History

Dr. Nancy Van de Vate, Honorary Member

The Ladies of the Alpha Omega initiated Dr. Nancy Van de Vate as an honorary member on October 9, 2005.  She received her Master’s Degree in Composition from the University of Mississippi in 1958.  She has composed over 130 works in virtually all forms, from a composition for solo instrument on only one note, to grand opera.  In 1994 the Austrian Government  granted her rare dual citizenship because of her exceptional achievements and musical contributions to the Republic of Austria.  Her music has gained numerous Pulitzer Prize and Grawemeyer Award nominations.

She was initiated before a concert honoring her achievement and contribution to music.  This was part of the Homecoming celebration at Ole Miss.  The concert was open to the public and faculty and student ensembles performed Dr. Van de Vate’s works.  After the concert, there was a book signing and reception.  The ladies of Alpha Omega assisted in the concert and organized the reception.  We are so proud to have Dr. Van de Vate as an Honorary Member of Sigma Alpha Iota. 

Ms. Linton is a Patroness member.   She was initiated in 1966.

Cynthia F. Linton, mezzo soprano, is professor of music, head of the vocal area and teaches applied voice at the University of Mississippi. She holds the B.M. and M.M. degrees in vocal performance from the University of Mississippi having done the majority of her undergraduate work at the Westminster Choir College of Rider University where she was a member of the famed Westminster Choir under the direction of John Findley Williamson. She won the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Singer of the Year award for the Southern Region in 1967 and was a two time district Metropolitan Opera Audition winner. Ms. Linton has performed with the Mississippi Opera Company and Opera Memphis. She has appeared as a recitalist and oratorio soloist with numerous college and civic organizations, and with regional symphony orchestras in Europe, Mexico and the southern and southwestern United States. She has served as adjudicator in competitions such as district and regional Metropolitan Opera auditions as well as NATS and MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) state, regional and national competitions. She served two terms as governor of the Mississippi chapter of NATS and two terms as governor of the NATS Southern Region.

Dr. Spurgeon is our Program and Social Advisor.

Debra Spurgeon is associate professor of music at the University of Mississippi where she conducts the Women's Glee and teaches choral methods and conducting. Dr. Spurgeon has been actively involved in leadership roles in the American Choral Directors Association, serving as president of the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association and president-elect of the Southwestern Division of ACDA. She is currently on the executive board of Mississippi Choral Directors. Dr. Spurgeon holds the doctor of musical arts degree in vocal performance from the University of Oklahoma where she was a recipient of the Benton Schmidt Voice Award; the master of music education from the University of Arkansas; and the bachelor of music education from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.

Dr. Gates is our Music Department Chair

Charles Gates, department chair and professor of music at the University of Mississippi, holds the B.M.E degree in instrumental music education from Louisiana State University and the M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in trumpet performance and literature from Ohio State University. Past professional ensemble experience includes the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus (Ohio), the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Tennessee Summer Symphony, and the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra (Lafayette, La.). He currently performs with the Meridian Symphony Orchestra, where he plays principal trumpet, the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra (Lafayette, La.), the Brass Menagerie brass quintet of Memphis, and the Mississippi Brass (the faculty brass quintet at the University of Mississippi), and as a free-lance musician in Memphis. He is also active as a soloist and clinician throughout the mid-south.

Dr. Gates has been on the faculty of the University of Mississippi since 1988, and served as Director of UM's Academic Support Center from 1999 to 2005.

Ms. Balach is our Membership and Member-in-Training Adviser

Nancy María Balach, assistant professor of music, received her bachelor of fine arts degree in vocal performance from Carnegie Mellon University and her master of music in vocal performance from the Manhattan School of Music. She is a versatile artist comfortable with musical theatre, opera, operetta, and symphonic concerts. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has hailed her as being "luxurious of voice and ardent of personality." Ms. Balach has performed with Florida Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Cleveland, The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, Ohio Light Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Tulsa Opera. She has been a featured soloist with the Acadiana, Canton, North Carolina, Tupelo, and Tuscaloosa Symphonies. Ms. Balach has sung recitals in New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Austria. Nancy María Balach has recorded for Albany Records, Newport Classic, New World Records, and VOX Classics.

Dr. Dale is our Faculty Advisor.

Carol Dale is associate professor of music at the University of Mississippi, where she has taught since 1991. She received the BM with honors in flute performance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City Conservatory of Music, and the MM and DM in flute performance from Florida State University. She is currently principal flute of the Tupelo Symphony and performs with the Sarah Isom Trio.

Dale is flutist with the University of Mississippi Faculty Woodwind Quintet, which performed at the International Double Reed Society Convention in Greensboro, NC in June 2003. She is a former president Flute Festival Midsouth, and is currently the coordinator of the FFMS solo and ensemble competition. She is past president of the Eta Nu chapter of the Society of Pi Kappa Lambda, and is also faculty advisor to the local chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota. At the August 2005 National Flute Association Convention in San Diego, Carol Dale was elected to be Secretary of the NFA during 2007-08. She will be Secretary-Elect during 2006-07.

Dr. Foulkes-Levy is our Finance Advisor and a Patroness member.  She was initiated in 2000.   

Laurdella Foulkes-Levy is assistant professor of music, and teaches courses in music theory. She completed her Ph.D. in music theory at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she received the Thomas J. Clifton Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in music theory, as well as an Excellence in Teaching award. She holds degrees from the Westminster Choir College of Rider University (BM) and Northwestern University (MM). She earned a diploma from the Kodály Musical Training Institute, having completed a two-year program of study in the United States and at the Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary.  Dr. Foulkes-Levy is a member of the Organization of American Kodály Educators and is past president of that organization. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the College Music Society, and the Society for Music Theory, and formerly served as treasurer of the South Central Society for Music Theory. She is co-director of the Mississippi Early Music Ensemble.  Dr. Foulkes-Levy's book, Journeys Through the Life and Music of Nancy Van de Vate, co-authored with her husband Burt J. Levy, has been published by Scarecrow Press in March 2005.