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Lance Holman
Director / Editor
Troysinfonian2006@yahoo.com
Ben Cunningham
Alumni Correspondent / Staff
Writer
ben.cunningham@nealsinfonia.org
Tommy House
Webmaster
tommy@sinfoniantattler.com
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A Word from the Governor’s Desk
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Dear brothers,
 Welcome back to a new school year and
another exciting year in Phi Mu Alpha.
As you are getting settled back in school, I want to take this
opportunity to remind you that your involvement in the fraternity can be an
integral part of your college years as well as the rest of your adult
life. The friendships and leadership
skills you learn as a Sinfonian will follow you throughout your lives.
One way I took part in this lifelong brotherhood was by attending
National Convention in Orlando,
Florida. I, along with many other brothers from
the province, worked on committees, passed legislation to better the
fraternity, and shared fellowship during our time there. After attending convention it is apparent
that we are fortunate to live in a “renaissance” in Sinfonian history. We are getting back to the original
purpose of the fraternity in addition to making new decisions that will
help our brotherhood reach new heights in the future. However, the only way we can do this is
with active participation from each and every chapter. Not only do we need you to remember who
you are as Sinfonians now but also to strive to create the type of Sinfonia
you would like to leave as a legacy for your future brothers.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone at upcoming province
events. First and foremost are the
Mills Music Mission
and province council meeting in a couple of weeks. Your presence is necessary to make the
Mills Music Mission
a success. It not only benefits
those we entertain, but it also enhances the spirit of brotherhood among
us. Remember, work for Sinfonia and
Sinfonia will work for you.
I wish you all the best in the upcoming academic year. Keep in mind that you are Sinfonians and
with that comes a responsibility to uphold the beliefs and objects of the
fraternity. Carry yourselves as
strong, driven men who excel in academics, music, community involvement,
and brotherhood. Hail Sinfonia!
Yours fraternally,
Tony Cowan
Province Governor
Province 34
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Northeast Alabama Alumni Association
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By Ben Cunningham (EN, '95)
NEAL
Sinfonia President
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Sinfonians in some of Alabama’s
northeastern counties have answered the fraternity’s call for stronger
alumni engagement, forming Province 34’s first alumni association.
Brothers in and around Jacksonville began
meeting as early as 2007 to talk about how to be more active as alumni.
That culminated in the chartering of the Northeast Alabama Alumni
Association on March 9, 2009.
We now have 18 members who hail from
five different collegiate chapters, meeting monthly and planning big
things for the months and years to come. We believe the fraternity's
motto, "Once a Sinfonian, Always a Sinfonian," is more than
hollow words. It's a command to stay true to the ideals we swore to
uphold when we became brothers.
Perhaps the most surprising thing
about setting up our association was how easy it really turned out to be.
After some early talk of trying to find brothers in northwestern Georgia
to for a cross-border regional organization, the idea lay dormant for
almost a year. In November 2008, brothers in Jacksonville met to see what it would
take to do it on our own.
The fraternity's guidelines say you
need just a few things: nine alumni members to sign a petition (when we
started it was 12), a few pages to explain what you hope to accomplish
and how you plan to be successful, the province governor's approval, and
$100.
That's pretty much it.
We managed to pull those things
together pretty quickly, and by February we'd handed over our petition.
In March we got word that we were the fraternity's newest official alumni
association, one of 15 such groups around the country, many of them
formed in just the last few years.
What it took to get us here was
someone to lead the effort by sending out regular communication and
making sure the group met once per month, someone to keep good track of
the cash once we started collecting dues, and committed members willing
to do their part and help spread the word.
Facebook, e-mail and the Web were
huge in making sure brothers in our area knew we existed and letting them
know what we were up to and when we were meeting.
The meetings are nothing fancy. We
get together once a month for dinner at a casual restaurant or cook out
at a member's house, conducting a little business between bites.
