Inside This Issue:Fireside Conference Midwest...Pg. 3

Sinfonia Challenge Coins...Pg. 5The R&B for your Android and iPad...Pg. 11

By Erick Reid, Rho Mu (Norfolk State)’08, National Collegiate Representative

Greetings Brothers! I pray you allhad a very successful fall semester! Iam sure that the semester presentedyou with many challenges that gaveyou the opportunity to shine and showyour light for Sinfonia. This semesterwas a busy one for me and Sinfonia! Ihad the wonderful opportunity toextend the grip to over one hundred

brothers this past semester. The energy extended throughthe grip has given me the motivation to meet more brothers!I want to extend a special welcome to the new brothers whowere initiated this semester. This order is one like no otherand I promise you that if you open yourself to new ideasand meet as many brothers as possible, you will develop agreat love for the organization.

I want to take some time and update you all on some ofthe exciting things I had the chance to participate in thispast semester. I had the privilege to visit the “great state ofMississippi” twice to welcome back two chapters. I want tosay that Province 24 showed me a great time and I do wantto shout out Brother Garraway, Brother Lewis, and BrotherTruss for their leadership during those installations. NECmembers Ian Shoulders, Joe Ritchie, and I welcomed twochapters into the Fraternity from Province 18. This wasexciting and the brothers there should be applauded for theircoordination of a double ritual. That’s right, two rituals inone day! The process ran smoothly and I was glad to be apart of such a great event.

During this semester I also had the opportunity toattend a Rock the Vote concert performed by the Rho Mu

Chapter at Norfolk State University. These guys not onlyput on a great concert, but also contributed to over onehundred people registering to vote. Things like this makeme proud to say that I am a Sinfonian. In my last letter, Istated that we must branch outside of our comfort zones inorder for Sinfonia to strive. I am proud to say that I havereceived many emails and Facebook messages from brotherswho are doing this! I am pleading that we continue tobranch out and meet as many brothers as possible. There issimply no excuse to not reach out to a fellow brother withthe many social networking sites available to us. I also askthat you take advantage of the many opportunities affordedto you for being a Sinfonian. Take the time to apply for theSinfonian Education Foundation scholarship, for example.You can’t win if you don’t apply. Set a chapter goal to per-form as much American music as possible and enter in theAmerican Music Challenge. I am convinced that a numberof chapters are performing American music and simply failto document their progress.

During this coming semester I do have some visitsplanned and I hope I have the opportunity to meet manymore of you! Please continue to share the great things youare doing! I pray that this semester is fruitful and you notonly meet the new goals set, but that you exceed those goals.Thank you brothers, and long live Sinfonia!

In Phi, Mu, and Alpha,Erick Jamar ReidNational Collegiate Representative

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From the National Collegiate Representative

Membership Awards - 4

Retreat Program - 6

Follow Us:facebook.com/phimualphasinfonia

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Partners & Affiliates:

Volume XXIX Number 3 January/February 2013

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Continuing their dedication to strong fraternity educationpractices and resources, National President John Mongioviand National Vice President Mark Lichtenberg are hosting

a series of regional events called Sinfonia FiresideConferences. The program is dedicated to exploring the

mission, Ritual and ideals of the Fraternity, and providingtools for brothers to teach these concepts and apply them

both in their individual lives and in their chapters.Attendees can also perform in a regional Men of Songchorus. Everyone who wants to sing is welcome to takepart in this musical opportunity, and rehearsals will not

interfere with the rest of the programming.

When: April 19-21, 2013

Where: Lindenwood University

Registration Cost: $29

www.sinfonia.org/fireside

An opportunity to interact with and learn from nationalleaders, with the cost and convenience of a local event!

Don’t wait, register now!

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Membership Awards

Who may give the awards: Any alumnus can receive his 10-, 25-, or 50-year MembershipAward from his initiating chapter, an alumni association servingthe region in which he resides, or at another chapter, alumni asso-ciation, or province meeting selected by the Province Governor.An alumnus who has not received his award in his chapter, alumniassociation or province may receive it at a national event when theceremony is being presented.

Who may receive the award:Any Sinfonian who has reached the 10-, 25-, or 50-year anniver-sary of his initiation date. Except under extraordinary circum-stances the award may not be presented prior to the actual datewhen the recipient is eligible.

What the honoree receives:10-, 25-, and 50-year awards are lapel pins featuring well-knownSinfonian symbols.

Procedure for receiving the award:A chapter, alumni association or province may request a listing ofalumni and their initiation dates and contact information from theNational Headquarters in order to inform alumni about anupcoming opportunity to attend a meeting where service awardemblems will be awarded.

