Centenary group plans Women in Music benefit concert

Current Centenary SAI members. (from top left) Colleen Durnin, Rebecca Vacha, Marie Kadesky, Becca Missey (from bottom left) Victoria Sundin, Emmaline Dyer, Aaliyah Thomas, Kieley Simonsen, and Coco Gutierrez

 

March 13, 2017

SHREVEPORT, LA — A group of Centenary student and alumni singers will present a concert to benefit Centenary’s Eta Lambda chapter of the Sigma Alpha Iota (SAI) music honorary society. The concert, entitled “Women in Music,” will take place on Saturday, March 25 at 7:00 p.m. in Anderson Auditorium at the College’s Hurley School of Music. The concert is free and open to the public, but donations will be accepted to raise money to support SAI chapter activities at Centenary.

“Funds raised at this concert will help our chapter cover annual costs required by the national organization, such as the convention fund, insurance, and service fees,” says Rebecca Vacha, treasurer of SAI. “Donations also help our chapter support other fundraisers such as Boo Grams, Love Grams, and the annual Lagniappe concert in the spring. We’re currently brainstorming about new service projects we might be able to do next fall, and the money raised at this concert will help us plan for those activities.”

The “Women in Music” concert includes a variety of selections highlighting the work of female composers and performance icons as well as traditional Sigma Alpha Iota songs sung by the chapter. Several Centenary alumni and current students will participate in the program, including Hayley Cooper ’15, Meredith Ball ’15, Cara Lamb ’13, Emmaline Dyer ’19, and Rebecca Vacha ’16.

Sigma Alpha Iota is an international music fraternity founded in 1903 at the University School of Music in Ann Arbor, Michigan. SAI chapters are dedicated to encouraging, nurturing, and supporting women musicians through educational and performance programs. Its charitable arm, SAI Philanthropies, Inc., supports music education in a variety of ways, from scholarships and grants available to SAI members to projects which provide material assistance to schools in developing countries, such as the People-to-People Project.

Centenary’s Eta Lambda chapter of SAI was founded in 1987 by Judy Zachary Price and is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2017. The group will recognize this important anniversary at its annual Lagniappe concert on Monday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Anderson Auditorium. This concert is also free and open to the public, with donations for SAI Philanthropies collected at a reception following the concert.

 
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