Getting together regularly has
helped encourage alumni in the area to be more active. Our brothers have
attended Rituals at Epsilon Nu and at the Kappa Gamma chapter at Berry College
in Rome, Ga. Three of us attended the province
workshop in Auburn
in February. And in July two of us traveled to Orlando, representing our association
and the province at the 53rd National Assembly.
So what's next? We're hoping to host
a chili cook-off in November to raise money for a local school music
program. We want to put on our own performance of the Ritual and build
our own set of equipment for it. And we want to help other groups like
ours get started.
We're also always looking for new
members - the number of Sinfonia alumni hiding in our area is surprising.
That's probably true where you are, too.
If you're interested in getting an alumni association started in
your area, we're happy to help. Just drop me a line at ben.cunningham@nealsinfonia.org.
And of course if you're in Northeast Alabama,
join us! Check our Web site at http://www.nealsinfonia.org for details on our next
meeting.
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Roll
Sinfonia
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With all
the brothers going away for the summer, we had a wide spread of things to
accomplish, mostly personal items, but also things to further our
brotherhood in Phi Mu Alpha.
A lot of
brothers went home to spend time with family and take summer classes. A
handful of brothers journeyed off into the world to improve themselves in
order to benefit themselves as well as to benefit their chapters.
Brothers
Andy Cherolis, Chris Courtney, Scott Giles and Matt McCoy all attended
the National Convention this past summer! They spent the entire week at
the convention learning new things, and have already brought back a lot
of information and brother building techniques to share with our chapter.
Their efforts have been greatly appreciated and will assist us in making
our fraternity grow over the course of the semester with their newfound
knowledge.
Brother
Charles Moncayo sacrificed an entire summer and spent his time up at
Interlochen Arts Camp working as a camp counselor. He spent his whole
summer assisting Intermediate Boys, as well as Life guarding, and being
Waterfront Director for the Intermediate Boys Division. He also had the
distinct pleasure of working with several other Sinfonians from around
the nation. A fun fact from Interlochen… the High School Boys
Headquarter, which was built in 1928, is dubbed “Sinfonia” because
members of Phi Mu Alpha built that way back in the day! Wow!
As already
mentioned, all of our other brothers worked hard in summer classes, and
spent time with their family. Everyone is well rested and eager for a new
semester. We held our first meeting and everyone is excited for new
opportunities, and ready to continually build brotherhood and improve our
fraternity.
We expect
to accomplish a lot in the coming months so we hope to share more
exciting news with all you very soon!
So Let it Be For Sinfonia!
Omicron
Phi Chapter 2009 – 2010 Officer List
President and
Music Director – Jon O’Rourke
Vice President
– Matt McCoy
Secretary –
Charles Moncayo
Treasurer –
Brett Carpenter
Warden – Zach
White
Alumni
Relations – Andy Cherolis
Fraternity
Education Officer – Dave Cook
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Tiger Times
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 Aiding the Music Department
In our
continuing effort to aid the Music Department, we had the privilege of
helping with both Auburn Honor Band and the Alabama All-State Festival
held in Auburn
this past spring. Our responsibilities in both cases included setting up
and taking down rehearsal rooms, helping register students, manning
audition rooms, and ushering concerts held by the symphonic band and
participating students. Our efforts, along with those of the other three
music organizations, helped make these two events the most successful
they have been in years.
Along with
aiding with Auburn Honor Band and the Alabama All-state Festival, we
continued serving the music department by ushering all recitals and
musical events held by the Music Department as we have since our chapters
beginning. We hope to continue aiding the Music Department in these ways
and more throughout the coming years.
Marching
Band Scholarship
This past
band camp we were very excited to offer a scholarship to a selected
freshman male marching band student. This is the second year we have been
able to provide such a scholarship and we hope to provide a scholarship
yearly to qualifying applicants. Applications were provided to interested
students within the first few days of band camp. After applications were
collected an interview was held with each candidate to further learn
about the musical background and qualities of each applicant. The person
receiving the scholarship was someone that the scholarship committee felt
most exhibited the qualities of a Sinfonian. Finally, the award and
certificate was presented at the RAT Banquet held at the end of band
camp.
