Northwestern State University’s Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia is a musical fraternity established on campus in 1942. It is now the oldest and largest musical fraternity, having been founded in 1898 and accumulating over 260,000 total initiated members. With nearly 250 active chapters, over 7,000 active members use music to lift others in brotherhood.

Mars Heard, a senior music education major, serves as fraternity education officer and the head of education. “Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia was created to make better men through music, providing them a fraternal spirit with other kindred souls,” Heard said. “It also aims to advance music in America and create a lasting loyalty to one’s Alma Mater. It takes something we already know, music, and uses it to give us a home and brothers waiting to open their doors to a new brother.”

“You tend to become who you surround yourself with, and when you surround yourself with people who want to become better, it’s hard not to do the same yourself,” Heard said.

Using the Ossian Everett Mills Music Mission (MMM), members of the fraternity perform music for the less fortunate as a way to uplift spirits and grow themselves. The MMM gives members knowledge and first-hand experience in using music to foster emotions, while also giving them chances to prepare for the future and new opportunities.

Tim Pursell, a junior music education major, explained that Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia focuses heavily on the community. “I think that sharing music is the most important thing, and our mission and philanthropy is music. On campus and in the community, we give to others by giving music,” Pursell said.

“Brothers from all walks of life are sharing their love for music and our ideals. Meeting brothers from the early 2000s and before has been a fun experience,” Pursell said.

The fraternity not only encourages its members but shapes them as people. Blake Fontenot, a junior music education major, would encourage others to join the brotherhood. “I feel like my involvement has made me a much more understanding and compassionate person,” Fontenot said. “I also have learned to take criticism much better and am also much more willing to be honest with friends and brothers about issues.”

Being a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia means being a member for life. As the motto goes: Once a Sinfonian, Always a Sinfonian, Long Live Sinfonia.