Any alumnus may contact his initiating chapter, alumni associa-

tion (whether or not he is a member) or Province Governor torequest presentation of his award.

Before inviting members to an event, confirm with the NationalHeadquarters that pins are in stock. Allow three weeks for pro-cessing and delivery.

Cost:There is no cost for pins, provided they are ordered to be shippedat specified times that correspond with regular chapter mailingsfrom the headquarters. Information on these dates is availablethrough MyDesktop. For a nominal fee members may purchaseawards that would have been received on previous anniversaries(ex: the national organization will provide an award for a 25-yearmember who reaches his 25-year anniversary; but he must pur-chase a 10-year award if he did not receive one when he reachedhis 10-year anniversary).

Additional information:The presentation of the 10-, 25-, or 50-year emblem may be made at a specialmeeting or regular meeting of a chapter,alumni association or Province. If,because of the infirmities of age or other-wise, an aged recipient cannot attend ameeting, the presentation may be madeat his home or elsewhere in the presenceof his family and friends.

Membership Awards are a great way to honor our alumni, and to foster relationshipsbetween generations of Fraternity members. To begin the process of obtaining

them, have a chapter officer log onto MyDesktop on the website, where they will see options to order these awards.

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How do I obtain a coin?With limited exceptions, the only way to obtain a coin is through a chapter or alumni association. The hope is that this willreconnect brothers with alumni and servicemen, and allow them to show the Fraternity’s thanks in the presentation of theChallenge Coin.

How do we have the coins sent out?Any chapter or alumni association officer can request them through the website, on MyDesktop. Please note, you will needto provide the information of who is receiving a coin, and will be asked to provide their initiation information or membernumber. Without this information, you cannot complete the request, so it is important to confirm the brothers’ interestbefore ordering coins for them, and to know their member information.

What if a brother is on active duty and would like one?Brothers on active duty can contact the headquarters, and a coin will be sent to them.

Is there a charge?No, the parents of fallen brother Christopher Patterson, who spearheaded the Challenge Coin initiative, have accepted allcosts associated with this program. However, if you lose your coin, there may be a charge for a replacement.

I don’t live near my initiating chapter or an alumni association. Or my initiatingchapter is no longer active. What should I do?The national headquarters can point you in the right direction to find a nearby chapter or alumni group. You can receivethe coin from any chapter, alumni association, or national event where the ceremony takes place; it doesn’t have to be whereyou were initiated.

Who is the best person to contact at the headquarters for more info?For more information, please contact our Director of Programs, Will Lambert, at lambert@sinfonia.org.

Sinfonia Challenge Coin FAQ

By Cameron Miller, Xi Mu(Delaware) ’08, RetreatCoordinator & ProgramsAssociate

With fundraisingwell underway for the newSinfonia Education andRetreat Center, the retreatprogram will be seen in anew light over the next fewyears. But what actuallyhappens during theseretreats? I recently hostedthe Pi Delta chapter from

Vanderbilt University and had a phenomenal weekend with thisamazing group of men. With the hopes of giving you a glimpse ofwhat it is actually like to go on a retreat, I’m going to walk youthrough my experience with Pi Delta.

Fraternal Education Officer Richard Droghini, Pi Delta ’10,got in contact with me in August in hopes of bringing his chapteron a Lyrecrest retreat and took the responsibility of working withme to coordinate the details of their excursion. Having recentlyresolved some tough situations within the chapter, Richard’s pastexperience on a retreat led him to believe that it was exactly whatthe chapter needed to get going again.

The guys started arriving at 9:30pm on Friday night and afterthe standard introductions and house rules were taken care of, thechapter played basketball for a while before we went our separateways for the evening. By that point the grocery stores were closedand Richard and some other brothers decided to take care of foodin the morning. We met up around 9:30am the next morning andeveryone was showered, fed, and ready for a day filled with broth-erhood. I took the group on a tour throughout the campus, spend-ing a good amount of time in the museum, and by the time wewere done we dove right into a discussion about the state of PiDelta. We discussed the chapter’s strengths, weaknesses, events,PM Program, and left no stone unturned.