Fall 2009
Rush
We are
currently preparing for fall rush which will begin Tuesday August 25th
with our biannual Smoker catered by Barbeque House. We will then have two
social events at two brothers houses and formal rush the following
Wednesday. We hope to have pinning the night before our first football
game and we already know of a number of individuals interested in rushing
and learning more about the fraternity. Since we were unable to have a
spring class last semester, we are very excited about rush and a probable
fall probationary class.
Probation
Progress
We are
continuing to work towards completing our probationary work. We will
spend much of this semester discussing ways to become a better chapter
and better Sinfonians. We will work extensively this semester towards
meeting deadlines set by the COS and on
the presentation we will show at Province this year coming year
Delta
Psi Chapter 2009 – 2010 Officer List
President -
Matthew Ramirez - mdr0001@auburn.edu
Vice President -
Sean Hyde - hathcsa@auburn.edu
Secretary -
Matthew LaChance - mjl0008@auburn.edu
Treasurer -
Jared Saddler - jas0007@auburn.edu
Warden - Alex Le
- axl0001@auburn.edu
Alumni
Relations Officer - Tyler Strickland -
strictl@auburn.edu
Fraternity
Education Officer - Trey Spearman -
speartp@auburn.edu
Historian -
Matthew LaChance - mjl0008@auburn.edu
Music Director -
Thomas Ardrey - wta0001@auburn.edu
Faculty Advisor -
Shane Dickerson - dickems@auburn.edu
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The
Jaguar Memoirs
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JagFest
Every year,
the University
of South Alabama
hosts a Campus Involvement function called JagFest. All of the student organizations on
campus use this as an opportunity to make their presence known. This year, JagFest was held in the Mitchell Center with all of the tables set
up in the hallway surrounding the arena.
The Phi Mu Alpha table was manned by three of the brothers
including this year’s president, Alex Forte. Throughout JagFest, these three
brothers spoke about the fraternity to anyone and everyone who would
listen. At 6:30, JagFest ended
with dinner and a performance by the new Marching Band.
Marching Band
Meet and Greet
The University of South Alabama has recently started
a football program which has opened the door for the new Marching
Band. In order to welcome the
newcomers to the university’s music program, the Epsilon Delta chapter is
teaming up with the local chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota to throw a big
party for the band. The party is
scheduled for Friday, August 28 after the band rehearsal and will be
followed by a brief interest meeting in which both organizations will be
given the opportunity to speak with the band members.
Epsilon Delta,
Out and About
This year
will mark a complete revamping of the Epsilon Delta chapter. We are focusing on establishing more of
a community presence than we have had in previous years and are taking
several steps to increase our visibility.
Nothing has been finalized yet, but after an extensive
brainstorming session, the chapter has formed several options for
community service projects. More
to come in future releases of this segment.
Epsilon
Delta Chapter 2009 – 2010 Officer List
President –
Alex Forte
Vice President
– Brandon Ambrose
Secretary –
Chuck Champagne
Warden – J.C.
Boni
Treasurer –
Doug Johnson
FEO – Jay
Champagne
Music Director
– Soren Odom
Historian –
Alex Hauth
Alumni
Relations – Abate Desta
Faculty Advisor
– Dr. Thomas Rowell
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A Slice of Pi Sigma
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 The Semester So Far
Greetings
from Birmingham,
brothers! As I remind our chapter
each week, hopefully this semester will be one filled with quality
fraternal growth, and that is ultimately our goal for this year. The past few weeks we have been in full
preparation mode for this year’s rush and other events, such as our
brotherhood recital. In addition,
we will be hosting this year’s Fall Council on September 13th
in Bolding Studio, room 331.
The Upcoming
Months
Our rush
activities will be held September 8th through September 12th,
and will include putt-putt, bowling, a cookout, smokers, and a devotional
by our faculty advisor. It is my
hope that we will be able to nearly double the size of our chapter this
year and thus have a full recital on December 1st at
Samford. Our semi-annual Mills
Music Mission will be held December 5th at Southaven nursing
home in Hoover,
Al.
