Music-based Fraternity Seeks Charter

A colony is a probationary body for fraternities and sororities. Essentially, a group of people petition to become a colony and if it is fruitful in terms of membership and fulfilling requirements it will be chartered.

The members of the Virginia Zeta colony hope to receive their charter at the end of this semester and become the first Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity chapter at Mason.

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is a national fraternity with a focus on music. All 20 members of the current colony are music majors, but any male interested can become a member. The colony hopes that non-music major membership will dramatically increase in years to come.

“ . . . [When] looking for men to recruit, the target . . . [is] simple: men who love and appreciate music . . . All that is required is that men believe in the Object of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia . . .” said Vincent Prinzivalli, the vice president of the Virginia Zeta colony, ‘The Object of this Fraternity shall be for the development of the best and truest fraternal spirit, the mutual welfare and brotherhood of musical students, the advancement of music in America, and a loyalty to the alma mater.’”

The Virginia Zeta colony began their journey to becoming a fraternity last spring when they were given their official title after petitioning for colonization through signatures. Through word of mouth advertising, the colony was able to gain interest and membership. On August 24, 2008, the colony hosted their first meeting.

Throughout the fall and spring semesters, the colony has been fulfilling requirements in the areas of province relations, alumni relations, musical outreach, community outreach and fundraising, according to Prinzivalli. These requirements fulfill phase one of a two-part process to becoming a fraternity.

In May, the Virginia Zeta colony will present a petition to the national headquarters of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia to be reviewed, which will begin phase two of the process.

During this phase, the Nu Psi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at Shenandoah University, Virginia Zeta colony’s mentor chapter, will be conducting the probationary period of the colony. This will take about six to eight weeks, after which all members of the colony will become brothers, a chapter name will be given and all members will be considered founding fathers of the chapter.

Once chartered, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia will hold normal recruitment processes and then be considered a social fraternity.

As a national fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia has had many famous alumni such as Ruben Studdard, Luciano Pavarotti and Fred “Mister” Rogers.