How 2022 Month of Musicianship is Being Celebrated Across the Districts
November is a special time for many Brothers and Sisters. From Kappa Kappa Psi’s Founder’s Day to many Active members’ last game day, November is also a month-long celebration of music. November is National Month of Musicianship, and many chapters across the country strive to celebrate our love for music in many different ways. Here is how some are celebrating.
The Nu Gamma chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi is celebrating the Month of Musicianship by letting their campus know what music means to them.
“Every year, the Brothers of the Nu Gamma Chapter get together to decorate the third floor of our rotunda on campus for the Month of Musicianship, hosted by the Music Chair. Of course, Musicianship is always being celebrated, but our Chapter lives and breathes Musicianship during this month,” said Mary Swope, current Nu Gamma Chapter President. “While decorating, we get to write our Alma Mater on the windows, write fun facts about music, write about what music means to us, and use our creative and passionate minds to make the rotunda reflect our love for music. We also tabled throughout the first week of November to get RMU students’ thoughts on music, and we also created a campus-wide Spotify playlist for anyone to add music to!”
Celebrating Month of Musicianship does not have to stop with Active chapters. Many local alumni associations are celebrating as well! The North Central District Alumni Association holds a “Boh and Tell” event via Zoom every year. This event consists of Brothers coming together and sharing pieces of music that mean a lot to them and taking the time to talk about what these pieces mean to them.
For the Western District, Month of Musicianship is an opportunity to come together as a district to celebrate, and to raise funds for the district. “The Practice-a-Thon challenges Brothers to Strive for the Highest in their musicianhood and raise funds that can be used to serve the Western District,” said Emily Rowe, the Western District Secretary-Treasurer. This event serves as a means of raising funds for the Western District of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma while promoting the pillar of Musicianship.
One of the most classic ways to celebrate music any time of year is by holding a reading band. The Gamma Pi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and the Beta Sigma Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma brought in the Month of Musicianship by combining it with Halloween and playing some classic, spooky songs.
“While for some, sight reading may be a frightening task to face up against, here at Purdue, the Gamma Pi chapter strives to embrace the spirit with our Reading Ensembles. Reading Ensembles are a collection of three different reading bands; concert, jazz, and orchestra, that we host periodically throughout the year. Open to anyone in the department, regardless of instrumentation, they provide a place for people to exercise their sight reading skills in a fun, student-led environment. They also provide a place for people to experiment with instruments and even try conducting a band if they want, as we have no directors present for the event,” said Sydney Godwin, the current Music Chair of the Gamma Pi chapter.
As Month of Musicianship comes to a close, the celebration of music will never end among Brothers and Sisters. Through our Active chapters, local community bands, and music educators – the love of music will continue to grow. So next Month of Musicianship, feel free to learn from the ways mentioned in this article to celebrate the month yourself!
