Chevalier de Saint-Georges by Marlon Daniel Sidewalk Soirees

Throughout the pandemic, these Mu Phis have put forth extra effort to share their music safely with others. These events began organically and filled a need for both players and listeners. Performing outdoors in impromptu and organized fashion, the musicians have been careful to social distance while generously giving their time and talents to benefit neighbors, families, and friends. Have you found a way to share your music-making since the onset of COVID-19? Perhaps these members will inspire you to plan a program of your own.

The audience enjoys a porch program presented by the voice studio of Lenita McCallum from the bottom of the stairs leading up to the front porch, which served as the stage.

Students from the vocal studio of Lenita McCallum take their final bows at the top of the staircase. From left to right: Alison Cool, Emma Cool, Joyce Balajadia, Allegra Dittman, and Lenita McCallum.

FROM LENITA MCCALLUM Phi Iota, Palos Verdes/South Bay Alumni I hosted a live vocal recital on July 16, 2020, featuring four of my students on my front porch in Rolling Hills Estates, California, as a special treat for all my neighbors and students’ families. The hour-long program ranged from operatic arias to art songs and selections from musical theater and the movies. The audience was enthusiastic and clapped and expressed their gratitude for being able to hear some live music again. Mu Phi Patron Shirley Ho added her voice to the mixture remotely from her home in West Los Angeles. About 40 people attended the porch concert, and another 20 or so viewed it via Zoom.

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra string players, along with Vera Parkin and students from Webster University’s Community Music School and the SLSO Youth Orchestra, join forces to perform Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue.

FROM DIANA HASKELL, Mu Epsilon Associate principal clarinet, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

“Driveway concerts were the brainstorm of Thomas Jöstlein, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s associate principal horn, and so far, he has held over 130 concerts at his home. The very evening SLSO musicians were told to stay home, Thomas performed by himself on his driveway for any neighbor who cared to listen. He repeated this every night, adding family and a few friends. Groups grew, and the great chamber music repertoire we have at our disposal now became a part of Thomas’ Friday night concerts. More neighbors came. Then Thomas asked me to play. Though nervous at first, it was gratifying and joyful to perform again. Never had I been so happy to play with my dear colleagues!

I started holding Saturday concerts on my driveway and am determined to continue as long as weather permits. We have three rules for performing: we do not rehearse; we dress casually, and whoever can play the part gets the part. If we cannot find an oboist, for example, we might substitute a trumpet player with a mute. This happened for a Mozart Serenade! Our neighbors love the atmosphere. Everyone is starved for the beauty found in art music. The goals we have of sharing beautiful music with neighbors, building community, and coming together to perform again, have resulted in a gratifying outreach during a tough time.” FROM REBECCA SORLEY Kappa, Indianapolis Alumni

On July 22, 2020, the Sorley family performed at Woodland Terrace of Carmel for assisted living residents. Woodland Terrace’s Regional Music Therapist, pianist Allegra Sorley- Hein (Beta Psi, Indianapolis Alumni), had created a concert series in the summer of 2019 and found a creative solution in 2020 by organizing the Window Concert series, during which musicians performed in a courtyard while the residents listened from their balconies. The residents were thrilled to witness live music and enjoyed hearing from Allegra’s family, who performed a program of piano duets, as well as horn and vocal selections with piano. Some residents were even able to come outside in a socially distanced way for the first time since the restrictions on assisted living facilities had been implemented. Performers included Allegra Sorley-Hein, piano; Darin Sorley, horn; Adam Sorley, baritone; and 4th Vice President Rebecca Sorley, piano (Kappa).

From left to right: Allegra Sorley-Hein, piano (Beta Psi, Indianapolis Alumni), Darin Sorley, horn, Rebecca Sorley, piano (Kappa, 4th VP) and Adam Sorley, baritone,

FROM VALERIE STARK, Beta, Boston Alumni

In the spring, I was speaking with a church friend about how to encourage people in this season of isolation. He suggested I figure out a way to share music, since I am a pianist. I thought about bringing an electronic keyboard out onto our front porch to play inspirational music once a week. My husband is a singer and enjoys playing a cajon. He also has been a part of a Beatles tribute band and is a big fan of their music.

It was natural to plan to include some vocal tunes from him.

We began in the middle of April and have continued nearly weekly since then. Performance times are regularly Friday evenings at 7 p.m., weather permitting, and begin with me playing a meditative piece as a prayer for frontline and essential workers and those affected by the virus. The first one I played was the J.S. Bach C Major Prelude (WTC, Vol. 1). I have also played “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King, “The Prayer” by Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster, and other similar pieces. After that, we perform about four songs, mostly Beatles covers, on themes of inspiration, perseverance, the love of travel and wandering, et cetera. We have also covered James Taylor tunes and a few Chicago tunes — artists we have loved since youth.

