Chapter History

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, established in 1898, made its way to the University of Illinois on June 6, 1925. On that day, the Alpha Xi chapter was founded, initiating 20 men, including students and notable faculty and musicians such as Albert Austin Harding and Ray Dvorak. Their names are:

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Alpha Xi has initiated 11 men as Honorary Members, headlined by John Philip Sousa on November 1, 1925.

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From Fall 1940 to Summer of 1943, the Alpha Xi chapter occupied the house known as “Sinfonia House”, “Phi Mu Alpha House”, and for some unknown reason starting in 1942 “Dante House”. It was located at the corner of Matthews Ave. and California Ave, which has since been turned into a footpath. A few years later in 1947, due to construction of the Roger Adams Laboratory, the house was moved from 602 S Matthews to 1205 ½ Nevada, next to the Delta Gamma sorority house.

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After a few years of inactivity in the 1970’s, Alpha Xi began a strong resurgance with the help of brother Ed Klint, who helped Alpha Xi host the 1982 National Convention at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Brother Klint now serves as Executive Director at Lyrecrest, Sinfonia National Headquarters. His dedication to our chapter as well as the national fraternity is immortalized in the Ed Klint Award for Excellence in the Alpha Xi Chapter.

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Alpha Xi carries with it the Illinois spirit of tradition and loyalty. All 6 Director of Bands at Illinois have been Sinfonians, A. A. Harding, Mark Hindsley, Harry Begian, James Keene, Robert Rumbelow and Stephen Peterson. Our faculty advisors are Barry Houser (initiated at University of Florida) and Dr. Barrington Coleman (initiated at Illinois Wesleyan University).

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