Grand Valley State University holds a number of musical fraternities and groups that are open for any students on campus to join. Through these organizations, students are able to get a chance to express their musical abilities in a group-oriented way. 

When it comes to picking a fraternity to join, students have a set of options to choose from. There are three professional music fraternities within GVSU: Kappa Kappa Psi, Sigma Alpha Iota and Phi Mu Alpha.

The Mu Kappa Chapter of the Kappa Kappa Psi fraternity on campus frequently lends assistance to the major GVSU bands including the Laker Marching Band, Pep Band, University Band, Concert Band, Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band. Kappa Kappa Psi also supports high school music programs by hosting events like Band Day.

Other fraternities like Sigma Alpha Iota and Phi Mu Alpha offer scholarships, loans and rewards in many areas and at all levels of music-related study.

Often, eligibility for the fraternities depends on musical experience and certain credit requirements. For example, students looking to join Sigma Alpha Iota must have one music credit.

President of Sigma Alpha lota women’s fraternity, Hannah Savage, said the musical fraternities are not limited to music majors.

“A lot of the time, it is people who are just seeking a friend group to do different activities and things with,” Savage said. “I know that most of Sigma Alpha Iota is almost all non-music education majors. Students can go through LMB or any music class to join.”

Joining a musical fraternity also provides opportunities for students to work with professional artists and members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). This organization specializes in advancing and preserving music education as part of the core curriculum.

Events like Tri-Greek encourage students to collaborate with other groups. Tri-Greek is a formal dinner held for all three music fraternities.

“A lot of people join for the friends,” Savage said. “Especially with SAI, which is a bit smaller, we are able to do many things, like attending Tri-Greek and doing A Capella-offs. It is a really nice bond that we are able to build with one another.”

As President of her fraternity, Savage runs meetings and collaborates with other groups for events like the A Capella-off. As of right now, not many events are public. However, the fraternity members hope to change that in the near future and interact with the campus community outside of fraternity members.

Savage said there are other opportunities for interested students to get involved in musical student organizations outside of the three fraternities such as different organizations like NAfME and other clubs. 

For more information on the musical fraternities Kappa Kappa Psi, Sigma Alpha Iota and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia students are encouraged to visit LakerLink.