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brothers participate in drum corps across the nation.
Five brothers of the Theta Upsilon chapter are spending their summer
traveling the country in competition, helping to do their part in
the advancement of music in America. Brothers Joe Raymond,
Christopher Sparks, Travis Hall, and Brad Ballard are performing
members of drum and bugle corps. Brother Timothy Powell is
spending his second year on tour as a volunteer helping the Carolina
Crown to sell merchandise at each event. All of these brothers,
along with several others in each corps, work together all summer
to provide a musical experience that is unmatched in the world of
marching and pageantry arts. Each corps travels the country
between June and August performing up to 40 shows in one summer
at varying locations. The summer tour culminates at the Drum
Corps International World Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana,
on August 8 and the Drum Corps Associates Championships in Rochester,
New York, the final weekend of August. [Read more...]
 Chapter
brothers to perform in all three national fraternity ensembles
In mid-July, three chapter brothers will set out to Orlando, Florida,
to rehearse and perform in all of the ensembles at the Phi Mu Alpha
Sinfonia 2009 National Convention. Brother Greg Cobb (Theta Upsilon,
’08) will be playing the drums for the Convention’s
Jazz Band, led by Jim Ketch (Alpha Rho, ’78), and with the
sit-in playing of Jamey Aebersold (Gamma Tau, ’68). Brother
Mark Helmstetter (Theta Upsilon, ’03) will be playing the
euphonium in the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Wind Ensemble, which will
be conducted by Dr. Bobby Adams (Theta Pi, ’61), with one
piece guest conducted by Dr. Frank Ticheli, who has been selected
by the fraternity to be a national honorary member, to be initiated
at Convention. Brother Andrew Owen (Theta Upsilon, ’06) will
be singing bass in the Men of Song Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia National
Men’s Chorus, under the baton of Dr. Dennis Shrock (Zeta Tau,
’63). [Read
more...]
 Chapter
takes a retreat to Lyrecrest
For the first time in many years, the chapter visited Lyrecrest,
the fraternity's national headquarters in Evansville, Indiana, for
a weekend retreat on April 3-5. The caravan of about 23 people
left Cleveland at about 4:00 p.m. and arrived in Evansville after
midnight. The chapter ate breakfast and, with the assistance
of the fraternity retreat coordinator, Will Lambert, did some brotherhood-building
exercises, along with some leadership development exercises.
Throughout the retreat, the chapter made copies of all old archived
chapter files, from the petition to become a chapter in 1960 to
the chapter reports of the current millennium, filling out years
of formerly lost chapter information. Saturday evening, National
Vice President John A. Mongiovi spoke for about four hours about
the message of the ritual and the philosophy of the fraternity.
The chapter very much enjoyed the retreat, getting to know each
other even better, speaking with the foremost authority on the ritual,
eating together, and visiting each other, miles away from the responsibilities
of their lives. [Read
more...]
 Chapter
does its second mass Mills Music Mission
Over the weekend of March 21, the chapter participated in a large
Mills Music Mission around the Northwest Mississippi region, including
Southaven, Hernando, Memphis, Batesville, and Grenada. The
Mills Music Mission is a philanthropy where brothers go to hospitals
and retirement homes to sing and spread the joy of music with those
who need it most. Similar to the Mills Music Mission of the
previous year, the chapter did not just sing in one place, but in
several. The chapter spent from an hour to an hour and
a half in each facility, singing and visiting the residents.
The mission was a very emotionally powerful experience, showing
the brothers firsthand the power of music on the human spirit.
Many brothers admitted that it was the most moving musical experience
of their lives. The Mills Music Mission will continue to be a beloved
activity of the chapter, and it hopes that the mission brought as
much joy to the residents as it did to the chapter. [Read
more...]
 Harmony
Ball leads to a Sinfonian proposal
On Friday, February 27, 2009, the chapter held its formal, called
the Harmony Ball, at Stafford's on Main in Drew, Mississippi.
The party's entertainment was Brandi Lyle Ward, who kept the evening
very enjoyable and inviting. The formal was open to the members
and dates of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Mu Phi Epsilon. Those
who attended the party enjoyed either a delicious shrimp alfredo,
a well-prepared country fried steak, or a scrumptious vegetarian
dish. The appetizer was a plate of fried green tomatoes, and
the dessert was a rich bread pudding. Near the end of the
evening, Brother Joe Raymond proposed to Miss Amanda Gill with the
chapter singing a special version of the Phi Mu Alpha Serenade to
a Girl. It proved to be a very memorable night for all who
attended. [Read
more...]
