broadway in New York City. OffBroadway, Mike has produced many critically acclaimed shows, including The Vagina Monologues, Bat Boy, Shockheaded Peter, Necessary Targets, and Cobb, which he co-produced with Kevin Spacey. He received his first Tony nomination for The Crucible with Liam Neeson and Laura Linney. Other Broadway producing credits include Play On!, The Civil War, and On The Waterfront. Other Broadway shows include Rent, Damn Yankees with Jerry Lewis, 45 Seconds From Broadway, High Fidelity, Seussical, Taboo with Boy George, and the Tony Award Winning Avenue Q. Mike has been an active supporter of our chapter for many years in a various number of ways from donating tickets to raffle off as fundraisers to financial donations. Also on Sunday, June 5, NYAC presented the Rose of Honor to the Phi B Province Officer, Amber Womack. Amber was so busy hosting the meeting, that she was really caught off guard when asked to come forward and receive this honor in a ceremony where no sisters eyes were left dry. Before Amber became the Phi B Province Officer, she served as president of Beta Kappa, Delta Mu, and the NYAC just to name a few things she did. She has also received the Sword of Honor, the Ruby Sword of Honor from both Beta Kappa and Delta Mu, the SAI Honor Award, the SAI Scholastic Award, and was the Ft. Worth Alumnae SAI Scholarship Winner for 1998-99. We were honored to bestow this honor on such a well-deserving sister. Congratulations to both of these honored members!

Sharpen up Your Scissors

Melissa Wozniak is looking for 2-3 people to be on the scrapbooking committee. Interested parties should call or email her at: melissa.wozniak@yahoo.com 716-930-5070

Membership Forms
Its that time of year again, DUES ARE DUE! The Membership Form for the 2010 2011 is attached to this newsletter. You must PRINT it out and MAIL IT IN with a check for your dues. The sooner you get your dues in, the sooner we can complete the yearbook. So please, take 10 minutes and get this in! Also, dont forget that to be a member in good standing you MUST pay your Alumnae Association Dues to Nationals.

Dr. Emily White Receives Member Laureate Distinction

submitted by Michelle Ingram

Rose of the Year

Congratulations to Jennifer Creek Hughes on receiving the 2011 NYAC Rose of the Year. Jennifers dedication to music and her willingness to step up and accompany many of us at the last minute is something every sister will always cherish about Jennifer. Jennifer is moving away from the NY area, but she will always be an honored member of the NYAC. Thanks for all you gave to us, Jennifer!

On May 4th, we were honored to bestow member laureate honors to Emily White. Born in Rye, New York and raised in Miami, Emily White was initiated into Gamma Epsilon Chapter and held the office of chapter president, winning the Ruby Sword of Honor and National College Leadership Award. While living in England as a London Symphony Orchestra scholar, she performed privately for British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher under the auspices of the English National Trust. Dr. White, ARAM holds degrees from the University of Maryland, The Juilliard School, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Manhattan School of Music. As adjudicator, she has served on the jury of the Mannes International Keyboard Institute and Festival and has chaired the Undergraduate Performance Scholarships for SAI Philanthropies. Dr. White is a Steinway Artist and a member of the New York Alumnae Chapter. Earlier last year, Emily was also the featured artist for our Benefit Concert at St. Lukes in the Field. Congratulations to Emily on receiving one of the highest honors for a Sigma Alpha Iota sister. We are so lucky to have you in our chapter.

Mark Your Calendars

Save These Dates
2011 NYAC October Meeting: 3:00 p.m. on 10/16 at Sara Bongs apartment Phi A & B Conference Weekend: 11/411/5. NYAC November Meeting: Date and locale TBD. NYAC Holiday Musicale: 4:00 p.m. on 12/10 at Carolyn Geers apartment 2012 NYAC January Meeting: 1/22. Time and locale TBD. NYAC February Meeting: 2/25. Time and locale TBD. March: American Musicale & NYACs 80th Celebration. Date and locale TBD. NYAC April Meeting: 4/21 at Carolyn Geers apartment. Time TBD. NYAC June Meeting: 6/2 at Kim Manleys house. Time TBD. National Convention: 8/2-8/6, in Atlanta

NYAC September Meeting

Saturday, September 17 3:00 p.m. Harringtons Bar and Grill 370 7th Ave (between 30th and 31st Streets) RSVP to Michelle Ingram at: SAINYAC.President@gmail.com 631-335-6637

Fall Birthdays
Michelle Ingram 10/1 Carolyn Geer 10/9 Alana Mulford 10/17 Lynne Schreur 10/21 Estalla Pate 10/27 Alice Robotham 10/24 Sara Bong 11/6 Dr. Dorothy Indenbaum 11/24

Melissa Wozniaks Upcoming Performances

Melissa will be singing in a concert with Khorikos on 9/17 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Anthony's on 154 Sullivan Street. (Right after NYACs meeting if anyone wants to go.) She is also singing in two concerts with C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective on 11/17 and 11/19. For more details, check out www.c4ensemble.org

Amber Womacks Upcoming Performance

If you find yourself in the Philadelphia area on 9/13, check out Ambers one woman show. Please note the phone number for reservations should be 267-687-1161.