Sunday afternoon, May 31, 1925, the Alpha Omicron Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha was installed at the University of Arkansas. The Supreme Secretary-Treasurer of Phi Mu Alpha, Charles E. Lutton, conducted the installation ceremonies.

It was in the University Armory that the twenty young men who were to enter Phi Mu Alpha met. At 2:30 p.m. the opening song was sung, Henry D. Tovey was at the piano.

Following the impressive and beautiful ceremony, Secretary Lutton spoke to the newly made Sinfonians, telling the history of the fraternity. The Alpha Omicron Chapter became the fraternity’s thirty-fifth chapter. Mr. Lutton told of the origin of Phi Mu Alpha in the New England Conservatory of Music in 1898, and of the many great musicians who were members of the fraternity. After reading the Constitution, Secretary Lutton charged the chapter with the ideals and high aspirations that were fostered by the organization in a glowing and enlightening address.

The eighteen students initiated that day were:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to these students, two faculty were initiated as well: Director of Bands, Owen C. Mitchell, and Chairman of the Department of Music, Henry D. Tovey.

By 1930, the chapter retained its strength. Henry D. Tovey was still the chair of the music department. Founding vice president, Russ Burnett returned to the University as an assistant in the music department. Francis J. Foutz was band director and Sinfonian. William Sedgewell Gregson was the Y.M.C.A. Secretary as well as a Sinfonian. Gregson Lodge on campus is named in his honor.

One year later, the depression took its toll on Northwest Arkansas. Men simply could not afford to return to universities. Chapters all over the nation began to fail. The president of our chapter left school at Christmas.

In early fall of 1933, Alpha Omicron faced the first of its worst times. Founding Father Henry D. Tovey died of a cerebral hemorrhage. His lifetime included an active role in the creation of the Alpha Omicron chapter of Phi Mu Alpha, the Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, and the Arkansas State Music Teachers' Association for whom he served as president at one point. His death marked a great loss to the cause of music in the university, the state, and the whole mid-south.

After the loss of Brother Tovey, another great tragedy occurred. Due to the lack of students in universities, the Alpha Omicron Chapter was forced to withdraw its charter.

Sixteen long years later, the Alpha Omicron chapter was granted re-activation on November 20, 1949. Three years after that, the chapter would play host to the Province 8 Convention. The talk of the province was the newly constructed Fine Arts Center. The building cost over one and a half million dollars, and was considered "one of the outstanding plants in the country." This Fine Arts Center today still stands as our very own Fine Arts Concert Hall. One hundred percent of the faculty was Sinfonians, and the active members were "a live bunch of brothers." The Alpha Omicron chapter was on a great comeback. "While A.O. is our youngest chapter, it bids fair to be one of the best," --- Province 8 Governor, Claude R. Newcomb, The Sinfonian, 1951.

In more recent years, the chapter has continued to live and work for Sinfonia. With about 15 active members per semester, Alpha Omicron remains a strong and growing chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. W. Dale Warren is the Director of Concert Bands, and Timothy W. Gunter is Director of Athletic Bands. Chalon Ragsdale, Director of Percussion Studies, and Stanley Morris, Director of Saxophone Studies, are our faculty advisors.

 

Written / Researched by
John DiMaggio (AO, 1996)

Edited by:
Carl R. Yeager (AO, 1992)

 

 

 

 

Sinfonia was born on October 6, 1898 at the New England Conservatory in Boston, when a group of thirteen young men under the guidance of Ossian Everett Mills met “to consider the social life of the young men students of that institution” and “to devise ways and means by which it might be improved.” Mills, bursar of the Conservatory, sought to create an Order in which men with a shared love of music could develop the virtues of manhood in themselves and in their fellows.

Sinfonia became a national fraternity on October 6, 1900, with the admission of a group of men at the Broad Street Conservatory in Philadelphia. Since that time Sinfonia has grown into the largest music fraternity in the world, with more than 150,000 initiates, and chapters on over 200 college and university campuses across the nation.

For over a century, Sinfonians in nearly every field of study and professional endeavor have transformed the face of music in America. Today, the Brotherhood represents a diverse group of individuals spanning the nation, who continue the proud tradition of advancing the Fraternity’s Object.

Sinfonia is a Brotherhood of men bound together for mutual helpfulness. Its purpose is not only to bring men together as friends, but also to provide a network of brothers with whom men can commune and renew their zeal — a support network that helps the individual to meet the challenges that face him in his daily life. By teaching men who are united as brothers to live their lives according to the noble virtues set forth in the Fraternity’s Initiation Ritual, Sinfonia builds better, stronger, broader individuals who are able to live in sympathy and in harmony with their Fraternity brothers and their fellow man. The Initiation Ritual of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, which will mark the transition into full membership, is one of the most meaningful and beautiful of the Greek tradition. The dedication to the advancement of universal Truths and brotherly association exemplified in the Ritual are the foundation of individual fraternal friendship, chapter unity, and national solidarity in the promotion of Sinfonia’s dual mission: the making of men and the uplift of mankind.

Sinfonians share a love of music that unites them as brothers with a common interest. The Fraternity teaches men to develop themselves and their art, not for the sake of art itself, but as a means of enriching the lives of others. Through a multitude of chapter, provincial, and national events, Sinfonia offers unlimited opportunities for performance, community music outreach, and other activities designed to develop a true appreciation for the power of music to uplift the soul.

Sinfonia’s collegiate chapters participate in a broad range of activities emphasizing brotherhood, service, and performance in music. Chapters take music into the community by singing at hospitals and homes for the elderly; sponsor concerts of American music, jazz and choral festivals, all-campus sings and Broadway-style reviews; provide a large variety of performing ensembles ranging from big bands to barbershop quartets; commission new works; bring prominent performers and clinicians to their campuses; and take part in a variety of other social and musical activities. The possibilities for participation in musical activities are limited only by the boundaries of imagination, desire, and commitment.

Sinfonia provides many exciting opportunities for the development of social and leadership skills in an atmosphere of brotherhood and mutual support. Leadership roles may be assumed from nearly the first day an individual is pledged to become an active member of the Fraternity. Beyond the chapter, annual province workshops and national events allow members to become more involved and to develop meaningful friendships with other musical students across the nation.

A common phrase heard among brothers in the Fraternity is “Once a Sinfonian, Always a Sinfonian.” The spirit of this phrase has fostered alumni loyalty for more than one hundred years. As an alumni member, the opportunities to remain active with the Fraternity are limitless. Alumni associations, scattered throughout the country, provide more formalized ways for alumni Sinfonians to gather together and further the ideals and Object of the Fraternity.

© 2008 Alpha Omicron Chapter ~ Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia ~ Department of Music ~
~Music Building 201 ~ University of Arkansas ~ Fayetteville, AR 72701~

 

Webmaster: Michael Nugent

mnugent@uark.edu