Winter AIM 2021-Thank You!

A big thank you to those who attended our Winter AIM 2021 event, held on January 29^th and 30^th. What a great weekend of education! From Jennie Morton’s classes on the voice and how it connects to the rest of the body, to our wonderful regional faculty classes on the Song Assessment Tool, character tools for storytelling over Zoom, and online programs available for choruses and quartets to use for rehearsing, we had a little bit of everything. Thank you to Terrie Carrozzella, Laura Schultz, Laura Bode, Leah Brooks, Andi Giles, and Kathy Hebert for their fantastic classes- we are so lucky to have such talent in Region 12!

Registration is still open for Winter AIM- $15 will give you access to all six class video recordings. Please log in to your Region 12 member account, click on “Members Menu,” then click on “AIM” which will take you to the event page where you can click on the registration button.

Thank you, Region 12, for your continued support during these difficult times. When we are together in person again, what a joy it will be!
 
With a song,
 
Alison Miller
Education Coordinator

Registration Link for Winter AIM Videos

 
Winter AIM 2021: Terrie Carrozzella- “The Song Assessment Tool- How it Works & What Happens Post-Submission”

Using the SAI Song Assessment Tool
 
Are you considering adding a song to your group’s repertoire, and you want to be sure it meets SAI’s diversity requirements before you begin to learn it? At Winter AIM 2021, Terrie Carrozzella led us through the process of how we can determine if a song meets those requirements. In this discussion, she reviewed the section about how the tool works, and where members can find resources and tools to help them make an informed decision about the acceptability of a song. 
 
The first thing you want to do is go to the SAI website and log in as a member; go to “Education” and scroll to the end to find “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-Member Resources” and then to the section labeled “How It Works.” Here will be the information needed to guide you through the song assessment process.
It’s possible that your song and its specific arrangement has already been assessed; if so, you will be saved a great deal of time. Go to the last listing in this topic: “View the Song Evaluation Database.” This is a list of songs already evaluated by the 20 women on the DEI Task Force who have been researching and assessing the lyrics of the music we sing in performances. Listed are the names of the song, the arranger, whether the lyrics are admissible, and a link to the research done in reaching this decision. If your song and its arranger is on the list and has been approved, you need to go no further---go ahead and present the song to your group. If the song your group is considering is not on the list, arranged by a different person than is listed, or if you’re singing parody lyrics, you will have to submit it for review and evaluation- a process that will require some researching on your own. You will also need to have a Google account, since all correspondence with the committee is via Google.
 
In the “How It Works” section, go to the “Song Assessment Tool Questions.” There will be a list of questions you will have to answer before submitting your request, and this is where the research comes in. Review the questions; some are easy answers, some require your seeking out information about the lyrics, the composer, arranger, lyricist, history of the song, etc. Once you have found the answers to those posed in this section, you can move on to actually filling out the Song Assessment Tool (SAT).  You can then submit it, via Google Docs share, to the DEI Task Force Subcommittee that will assess the song and then report back to you its appropriateness for use in an SAI contest or performance.
 
By now you’re probably wondering what resources are available to help answer some of the questions on the Song Assessment Tool and how you find them. Terrie suggested the following:

1. Google the song’s name, the name of the composer, lyricist, and a bit about the history of the era in which it was written
2. Wikipedia is a good source, but not always totally accurate
3. YouTube might help
4. Email Terrie for a list of resources she and her team have used:  terriebari@yahoo.com 

Good luck and have fun! 
Yours in Harmony,  Harriett Feltman