Time flew by and lunchtime quickly snuck up on us. As somebrothers worked on making burgers and hotdogs, others workedon setting up the projector and screen so that we could watchVanderbilt’s football game while eating. Brotherhood bonding fre-quently shows up in ways that you don’t plan for and these guys

surely felt it as they supported their Alma Mater. I decided to gowith what was happening naturally and continue with the sports-based bonding, so we moved outside for some healthy and funcompetition with a game of basketball. Eventually we wrapped thegame up and moved back inside to continue work on the chapter.We split the group into smaller teams with the charge of planningevents and mapping the direction of the chapter, which they thencould pitch to the other groups. The small squads got their creativejuices flowing, using Powerpoint presentations and white boarddrawings to present their ideas. These presentations got the groupas a whole thinking, and they were excited to take these ideas backto Nashville where they could actually implement them.

By this time the day was quickly disappearing and we tooksome time off to let the guys peruse the Sinfonia Store and buildthe bonfire we would use later that night. Before we headed off fordinner, we took some time to sit down and read a piece by PercyJewett Burrell, which led to a fantastic conversation about ourObject and what it means to be a Sinfonian. These guys flooredme with their ability to get serious and delve into deep and analyt-ical conversation “not fit for the small talk of the streets.”

We went to dinner at Los Tres Caminos, a fantastic Mexicanrestaurant only 5 minutes away. The food is great and affordable,the service is fantastic, and the atmosphere was just what we need-ed for a fun meal. After conquering the mountains of chips andsalsa, we went back to headquarters so I could present on “TheRitual and You” and answer questions pertaining to the Ritual.This part of the evening is always a huge hit and frequently endsup being a highlight for brothers. After all was said and done, wefinally headed out to the fire pit, which was a perfect way to wrapup day that was jam-packed with fraternal spirit.

Each retreat that happens at Lyrecrest is unique, and Pi Delta’swas just one of the many very successful ones that have comethrough. The ten men that were able to attend left on Sundayafternoon with their fraternal flames burning with renewed vigor,pledging to take what they got from the weekend back to sharewith the rest of their chapter. If you have never been on a retreatbefore, convince your chapter to come. If you have been manytimes before, convince your chapter to come again. Lyrecrest ishere to enhance the experience for brothers of Phi Mu Alpha inmany capacities, and these retreats are the best of the many wayswe make that happen.

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If in my freshman year of college you would have told methat I would be living with multiple pictures of Ossian EverettMills hanging in my house my first year after graduation, I wouldhave politely told you that you were crazy. Those who know mewell have watched me vacillate between career aspirations, butnever once on the list was a desire to redefine “Work for Sinfonia.”Yet here I am today, gone from the youthful comforts ofUniversity of Delaware and settled in at Lyrecrest - theWashington, D.C. of Phi Mu Alpha.

Now while Evansville, IN maynot have quite as much to offer as ournation’s capital, it has provided mewith a plethora of opportunities tolearn about myself to develop myunderstanding of this fraternity. Eventhough I have brought new meaningto the first half of the phrase, Sinfoniais still working for me. My job title is‘Retreat Coordinator and ProgramsAssociate’, which in a nutshell meansthat half of my job is hosting retreatsevery weekend for (predominantly collegiate) members and theother half is acting as an administrator for the company. I havegrown to cherish these retreats. I have gotten to meet countlesspeople from all over the country and work with them on a widevariety of fraternal and general-life topics. I really feel like I’vetaken the leadership skills I developed at Xi Mu and refined themfor use in this “real world” that I’m now navigating. While a partof me always keeps in mind that I’m working during these week-ends, the retreats also have helped me transition into my post-undergraduate life in a new town, which any graduate can tell you

comes with its fair share of bumps and bruises. But learning fromthe lessons I teach every weekend, it is all about what you learnthroughout your journey.

While I do spend a lot of time doing these retreats, the major-ity of my working hours in a week happen from 8am to 5pm onMonday through Friday, making sure that the fraternity is func-tioning the way it should be. Whether it is processing chapterreports, speaking with students who are considering colonizing at

their school, or discussing with a chapterpresident how he can lead his chapterthrough a particularly difficult scenario, Ihave really been able to feel like I am amember of the small team that makes animpact on the fraternity nation wideevery day.

The first year out of college isn’t easyfor anyone. Everyone has unique strug-gles that define the immediate post-col-lege era in their life. Some of us are stilllooking for jobs, some of us are back inthe classroom yet again, some of us are

under our parents’ roof, and as in my case, some of us are far awayfrom where they call home. But really it is just another journeydown paths that we have walked before, others have walked beforeus, and all of us will surely walk again. I can only hope that evenas we walk into these unknown scenarios and inevitably fall, wewill be able to learn from it and stand back up as better men,ready to continue back through the cycle again. Are we better forit? I know that I am, and I could not be more thankful for theopportunity that I have been given to explore what this fraternityis and explore who I am.

