Proud Sinfonians

Of the many Greek letter organizations that are on numerous college campuses in the United States, there are few that are as unique as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity. Phi Mu Alpha, founded on October 6, 1898, serves as a platform for men who have a love for everything music. The fraternity gives them the opportunity to come around others of the same interest and hone in on their skills as musicians. Phi Mu Alpha currently has more than 150,000 members as well as approximately 6,000 active chapters in the United States. I wanted to know more about the experience as a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, so I decided to ask some current members about what life is as “Sinfonians” (Members of Phi Mu Alpha).

Howard University student, Jared Bailey, says that he initially wanted to join Phi Mu Alpha because he saw some of his friends join. He also saw that both of his high school band directors were also Sinfonians but he “never payed too much attention”. That is until he was attending Howard, and added that they were the “defining pieces” to him making the decision to enroll at the university. That ultimately lead him to joining Phi Mu Alpha.

Travis Cohen, is a member on Frostburg State University’s campus said he was introduced to the fraternity by his older brother, who joined back in 2007. As Travis was a high school student, he saw all of the enjoyment that his brother was having by way of Phi Mu Alpha. “I was in High School at the time and just noticed how much fun it looked and it was always something on my to-do list…”he said. To my surprise, he told me that as far as activities go, they don’t really do much with music as he mentioned “…we only do a few music related activities, publicly that is.” They would periodically go to senior citizens’ homes and perform for them and also would schedule to perform in some concerts. Most of the time, you will see them informally performing around Frostburg’s campus. Travis goes on to mention that “Thursday we have a Jukebox which is really just us hanging at a table, waiting for people to ask us to play a song on Spotify through our PA”.

As far as how Phi Mu Alpha has impacted Travis as a person, he said that since being a member of the fraternity, he has learned to become a better leader, something he wasn't very familiar with before. Being a member of this fraternity also allowed him to build stronger relationships with other people. “My position made me take on a leader position was never something I've ever had the opportunity to do. Plus, you never really know the extent of social relationships until you have brothers. People always say stuff about brotherhood, but really having one is something that you can never really describe.”

One does not have to major in music to become a Sinfonian. However, a certain grade point average is required. It is also recommended that a prospective Sinfonian is a member of other organizations.

The Sinfonians at Frostburg State University are having a band called Humming House perform at the ARMAH on October 16. They will also be having their Probationary Member recital on October 22.

To learn more about Phi Mu Alpha, you can visit http://www.sinfonia.org/.