Pi
Sigma Chapter 2009 – 2010 Officer List
President-
Taylor Sparks
Vice President-
Jonathan Jenkins
Fraternity
Education Officer- Charlie Everett
Treasurer-
Jonathan Hill
Secretary-
Matthew Parker
Historian- Ben
Massey
Music Director-
Jeff Caulk
Faculty
Advisor- Dr. Jim Smisek
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Jacksonville State – Epsilon Nu
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The Spring
2009 semester was a very eventful time for the Epsilon Nu chapter at Jacksonville State University. One of the things we focused on was
hosting a classic car show. The
event was held on campus in the parking lot of the student union
building. The event was very
successful and laid the groundwork for the car show to become an annual
event. The money that was made
from this even was donated to a local band program in need of a new
tuba. During the spring 2009
semester we also had a great probationary member class. These nine men
will go on to make excellent brothers.
The Epsilon Nu chapter hopes to keep the momentum going from a
great last semester in order have a very successful Fall 2009 semester.
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North
Alabama – Pi
Omicron
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If you hear
the name “Phi Mu Alpha” on UNA's Music Department and around Florence, the only
things you will hear are compliments. Over the past year we have made
ourselves known by sponsoring events for the music department and in
historic venues in Florence.
Also, we have developed close relations with other Greek
organizations. Currently, Pi
Omicron is larger than it has ever been.
We initiated nine men to the chapter over the past year. We also
have two brothers actively involved within the province.
The most
prominent event we sponsored last year was the UNA Studio Jazz Band's
concert. We organized to bring in
the renowned jazz singer Kathy Kosins. She sang several numbers in the
concert and during her stay, she held vocal clinics with our Collegiate
Singers and Vocal Jazz Ensemble.
Both groups greatly benefited from the experience.
Another
event we took part in was helping UNA's chapter of Tau Beta Sigma run the
band's annual Halloween party. We set up and ran the Haunted Practice
Rooms. These consisted of dark walls, cobwebs, and a fog machine. The
practice rooms were a success enjoyed by students across the campus. We
also provided alternative entertainment by setting up Rock Band in the
band room for those who had already participated in the Haunted Practice
Rooms.
Furthermore, Pi Omicron took the responsibility of ushering the
Departmental Recitals that take place in the Music Department. This eases
the responsibilities of the music department faculty and staff, allowing
them to enjoy the performances that take place during the recitals.
We also
arranged a “partnership” with the Shoals Community Theatres Board of
Directors. One of our brothers is a member of the board, and has arranged
for us to usher performances at the Shoals Theatre. In exchange, we are
allowed to use the Zodiac Theatre for our purposes, whatever they may be.
We have done several boat washes for
the patrons of the Florence Harbor and Marina, and we have decided to make
this one of our regular fundraisers. We have gained experience that will
help us in the long run, and the rapport that has been built will last
with the chapter for long periods of time.
We also had
the privilege to send two of our brothers to National Convention. These
men brought back a plethora of information and experiences to share with
us as a chapter. One specific experience was having one of our members
play in the Sinfonia Jazz Ensemble next to Jamey Aebersold. The
experiences that these two had will stay with them for the rest of their
lives and will only help them help others in the long run.
As far as
inter-Greek relationships go, we invited Delta Chi to participate in one
of our Mills Music Missions. We helped them learn to sing as a group and
allowed them to see what Phi Mu Alpha is about. Many of the brothers of
Delta Chi cherished the event and still talk about it with us. They
experienced a tiny bit of what Sinfonia is about, and we hope to have
them participate with us again.
We have two
brothers actively involved in our province, one being Assistant
Collegiate Province Representative #1, and the other in a province
committee responsible for the direction of music within the province,
unifying how the province sings songs our of the Songbook and making sure
that everyone knows music that will be performed at Province Workshop.
As always,
Pi Omicron strives for the best in everything that we participate, and
the work that we have done shows itself around UNA's campus and
throughout our surrounding community.