As Cameron alluded to, The Retreat Coordinator & Programs Associate posi-tion is a great opportunity to grow as a person while working for Sinfonia. The

position is available yearly to brothers. Any brother who is interested isencouraged to apply. Listen to what Cameron has to say about the entirety of

his experience at Lyrecrest...

Think you might be interested in working as Retreat Coordinatorand Programs Associate at the National Headquarters?

Deadline for applications is March 1. Don’t delay!

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Xi Sigma Colony Bethel University • McKenzie, Tennessee

The members of the colony took part of their veryfirst performance of the Mills Music Mission onNovember 7, 2012 at Nashville Christian Towers. Beforethe performance, we were present at the installation of ournew Province Governor Dr. Phillip Autry, Mu Gamma(Angelo State) ’99. He was a huge part of planning ourperformance and setting a place to perform our firstMMM. We arrived at Nashville Christian Towers shortlyafter 4:00p.m., and eagerly awaited the arrival of our audi-ence. A small group of elderly entered the room, and ourVice President stepped forward and introduced the colony

and talked briefly of the values and meaning of the MillsMusic Mission. After our performance, we began min-gling with the crowd. After a short while, a lady in theaudience mentioned the piano that resided in the corner ofthe room. She asked her friend if she would want to playa few songs for the members of the colony. She theneagerly took seat at the piano and began playing song aftersong. The members of the colony began singing along tothe piano and even participated in singing out of theirhymnal books. The experience was unbelievable and thecolony eagerly awaits its next MMM performance.

Texas Eta Colony University of Mary Hardin-Baylor • Belton, Texas

The colony has been blessed in many ways along thepath to full chapter status. In the midst of the paper workand the practice, we have had the opportunity to join infellowship with each other on several occasions.

At the beginning the fall 2012 semester, the membersof our colony traveled to Graham, Texas. We had the won-derful opportunity to experience the hospitality of our sec-retary’s home church. We spent the weekend in two won-derfully stocked lake houses. While we were there welearned the value of good food, soft beds, and honesty. Aswe shared our struggles and successes with one another,our colony began to exhibit more and more unity amongits members. Any doubts that we had about each other’scommitment to the group were removed through times ofhonest fellowship and encouragement.

As can be expected from a group of college students,not all of our gatherings were formally planned. Over the

course of the semester we have gathered at our president’shouse, affectionately dubbed “Bag End”, several times.There we have shared in food, watched movies, and con-ducted executive cab meetings. It has benefited the mindsof all involved to know that there is an open house whereboth colony work and play can occur.

The highlight of our time together occurred thissemester on October 7th. We had the honor of hosting theFounders Day celebration in our province. This was thebest opportunity we have had so far to see what being aSinfonian is all about. During that celebration of both ourSupreme President and the ideals that he stood for, we metand got to interact with men who we look forward to join-ing in the Fraternity. The colony is excited about nextyear’s celebration and eagerly anticipates joining with ourvoices in its festivities.

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Texas Theta Colony Texas Southern University • Houston, Texas

On October 21st, the colony hosted our American MusicProgram. As a colony, we are pushing to raise the level ofmusicianship at the university while also showing professional-ism in performance. The concert was free and it featured clas-sical, jazz and vocal pieces. Included in our performance, wehad special guests to play with our pieces to show the versatilityof the colony.

In broadcasting our recital, we utilized Facebook andTwitter to make sure people around our community would be

there. There was a great turnout from musicians, family mem-bers, professors, and other Sinfonians. They really enjoyedthemselves, just as we enjoyed ourselves.

For the Mills Mission, the colony performed at the MandaAnne Nursing Home on September 29th. We played a num-ber of pieces including Caravan by Duke Ellington, MelodyShop by Karl King, among many others. This was a truly anencouraging performance, as this was our first Mills Mission,but it surely won’t be our last.

Pi Nu Chapter Jackson State University • Jackson, Mississippi

The colony is pleased to be able to report during ourPhase II process. We’ve worked hard up to this point andthings are not getting easier. We are foreseeing the effort ittakes to maintain a chapter and keep it prospering. We wantthe Pi Nu Chapter to be a powerful force within the Fraternity.We are taking all of the lessons from our Fraternity EducationOfficer and the writings of the founders to heart. They are truetestaments to progressive thought and the genius of the humanmind. We sense a certain mystery surrounding the name ofSinfonia that captures the essence of true manhood, musician-ship, and harmony amongst all human beings.

