Mu Beta Psi

Mu Beta Psi National Honorary Musical Fraternity (ΜΒΨ) is a service and music fraternity with chapters and colonies at universities throughout the eastern United States.

Mu Beta Psi, National Honorary Musical Fraternity
ΜΒΨ
Founded	November 5, 1925 (November 5, 1925) North Carolina State University
Type	Service
Emphasis	Music performers, students, and enthusiasts
Scope	National
Colors	Red and      White
Flower	Red and White American Beauty Rose
Publication	The Clef
Chartered	April 26, 1930
Chapters	20 lettered, one alumni
Website	mubetapsi.org

Although an honorary fraternity, Mu Beta Psi views itself as primarily a music service group. The national fraternity and several of its chapters run scholarship programs[1][2] and pride themselves on providing service to their music departments.[3]

Any member of the fraternity is referred to as a brother without regard to the member's sex. This practice comes from the fraternity's beginnings and is used in context as a designation of membership, not of gender.[4]

History

Founding and early years

Mu Beta Psi National Honorary Musical Fraternity was founded on November 5, 1925 at North Carolina State College by music director Percy W. "Daddy" Price and a group of 12 men from the class of 1926 who were involved in campus music organizations. The purposes of the fraternity were to promote music in its proper place as an educational subject, foster a fellowship among musicians, and stimulate interest in music across the college campus. Over the next few years, Price determined that the fraternity was different from the other music groups on campus and deemed it worthy of growing into a national organization with multiple chapters.

With the addition of Beta Chapter at Davidson College in early 1929, the organization started to grow. Meetings of the two chapters in late 1929 and early 1930 resulted in the adoption of the fraternity's constitution. The national organization was founded on April 26, 1930, accompanied by the elections of the first national officers. With a strong desire for Mu Beta Psi to realize its true potential, Price pushed hard for the fraternity's expansion. Some of the earliest prospects included Wake Forest and William & Mary.

Price's life was cut short by a heart attack in 1933. His successor as music director, Christian D. Kutschinski, continued to promote Mu Beta Psi. He became National Executive Secretary in the mid-1930s and sought to expand the fraternity wherever and whenever possible.

Despite the challenges of the Great Depression and Beta Chapter going inactive, Delta Chapter was established at Clemson College in 1937. Alpha and Delta Chapters would remain active side-by-side for the next 68 years.[5]

World War II and the 1950s

World War II brought about new challenges for Mu Beta Psi. As many students graduated and others entered the armed forces to fight overseas, chapter activity was limited. With the war's successful conclusion, Kutschinski helped Delta Chapter reorganize and increase its active membership. Alpha and Delta Chapters met for a National Convention in 1949.

The 1950s saw the majority of Chapter activities take place on the local level, with minimal collaboration between the chapters. Despite a desire to meet for a convention every year, they would not do so until 1957.

1960s

The 1961 National Convention marked an important milestone for Mu Beta Psi, when the National Constitution was amended to allow membership to women. Additionally, a national publication was created, which would become known as The Clef. New expansion efforts were also put into place. This was also the first of an unbroken chain of annual conventions that continues to this day.

The Fraternity saw additional changes in both leadership and expansion. Kutschinski stepped down as National Executive Secretary in 1962. Three years later, Ralph W. Daniel was elected to the position and would serve for the next 18 years. Two new chapters were installed, the first in nearly two decades. One was Epsilon Chapter at Washington & Lee University in 1965, which would remain active for nearly 20 years. The other was Zeta Chapter at Michigan Technological University in 1967, which was the result of a successful merger with Tri-Beta Honorary Band Fraternity.[6] Zeta remains active to this day. 1965 also saw the adoption of the "Editor of The Clef" as a National Officer. "Hail the Spirit," written by Milton C. Bliss, was adopted as the Fraternity Song in 1967.

1970s and 1980s

The fraternity continued a period of gradual expansion in the 1970s and 1980s. The Alumni Association was formally established in early 1970, providing college graduates with a chapter to continue their participation in the fraternity's activities. The short-lived Eta Chapter was installed at Virginia Military Institute in mid-1970. Theta Chapter was established at Saint Augustine's College in 1973, and remained active for 13 years. Iota Chapter was established at Duke University in 1981 and went inactive 3 years later. Kappa Chapter was established at Wofford College in 1989 and stayed active for 7 years. The mid-1980s also saw the creation of the Permanent Board of Trustees for the purpose of ensuring stability in the organization. The first members of the Permanent Board included Wallace DesChamps, Charlie Emki, David Wilson and Bryan Reamer.