 Brother
Bill Clark is presented with the Orpheus Award
During Delta State's 2009 Honor Band program on January 31, 2009,
Brother Bill Clark (Theta Upsilon, 1972) was awarded the Orpheus
Award, a very high honor in the fraternity, for having made a lasting
impact on the music of America. Brother Clark was the director
of bands at Delta State University from the 1970s well into the 1980s, and since then
has been a guest clinician many times across the country.
Brother Joe Raymond said during the presentation that "he is
a true example of the advancement of music in America, through his
tenure as director of bands at Delta State, and across the country
in other schools and clinics, shaping young minds and really pushing
people to become great musicians." Designed as a local-level
counterpart of the National Citation, the Orpheus Award was first
presented in 1973 to Will B. Green by Mu Omega Chapter. Since then
it has been awarded about three hundred times. [Read more...]
 Chapter
attends 2009 Province 24 Workshop
On the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Province 24, which
includes all the chapters of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia that are in Mississippi,
held the 2009 Province Workshop. It was held at Mississippi
State University's new fine arts building. The Theta Upsilon
chapter sent twenty-three brothers to the event. The highlight
of the workshop was the presentation by the national chair of the
Province Governor Council, Mark Lichtenberg. The province
used this workshop to elect a Collegiate Province Representative
(CPR), Assistant CPRs, and Province Fraternity Education Officer.
It elected Brother Coday Anthony of Theta Upsilon as the Province
Fraternity Education Officer. The chapter enjoyed attending the
event and looks forward to the next Province Workshop. [Read more...]
 Chapter
hosts Haunted House at the old Skene High School
On the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday around Halloween 2008, the
chapter hosted its annual Haunted House fundraiser at the old Skene
High School (also called Old Bayou Academy) at Skene, Mississippi.
The theme centered around a medical research facility and was sponsored
by Domino's Pizza and Red Bull. The fundraiser was very successful
for the chapter, and proved to be a good diversion for several hundred
people throughout Bolivar County, Mississippi. It was also
very successful in building strong bonds of brotherhood among those
who worked in the Haunted House to make it successful. The
Haunted House proved to be a great experience for learning the importance
of leadership and good positive interactions with others to work
toward a common goal. The entire experience was a meaningful
one to all the volunteers and brothers, and the experience from
the haunted house itself was one of good frights and chills.
The chapter looks forward to planning next year's haunted house
at Skene's old high school building. [Read
more...]
 Chapter
probationary class hosts dunking booth
On Tuesday, October 7, 2008, the probationary class hosted
a dunking booth fundraiser on the Delta State University Quadrangle.
Several balls were thrown, and a few landed perfectly on the target
in order to dunk several excited volunteers, such as Brothers John
Wojcik and Chris Hartfield. The event was very successful
in terms of getting the letters out in the open and having a lot
of fun on an otherwise dreary day. Everyone involved seemed
to have a very good time on the quad that day, dunking their professors
and classmates. It was a great experience for the probationary
members, learning through direct application how to spearhead an
event like this and make it come out successfully. [Read
more...]
 Chapter
assists chapter alumnus in Central Mississippi band festival
On the morning of Saturday, September 20, 2008, brothers of the
Theta Upsilon chapter of Phi Mu Alpha traveled to Florence, MS to
volunteer at the McLaurin Band Festival. Brothers Joe Raymond,
Timothy Powell, Coday Anthony and probationary members Daniel Payne
and Travis Hall participated in assisting alumnus Burell Leach (Theta
Upsilon, '86) in the operations of the festival. Performing
bands included McLaurin Attendance Center, Hillcrest High School,
Ridgeland High School, and Franklin High School. The brothers
assisted in parking arrangements, escorting bands to and from warm
up areas and escorting units to the performance field. The
participating brothers had a great time meeting alumni of Theta
Upsilon, Lambda Phi (Mississippi State University), and Iota Gamma
(University of Iowa). Theta Upsilon was extended the invitation
to assist in this festival throughout upcoming years.
 Chapter
has begun to plan the Skene Halloween Haunted House fundraiser
With two months to gather information, resources, and volunteers,
the chapter is now looking to plan and implement the annual Haunted
House at the now abandoned, privately-owned Skene High School.
Early on the morning of Friday, August 29, Brothers David Dunavent,
Andrew Owen, Wes Patrick, and Joe Raymond assessed the damage to
the property since the last Haunted House. They found that
the facility was in surprisingly good shape, only having sustained
some minor damage from the elements and vandals. Friday's
investigation showed that cleaning up the facility would not be
tremendously difficult for the chapter to take care of as the date
of the event quickly approaches. The chapter welcomes any
person interested in volunteering to make this event a great one
to contact either the president, Joe Raymond, or the chair of fundraising
and projects, David Dunavent. The chapter also welcomes any
ideas from anyone on possible themes and rooms. [Read
more...]