This essence of harmony was definitely present duringour Mills Music Mission at Langley Community Place, a seniorcitizens home close to our school. The residents were apprecia-tive of our song selection and the time that we spent. Webelieve the power of our voices truly moved the peoples’ hearts,minds, and their mouths to smile and sing along. Seeing thiswarmed our hearts, and our efforts in lifting their spirits, inturn, lifted ours. This was a beautiful display of the power ofmusic and how joy recycles itself in individuals throughrespectable work.

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When was the last time your chapter sent in anupdate to headquarters? Make sure you’re keep-

ing in touch! MMMs, American MusicPrograms, fundraisers, philanthropy, brotherhoodbuilding...we want to hear about all of it! Let usknow what you’re up to, along with pictures and

other news, at editor@sinfonia.org

Beta Psi Chapter University of California-Los Angeles • Los Angeles, California

On May 12 the chapters of Beta Psi of UCLA andKappa Omicron of CSU Long Beach hosted the firstSinfonia Helps Music concert at Bret Harte PrepatoryMiddle School in LosAngeles. The goal of thisproject was to raise fundsand awareness for thisextremely influential andgrowing program thatcaters to at-risk youth, asmusic is widely recognizedas one of the most benefi-cial co-curricular activitiesin a child’s education. Thisfree concert featured manybrothers of Beta Psi andKappa Omicron in small groups and large ensembles, per-forming traditional American music, jazz, and Disney clas-sics, as well as a performance by the Bret Harte concert

band. The money raised by our chapters through individ-ual donations and business sponsors was used to purchaseinstruments for the middle school’s music department. We

utilized our website sinfonia-helpsmusic.org to promote theconcert and to collect dona-tions to help support theschool’s music programs. Theinstruments purchased by ourchapters were presented toBret Harte at a special cere-mony on August 28. Thebrothers of Beta Psi andKappa Omicron hope to con-tinue this tradition of support-ing local music departments

with an annual Sinfonia Helps Music concert, raisingawareness in our communities so that these programs maycontinue to benefit children for generations to come.

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Organizational InformationChapters: 242Colonies: 8Theta Eta (Wright State University)Xi Sigma (Bethel College)Delaware Beta (Delaware State University)Texas Eta (University of Mary Hardin-Baylor)Alpha Upsilon (University of Arizona)Iota Phi (University of New Mexico)Florida Iota (Edward Waters College)Texas Theta (Texas Southern University)

Alumni Associations: 17Collegiate members in Good Standing 5,587Collegiate members on Suspension 684Collegiate members (total) 6,271Percentage of total collegiate suspensions 10.9%Total amount of outstandingper capita tax owed to Sinfonia $100,579.00

Publication InformationThe Red & Black is published as an informational

newsletter for the Fraternity’s chapters, colonies, faculty advi-sors, governors, committeemen, and national officers.

The Red & Black is printed bimonthly, September to April.Photographs and articles from your chapter are highly encour-aged for upcoming issues of The Red & Black. Please send thearticles and photographs to editor@sinfonia.org.

Editor/Layout: Mark A. Wilson, Delta Eta ’03

Lyrecrest Staff:Chief Operating Jeremy M. Evans, Delta Nu ’98Officer evans@sinfonia.org Ext. 108

Director of William C. Lambert, Iota Alpha ’05Programs lambert@sinfonia.org Ext. 102

Director of Mark A. Wilson, Delta Eta ’03Communications wilson@sinfonia.org Ext. 104

Retreat Coordinator Cameron C. Miller, Xi Mu ’08& Programs Associate miller@sinfonia.org Ext. 103

Controller Mary J. Cariecarie@sinfonia.org Ext. 105

Administrative Kimberly J. DailyCoordinator daily@sinfonia.org Ext. 100

Administrative Elizabeth A. RaderAssisstant erader@sinfonia.org Ext. 101

Shipping Clerk Sarah Todiscotodisco@sinfonia.org Ext. 106

The Red & Black is now available on yourAndroid device or iPad. To read any of our

publications from your iPad or home computerin this accessible format, visit

issuu.com/sinfoniahq

And to download the Android app, visitm.issuu.com/apps

News From Headquarters

Clint Williams, Mu (Oklahoma) ’00, is the newProvince Governor in Province 8. Clint has previouslyserved as President of his chapter and as a DeputyProvince Governor. He has also served as Trustee andSecretary of the Sinfonia Educational Foundation.Clint is Executive Director of the Mary AbbottChildren’s House. He replaces Colby Dick, who isresigning from the position.

Red & Black for mobile devices

New ProvinceGovernor appointed