1990s

Mu Beta Psi underwent more development in the early 1990s. The National Organization underwent a reorganization with the division of responsibilities and the creation of new national offices, including the Vice President of Chapter Maintenance, Vice President of Expansion, National Treasurer, and National Historian. The National Constitution was revised and approved in 1996. Three members of the Permanent Board resigned and were replaced by Joseph Bledsoe, Timothy Kudlock, and Gayle Kirby. Another resignation a few years later resulted in confirmation of Benjamin Griffeth to the Board. In terms of expansion efforts, Lambda Chapter was established at Anderson University in 1991, only to go inactive a year later. Mu Chapter was established in 1993 at UNC-Chapel Hill and would remain active for 19 years. The fraternity also extended northward with the establishment of Nu Chapter at SUNY Oswego in 1994 and Xi Chapter at Saint Vincent College in 1996. Nu is currently active and Xi remained active for 10 years.

2000s

The 2000s saw Matthew Zander and Andrew Fleming confirmed to the Permanent Board. Five new Chapters were established, the largest period of growth to date. Omicron Chapter was established at Roanoke College in 2001. In 2007, the Brothers of Mu Upsilon Alpha (the honorary, co-educational service fraternity of the Rutgers University Bands) at Rutgers merged with Mu Beta Psi to establish Pi Chapter.[7] Rho Chapter was established at Northern Michigan University in 2008. A year later, Mu Beta Psi crossed the Mississippi River for the first time with the establishment of Sigma Chapter at Saint Louis University in 2009, although it would quickly go inactive.

2010s

During the 2010s, Mu Beta Psi officially established a national scholarship which is open to college students at the locations where it maintains active chapters. In 2011, Tau Chapter was established at American University in Washington, D.C.. One member of the Permanent Board resigned, and Christopher Ciarlariello and Danielle Booms were confirmed to the Permanent Board of Trustees. The position of Chief Financial Officer was added to the Permanent Board, as an appointed Specialized Advisory Position. The 2018 Convention saw two policy milestones approved by the organization. All National policies were amended with gender neutral language, as the organization accepts members without regard to their gender identity.[8] A new fraternal life and conduct policy was adopted "to achieve the safest environment possible for our members, pledges, and guests."[9]

Purpose

Mu Beta Psi concentrates its efforts in support of the following four purposes:[10]

• To honor those outstanding individuals who have devoted their time and efforts to the musical organizations at the educational institutions of the respective Chapters.
• To stimulate interest in the musical organizations at the educational institutions of the respective Chapters.
• To advance music to its proper place as an educational subject.
• To actively promote fellowship among musicians everywhere.

Chapters

The chapters were named in order of their acceptance to Mu Beta Psi. Chapters are:

Chapter	Location	Chartered	Status (Inactive Date)
Alpha (Α)	North Carolina State University	November 5, 1925	Active
Beta (Β)	Davidson College	February 9, 1929	Inactive (ca. 1935)
Gamma (Γ)	Never Chartered†	N/A	N/A
Delta (Δ)	Clemson University	January 16, 1937	Inactive (2005)
Epsilon (Ε)	Washington and Lee University	April 11, 1965	Inactive (ca. 1986)
Zeta (Ζ)	Michigan Technological University	November 23, 1967	Active
Eta (Η)	Virginia Military Institute	May 5, 1970	Inactive (1971)
Theta (Θ)	St. Augustine's College	November 22, 1973	Inactive (ca. 1987)
Iota (Ι)	Duke University	March 1, 1981	Inactive (ca. 1984)
Kappa (Κ)	Wofford College	February 19, 1989	Active‡
Lambda (Λ)	Anderson University	April 24, 1991	Inactive (1992)
Mu (Μ)	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	April 4, 1993	Inactive (2012)
Nu (Ν)	State University of New York at Oswego	April 10, 1994	Active
Xi (Ξ)	Saint Vincent College	November 17, 1996	Inactive (2006)
Omicron (Ο)	Roanoke College	March 31, 2001	Inactive (2017)
Pi (Π)	Rutgers University	October 7, 2007	Active
Rho (Ρ)	Northern Michigan University	November 16, 2008	Active
Sigma (Σ)	St. Louis University	November 7, 2009	Inactive (2010)
Tau (Τ)	American University	April 10, 2011	Active
Upsilon (Υ)	Stetson University	November 17, 2019	Active
Alumni Association§	N/A	March 21, 1970	Active

† Gamma Chapter was never formally designated; Percy W. Price died before a school could be finalized and a Charter issued, and the effort was lost. Records indicate that Gamma Chapter was to be established at The College of William and Mary, but colonization efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.

‡ Kappa Chapter went inactive in 1996, but was reactivated on April 25, 2020—the first such successful reactivation in fraternity history.

§ Mu Beta Psi Alumni Association is a separate organization, but considered an active chapter. The Alumni Association is open to alumni of all Mu Beta Psi chapters, active or otherwise.