Occasionally we have been joined by a young banjo-playing neighbor (at a safe social distance) and most recently, by our daughter, Joy, who provides a strong third vocal harmony.

Pianist Valerie Stark and her husband, Jeff, are joined by their daughter, Joy, for one of their weekly Stark Family Porch Music concerts.

Initially we invited our proximate neighbors by email to stand on their porches for the 15-minute concert. They in turn have invited other neighbors to join. There are also many dog walkers who catch a tune on their way down the street. In the summer, we began sharing our concerts on Facebook, and friends far and wide have responded that they enjoy singing along or just listening in.

As we gained in momentum with live and media performing, so has our investment in equipment. A large used keyboard amplifier and full keyboard purchases and tweaks to the computer connection have raised the sound quality. My husband has enjoyed the challenge of constantly improving sound as well as programming the evenings.

The repertoire list is up to 42. We will continue as long as weather and daylight permit. We are still having fun. People gather in cars in the driveway, on the street, at distances on our front lawn, or across the street on porches or seated on a stone wall. It gives them an event to attend safely and a great way to connect with each other.

FROM BARBRA BAILEY BRADLEY Epsilon Omicron, Washington, D.C. Alumni

“The first weekend of June is billed as Random Acts of Harping (RAOH), an annual event now in its tenth year that encourages harpists and harpers to share their music and instruments with the public. As part of that, I gave a porch concert of some of my original compositions and arrangements. I had an in-person audience of two, plus the birds who sang along, but I know that Seniorsome of the neighbors also heard it because they commented later. I haven’t always been able to participate in RAOH but was thrilled to be part of it this year, which was particularly special because of the pandemic with everyone staying as close to home as possible. My participation in this event was included in the RECITAL

Fall 2020 Issue of the Folk Harp Journal, published by the

International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen.” You can Flutist Breanna Daley performs her senior recital outside at Washington State University while the hear Barbra perform on her YouTube channel (search for Barbra audience social distanced during COVID-19.

Bailey Bradley) or go to youtube.com/channel/UCJXmeFl_jG-

Vivau35R0JQgg FROM SOPHIA TEGART Mu Beta, Portland Alumni Flute professor at Washington State UniversityPorch My student, Breanna Daley (Mu Beta), who recently graduated from Washington State University as a flute performance major, postponed her senior recital that was scheduled for last April due to Covid-19. She rescheduled

PROGRAM it for July 16 and pushed back her graduation to August in the hopes of performing her recital live. By the time her newly scheduled recital came around, Covid-19 was just starting its second wave, and the university was forced to cancel the concert hall performance. Instead of giving up, the staff and faculty at WSU found another option. The WSU School of Music moved Breanna’s recital outside of the concert hall to a lovely nook by the loading dock! They built her a stage, rolled out a grand piano, brought in staff to livestream the concert, and even allowed a small socially distanced audience. The other members of Mu Beta and the flute studio brought in flowers to decorate the stage; it was all hands on deck! Breanna’s recital, titled “Sounds of the Forest,” suddenly had the perfect setting and included works by Anna Bon di Venezia, Otar Taktakishvili, Sofia Gubaidulina, Pietro Morlacchi, and Claude Debussy. It was a wonderful evening concert with perfect weather that just missed the next-day Washington mandate to ban indoor and outdoor concerts due to Covid-19. Breanna’s story is one of hope, perseverance,

Barbra Bailey Bradley performs some of her original harp and a never-ending love of sharing music. This outdoor compositions and arrangements on her porch in June 2020 as part of an annual worldwide event called Random Acts concert has inspired the WSU School of Music to start a of Harping. summer music series, hopefully, in summer 2021.

Congratulations to pianist Geoffrey Burleson (Phi Gamma, New York City Alumni, ACME Honoree) on the release of his recording of the complete (Palos Verdes/South Bay Alumni) performs a “Tune of the Week” on her Facebook page, which are generally posted on Monday mornings. Performances include a Scarlatti sonata, “Danza de la mosa donosa” by Ginastera, a Spanish Dance by Granados, “Girl with the Flaxen Hair” by Debussy and the E-flat Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2 by Chopin. Visit facebook.com/deborah-aitkenrealtor to listen and leave a comment.