Four chapter brothers participate in
Lyrecrest Work Weekend
From May 15 until May 17, 2008, four brothers from the Theta Upsilon
Chapter visited Lyrecrest, the fraternity’s national headquarters,
for the annual work weekend. In an act of volunteerism to better
the fraternity and develop strong bonds with brothers from around
the nation, the chapter made a lasting mark on Lyrecrest. Brothers
Johnathan Gibbs, Mark Helmstetter, Andrew Owen, and Joe Raymond
did many tasks around Lyrecrest, including pressure washing the
entire facility, staining the front ramp with Mahogany Flame, painting
the doors to the cottage, and removing the back porch of Lyrecrest
North. The experience was memorable for not only the four
chapter members who went, but also for the other brothers who came
from other chapters. The trip strengthened bonds among the
brothers, showing how much fun being at Lyrecrest is, while at the
same time reminding the chapter that it is united with hundreds
of other chapters through its common experience. [Read
more...]
Housing plans to demolish dormitory,
including chapter room
During the first week of April, Housing and Residence Life Director
Elsie Lynn Ervin mentioned to Brother Joe Raymond in passing that
the chapter would lose its chapter room at the end of the 2008 spring
semester. She expressed to him that the Bond-Carpenter and
Whittington-Williams dormitories were not very suitable places in
which to live, and that Housing had thus decided to demolish all
four dormitories, figuring out how to house the many incoming students
with the other remaining male dormitories. Housing had no
plan at all for rehousing the chapter any time before the construction
of a new dormitory, which is scheduled to happen around 2012 at
the earliest. Even though this development puts the chapter
behind a great deal, the chapter will work hard to maintain its
morale without a chapter room for a few years. [Read
more...]
 Swap
with Phi Mu successful
On the evening of Sunday, April 20, the Delta State chapters of
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Phi Mu Fraternity had a luau-theme swap
on the Pavilion near New Men's dormitory. Everyone was invited
to come dressed in tropical shirts and enjoy a good time.
The swap was filled with different luau activities, including an
exciting game of limbo and an on-going game of throwing the beach
ball around. The chapter had the band Cobalt Cali play at
the event to keep the air filled with lively music. The chapter
invited all brothers from the province to attend, and a few brothers
from the Lambda Rho chapter at Northwest Community College came
to the Delta State campus to join the festivities. Everyone
who spoke about it said that the luau swap was a very successful
event, and proof that a lot of fun can be had without alcohol. [Read
more...]
Large Mills Music Mission
In the early days of the fraternity, Father Ossian Mills would take
several friends and visit hospitals and care homes in Boston in
order to give the gift of music and flowers to those there so that
they might be comforted during their hardships. To commemorate
that practice (the "Flower Mission," as it was called),
the chapter planned its Mills Music Mission (as it is now called).
The chapter scheduled singings in eight different places, including
nursing homes and hospitals, to take place over two days. On the
weekend of March 29-30, the chapter went down to central Mississippi—to
Brandon, Raymond, Jackson, and Vicksburg. After singing at
all eight of these places, the chapter went back to Brother James
Koestler's home in Vicksburg to reflect on the mission. It
was an extremely moving experience for everyone involved.
After that event, the chapter strongly wanted to do more of them.
[Read more...]
Rho Iota Chartered
Theta Upsilon attended the chartering of Province 24’s new
chapter at Tougaloo College, Rho Iota, on March 28, 2008.
We look forward to watching the chapter grow and continue to be
strong.
[Read more...]
The chapter sings to Kossman on her 98th Birthday
While planning for Juliet Kossman's 98th birthday party, Brother
James Robinson suggested that the chapter sing to her as part of
the festivities. The chapter, of course, did so, giving its
gift of song to her for her birthday on March 24, 2008. The chapter
took tremendous pleasure from bringing her joy on her birthday.
 2008
Province 24 Workshop Successful
Every January during MLK weekend, Province 24, which includes all
the chapters of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia that are in Mississippi, holds
a Province Workshop. The 2008 Province Workshop was held at
Northwest Mississippi Community College. The Theta Upsilon
chapter sent thirteen brothers to the event. Several speakers
reported on matters like risk management and about how to improve
chapter activities and brotherhood. The Workshop also had
several breakout sessions on different matters such as the national
strategic plan and how to develop brotherhood. The province traveling
trophy, the "Mag," was unveiled in its full form.
Points for the "Mag" were tallied up and Theta Upsilon
won the most points for provincial interaction with the prototype
"Mag" over the previous year. The province also
used this workshop to elect a Collegiate Province Representative
(CPR), Assistant CPRs, Province Fraternity Education Officer, and
Province Alumni Coordinator. The chapter enjoyed attending
the event and looks forward to the next Province Workshop.
[Read more...]
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