National Presidents

The following is a list of the National Presidents of Mu Beta Psi since the establishment of the Fraternity's National Organization in 1929. The office was vacant on two separate occasions. The first was from 1932 through 1957, although Christian D. Kutschinski used the title National President interchangeably with National Executive Secretary during that time. The second instance was between 1958 when Wade Hicks resigned and the 1961 National Convention.

No.	Name	Chapter	Tenure
1	Joseph Carson Matthews, Jr.	Alpha	1929–1930
2	Paul Brown Fry	Beta	1930–1931
3	John Perkins Rabb	Alpha	1931–1932
*	Office Vacant	N/A	1932–1957
4	Wade H. Hicks	Delta	1957–1958
*	Office Vacant	N/A	1958–1961
5	George M. "Buddy" O'Kelley	Delta	1961–1963
6	Ralph W. Daniel	Alpha	1963–1964
7	Horace E. Hudson	Delta	1964–1965
8	Thomas J. Tisdale	Delta	1965–1966
9	Robert B. Kirkpatrick	Delta	1966–1967
10	Owen Cordle	Alpha	1967–1968
11	James W. Chaney	Alpha	1968–1969
12	Jacob A. Houck	Alpha	1969–1971
13	William M. Agee	Epsilon	1971–1972
14	David A. Powers, III	Epsilon	1972–1973
15	Thomas L. "Larry" Sloan	Delta	1973–1974
16	Timothy Lipsey	Delta	1974–1975
17	Tony R. Stapleton	Delta	1975–1976
18	Quentin Jackson	Theta	1976–1977
19	Jeff Paulson	Zeta	1977–1978
20	Kerney D. Smoak	Delta	1978–1979
21	Jeff Smith	Zeta	1979–1980
22	Richard D. Witt	Delta	1980–1981
23	Cindy Sharp	Alpha	1981–1982
24	Larry Perry	Alpha	1982–1983
25	Gayle E. "Charlie" Murray	Alpha	1983–-1984
26	Mary A. Seabrook	Delta	1984–1985
27	Wallace P. DesChamps, Jr.	Delta	1985–1987
28	Laura Rencontre	Zeta	1987–1988
29	Tamron L. "Tammy" Tant	Delta	1988–1989
30	Timothy S. Kudlock	Delta	1989–1991
31	James K. Brock	Alpha	1991–1992
32	Timothy "Tyler" Clark	Alpha	1992–1994
33	Jeffrey R. Bodway	Zeta	1994–1996
34	Allison Schwamberger	Alpha	1996–1997
35	Matthew Rushing	Alpha	1997–1998
36	Kelly Smith	Nu	1998–1999
37	Christopher D. Rodkey	Xi	1999–2001
38	Jonathon R. Fielbrandt	Zeta	2001–2002
39	Ryan R. Hauck	Delta	2002–2004
40	Phillip G. Staten	Omicron	2004–2007
41	Andrew J. Fleming	Zeta	2007–2009
42	Garrett Cooperman	Nu	2009–2011
43	Christopher Ciarlariello	Pi	2011–2013
44	Ariane Osterwald	Tau	2013–2014
45	Ian Schaefer	Rho	2014–2015
46	Sarah Feutz	Alpha	2015–2016
47	Chrissy L. Fleming	Mu	2016–2017
48	Ashley Ford	Alpha	2017–2019
49	Patrick Zazzaro	Pi	2019–2020
50	Tyler Jensen	Zeta	2020–Present

Notable alumni

• Lachi (Mu): Singer-songwriter, producer, author, and founder of the UNC Cadence
• L. Macon Epps (Alpha): Inventor and engineer who worked for the Grumman Aerospace Corporation for 37 years, including on the Apollo Lunar Module as Assistant Program Manager
• Tamar Greene (Nu): Broadway singer; assumed the role of George Washington in the Broadway production of Hamilton in January 2020 after playing the same role in the Chicago production from 2018-19[11]

References

1. "Mu Beta Psi National Scholarship - Apply Today!". Mu Beta Psi.
2. "Band Scholarships". Clemson University.
3. "Service". Mu Beta Psi. 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
4. "National Constitution". ΜΒΨ Policy Library. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
5. Craver, Curtis (2000). The History of Music at North Carolina State University. NCSU Music Department: NCSU Department of Music.
6. "Zeta Chapter". Mu Beta Psi. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
7. "Letter from the President". Mu Upsilon Alpha.
8. "National Constitution - ΜΒΨ Policy Library". mubetapsi.org. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
9. "Fraternal Life and Conduct Policy - ΜΒΨ Policy Library". mubetapsi.org. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
10. "Who We Are". Mu Beta Psi. 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
11. "Tamar Greene: News". Tamar Greene. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

External links

• Official website