Some brothers of Phi Mu Alpha welcome their new probationary class in October 2023. Credit: Courtesy of Davis Aho
When people hear the word “fraternity,” common associations likely include tailgates, late nights and date parties. But Ohio State’s chapter of Phi Mu Alpha wants to prove Greek life runs much deeper than what lies on the surface.
Phi Mu Alpha, also known as Sinfonia, was founded in 1898 as the first-ever music fraternity in the world, according to the fraternity’s website. The Ohio State Phi Mu Alpha chapter was not created until nearly 40 years later in 1937, Davis Aho, a fifth-year in music education and music performance as well as the chapter’s president, said.
Currently, Aho said there are only nine active members of Phi Mu Alpha at Ohio State. Those numbers may seem low, but Aho said the smaller membership numbers help facilitate closer connections between the brothers. In fact, Aho said his introduction to the fraternity came from a former member, and the quick camaraderie was what initially drew him to the group.
“I experienced a lot of hardship my first year, some self-brought-upon, some not. I ran into this guy in the hallway at Hughes, the old music building, and he kind of took me under his wing,” Aho said. “That’s kind of how Phi Mu Alpha here at Ohio State runs. It’s very personal, it’s very friendship-oriented. It’s very connection-oriented.”
Matt Burns, a seventh-year in music education, has been a member of Phi Mu Alpha since 2018. While the fraternity’s supportive community has always been a draw, Burns said the quality of the brotherhood has never been better.
“In terms of close-knit and everybody understanding and being on the same page, this is probably the closest it’s ever been,” Burns said. “We’re a lot more focused on being just close with each other and doing good things for each other.”
It is not only the fraternity’s older members who feel this way, Zach Grant, a second-year in music education and a first-year Phi Mu Alpha member, said. After being introduced to Aho by a mutual acquaintance, Grant said the two quickly bonded and the family-like Phi Mu Alpha community became immediately apparent.
“He and I sat there and talked for three hours about our vision for music education,” Grant said. “Just the spirit of the fraternity and the overall goals of the fraternity really aligned with my own.”
Beyond its deeply rooted community, Phi Mu Alpha is dedicated to bringing musical joy to the people outside of Ohio State, Burns said. Currently, Aho said the fraternity is working on a project titled the “Mills Music Mission,” which involves visiting Westmoor Middle School to lead band students in their sectional rehearsals.
Involvement in the Columbus area is not only great for the community, but also brings a sense of self-satisfaction to the members, Burns said.
“Sometimes when we’re caught up in our lives and stuff it can be hard to say you want to take the time to do something for somebody else,” Burns said. “But then you do the thing, whether the high school honor band or going to the old folks’ homes, you obviously find a sense of satisfaction and purpose.”
The contribution to local schools is particularly effective for Phi Mu Alpha, as the members are able to use their talents — as opposed to monetary donations — to help bring music to the community, Grant said.
“Not all of us can contribute financially, we’re all broke college students,” Grant said. “The ability to contribute to society in a way that wasn’t financial was really important to me.”
Although Phi Mu Alpha has enjoyed 125 years of being active nationally, the fraternity has not been without its struggles during its tenure at Ohio State, Aho said. Specifically, he said in 1975, the fraternity was shut down due to a too-small number of members.
Despite being reinstated in 1986, Burns said Phi Mu Alpha faced similar low membership struggles following the COVID-19 pandemic, which put the fraternity at risk for permanent deactivation. Luckily for Phi Mu Alpha, the state of membership has since turned around, Aho said.
“We were pretty close to being wiped off the face of the planet, here,” Aho said. “In one year, we will have more than doubled the size of our fraternity.”
As for the future, Aho said the fraternity’s main focus is continuing to grow the fraternity in numbers in order to have a larger impact on Ohio State’s community and beyond. As it continues to grow, Aho said he hopes the chapter will be able to reach all its goals, from creating an academic jacket to planning an official School of Music prom.
“We have a little bit of a Sisyphus’ rock kind of situation,” Aho said. “We’re slowly pushing that boulder up the hill, we got more things to do every time.”
More information about Phi Mu Alpha can be found on its Instagram page.