Congratulations to two members of Palos Verdes/

South Bay Alumni chapter: Mary Feyk (Phi Nu,

Palos Verdes/South Bay Alumni) received Amethyst commendation for 70 years of service to the

Fraternity. Mary was initiated into the Phi Nu chapter on October 23, 1950.Linnea Eades was awarded a Diamond commendation for 60 years of service to the Fraternity. Linnea was initiated into Phi Nu on February 14, 1960. piano works of Camille Saint Saëns on the Naxos label. The eight world premiere recordings are played from unpublished manuscripts Geoffrey Burleson obtained from the Bibliotheque nationale de France. These recorded virtuosic rarities by Saint-Saens include a solo transcription of his Africa for piano and orchestra, and fantasies on works by Beethoven, Gounod, Liszt, Bizet, and others. Geoffrey Burleson has performed at the Eglise St-Merri, Paris; American Academy in Rome; Sibelius Academy, Helsinki; Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall, Athens; National Museum of Art, Mexico City; De Doelen, Rotterdam, Netherlands; and with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Arlington and New England Philharmonics; and the Holland Symfonia. He is on the piano faculties of Princeton University and the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center and is professor of music and director of piano studies at Hunter College,

Pianist Deborah Aitken CUNY. Visit geoffreyburleson.com for more information.

On May 27, 2020, pianist Shanice Aaron (Palos Verdes/South Bay Alumni) collaborated with bassist John Mietus — she in Los Angeles, he in Ohio — for the UCLA Mindful Music channel’s Take it Easy: Classical Piano and Bass Series, dedicated to the UCLA School of Nursing. The three videos aired on May 27, 2020. The series features soothing arrangements of J.S. Bach’s “Air” on the G String, Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata, and Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20 in C# minor. Shanice also performed with Daniel Lim, cellist, that are presented on Mindful Music’s Spiritual Bliss with Bach Playlist, which aired on July 1, 2020. Visit

Mary Feyk Linnea Eades

Mindful Music LA on YouTube. Congratulations to Elizabeth “Betty” Swist Holderried (Phi Upsilon, Boston Alumni) who was recognized for 60 years of service to Mu Phi Epsilon. She received a Diamond commendation from the Fraternity. Betty was initiated into Mu Phi Epsilon on December 12, 1960.

The TLC Singers, led by Debra Shrader with participation by MFE PV/ SB Co-president Laverne M. McCoy, sang in a couple of socially distant backyards for friends who are home-bound. Although difficult, they sang with masks, necessary during the pandemic.

Phi Pi students Patrick Orr, Dakota Bennett, and Courtney Houston from Wichita State University, Kansas, sang for residents at Larksfield Place Retirement Community. They socially distanced, while residents listened from the courtyard and balconies, and created colorful sidewalk chalk drawings that said, “Music,” “Friendship,” and “Harmony!”

Jessica Dodge Hannah PorterOcceña Patrick Orr Yi-Yang Chen

Congratulations to Mu Phi Epsilon International Competition finalists Jessica Dodge (Phi Tau) saxophone; Hannah Porter-Occeña (Alpha Kappa), flute; Patrick Orr (Phi Pi), pianist; and Yi-Yang Chen (Mu Upsilon, New York City Alumni), pianist, who are each recipients of a “Just Because We Wanted To And You Deserve It” Award for $500, presented by the Denton Alumni chapter. The final competition is scheduled to take place in Denton, Texas, next summer and will precede the Fraternity’s international convention to be held in Grapevine, Texas. “This is Why We Kneel,” by composer Charles Dickerson (Omega, Omega, Palos Verdes/South Bay Alumni), which was recorded with a men’s chorus and the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, was recently updated to include event of racial inequality and pain. This video can be viewed via YouTube on the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles channel at https://youtu.be/ PuxPSekKJk8. Charles has also recently completed two choral works with orchestra, “Psalm 91” and “The Storm is Passing Over,” which uses the text of a gospel song by Charles Tindley, African American Methodist minister and gospel music composer. Congratulations to conductor Marlon Daniel (Mu Xi, New York City Alumni) who joined the faculty as director of orchestral ensembles this fall at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. He will lead the symphony orchestra at Rose Hill and the Chamber Orchestra at Lincoln Center. This past summer he appeared on KOPN, 89.5 FM “Speaking of the Arts”; Facebook Live “Across the Arts with Patrick McCoy” on the Maestro Series; Mostly Mozart Festival on WQXR-FM with Terrence McKnight; the Intercultural Music Initiative; and PlutonCongratulations to Nina Crecia (Beta Alpha) for the publication of her new choral composition, “The New Colossus,” now available from J.W. Pepper. The SATB work is based on the sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus, which is mounted on the base of The Statue of Liberty. The piece “reflects changing times through key modulations and ends with the statue’s open call into the world as a beacon of hope for those in need of sanctuary,” according to the publisher’s website. Parts and audio-file rehearsal tracks and piano accompaniment, can be purchased at jwpepper.com.

Magazine.com.

Maquette Kuper

Rejean Anderson Two members of the Sacramento Alumni chapter, Maquette Kuper (Beta) and Rejean Anderson (Phi Nu), held a porch concert with outdoor seating at Rejean’s home on June 11, 2020. “This was a fun solution to the social distancing problem,” says Dr. Barbara Baker (Alpha Delta).