Pi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Research Paper

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia: The Brotherhood of Music A pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, a Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, Khaki shorts that extend to an inch above the knees; what is this attire associated with? Most college students would say "frat boys." This is one of the stereotypes associated with fraternities. The immediate assumption is that members of a fraternity are all tools, douche bags, or any other insult one can think of; this being the general opinion of a normal college student. I am sure there are many exceptions to this stereotype and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America is one of them. Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is a fraternity based on the mutual love of music (McDuffie). The object of this report shall be to inform the reader
In the words of a current member, Kari McDuffie:
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is a social fraternity that was established in 1898 by Ossian Everett Mills in Boston, Massachusetts. It was originally a club called "Sinfonia" and the reason it came to exist was because of necessity. At the time of the foundation, musicians were very competitive in life and they didn 't really talk to each other compared to our school of music here at Southern Miss. So the point of the Sinfonia Club and eventually Phi Mu Alpha was to create a common bond, a mutual welfare and brotherhood, between musical students (McDuffie).
Kari gives us a good, brief summary of the foundation of Phi Mu Alpha. The most important fact that Kari tells us is that the group was formed from necessity. Before the formation of the fraternity, American musicians held intense rivalries amongst each other and rarely communicated. The founder, Ossian Everett Mills, noticed how destructive such rivalries could be, and determined that change was necessary for the future of music (Themes for Brotherhood 5). The fraternity 's mission directly addresses the
The book, called Themes for Brotherhood, is essentially the textbook containing information about the fraternity including traditions, governance, membership, objectives, and ideals. The book is quite comprehensive and illustrates important figures, like the founder. Another artifact that is important to Sinfonians is the membership pin (McDuffie). The pins for probationary members, members going through initiation, are worn whenever a probationary member is in public. Full members wear their pins to important gatherings and formal dress occasions like concerts. The pin shows that the wearer is a Sinfonian and should present themselves accordingly, by being "a man of the highest honor"(McDuffie). A third object that is priceless to the fraternity is not actually tangible; it is music. The fraternity thrives on the bonds formed through the love of music. There are songs that are sung by the members at all kinds of events such as greeting and farewell songs to be exchanged between other chapters, and a song called Vive L 'Amour, which is a song about brotherhood and music (Themes for Brotherhood