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Notes
in the Key of Troy
Iota Nu Chapter Newsletter
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Spring 2009
Initiation
This past
spring, we, the Brothers of Iota Nu had the honor of initiating seven new
members into our chapter. Among
these new Brothers were Justin DeAndre Harden, Patrick Hayes Lord, Philip
Michael Peters, Karl Ely Pollack, Christopher Lee Rhodes, William
Franklin Strength, and James Matthew Wilson. We just wanted to take a moment to
recognize these individuals as we are all very proud of them and look
forward to their growth and achievement within our Fraternity. ALL HAIL!!!
Battle of the Bands 2008-2009
One of
Iota Nu’s largest yearly philanthropies is the Battle of the Bands: The Final
Showdown. Two years ago, the
chapter’s Battle
of the Bands Committee Chairman, Lance Holman, decided to change the
yearly event from a chapter fundraiser to a musical philanthropy to help
raise funds for local music programs in need of additional funding. For the past two years, under the
chairmanship of Mr. Holman, the Iota Nu Chapter has been successful in
raising over $2,000.00 for the Troy Elementary School Music Program.
The change
from a chapter fundraiser to a musical philanthropy came about from a
passing comment given to the chapter by Mrs. Blocher, the Troy Elementary
School Music Director. She told
the chapter jokingly that she was hoping to start a new early music
program revolving around teaching children at an early age to play
guitars. This simple bit of
information inspired the chapter to devote its efforts to making her
dream a reality. When we asked
Mrs. Blocher what kind of funding would be necessary to start such a
project, she told us she would need around $2,000.00 to purchase enough
guitars for an entire classroom.
From this point forward the chapter devoted two years of hard work
and labor to realizing this goal.
Last year,
through the support of many friends and local businesses, our chapter was
successful in raising the funds necessary to fund Mrs. Blocher’s
visionary program. The chapter,
alongside Troy City’s Mayor, Mr. Jimmy Lunsford, and Iota Nu’s
faculty advisor, Mr. Raymond Smith, presented a check for $2,000.00 to
the Mrs. Blocher at the Troy
Elementary School
last spring. Since that fateful
date, Mrs. Blocher has been successful in implementing her new music
program and educating a new, younger generation of the importance and
impact of music in our society.
For the Brothers of the Iota Nu chapter, I cannot think of a
greater feeling than to know that we contributed to the success of a
musical program that not only has educated but has also introduced music
to a generation that might not have had the opportunity otherwise. To be apart of something that will
positively impact students for generations to come is truly a magnificent
thing. We look forward to the
future and hope that future Battle of the Bands will be just as
successful and beneficial to the musical community if not more so.
Chapter
Reconstruction
As many
Brothers are aware, updating chapter bylaws for changing times and to
overcome new obstacles is a regular occurrence as a part of chapter
operations. For the Iota Nu
Chapter, however, who has been around for 50 years come May, our basic
bylaws structure has become cluttered and outdated. With that said, the Iota Nu chapter is
undertaking a huge transformation as we basically “start from scratch” to
build a newer and more efficient set of bylaws for the chapter. Many of the new bylaws will still
reflect those of our previous document but will also include many of the
responsibilities and authorities that the chapter regularly engages in
but that are not clearly defined in our current set of bylaws. We hope that this change will not only
lessen headaches that future generations of Brothers might have as they
try to interpret our bylaws but also to create a sense of professionalism
in our documentation. We look
forward to passing this new legislation before the end of this Fall’s
semester.
Iota
Nu Chapter 2009 – 2010 Officer List
President –
Lance Holman (334)714-9629 / Troysinfonian2006@yahoo.com
Vice President
– Aaron Slayback
Secretary –
Joshua Wine
Treasurer –
Joshua Deal
Historian –
Jerrid Olmstead
Warden / Music
Director – Jace Vickers
Fraternity
Education Officer – Shawn Brown
Alumni
Relations Officer – Michael Rodgers
Chapter
Webmaster – Timothy Martin, Jr.
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