The 2012 National Convention was, if not a literal turning point, at the very least a landmark event in Sinfonia's history. It was capped by newly reelected President Mongiovi’s inspiring speech at the closing ceremonies, which placed Sinfonia in a historical and ideological context that stretches back for millennia. We would invite you to watch and read his speech by clicking here.

Following the Convention and his address at it, we were able to talk with President Mongiovi about the Convention as a whole: its meaning and purpose, and what it means as we move forward in the triennium.

A simple question with a potentially long answer: Why “The Power of Music?”

In the early years of our Fraternity the Convention themes communicated something about us and our direction. “On and Ever Upward” was one of those, in 1913. But more recently, Convention themes have been based on the location. I wanted to get back to the idea of a motto communicating something about who we are and what we want brothers to focus on going into the next three years. When issuing the Convention Call I asked myself, “what is the most important thing I would want everyone to know about Sinfonia and our mission?” “The Power of Music” was chosen to acknowledge that our founders did not think of Sinfonia as a social or professional society, but rather as a fraternal Order where men devote themselves to a more exalted view of music as an art that heals and uplifts humanity. For four thousand years various movements have preserved and centered upon this idea of music’s power. Sinfonia’s designers portrayed the Fraternity as a continuation of that tradition, and that’s the most fundamental thing about the Fraternity I would want everyone to know.

On a more practical level, I wanted to communicate the idea that music is not frivolous, but in fact universally acknowledged since ancient times as vital to human welfare, and as the highest and most worthy of pursuits. Too many people regard music and other arts as non-essential. In the history of the world that’s a relatively modern view. Music has power. I think when we affirm the reality of what music can do and what we do with music to make an impact on many, many lives, it can be a point of pride for the individual musician and Sinfonian that inspires dedication to music and to our Brotherhood.

You talk about the different “levels” of Sinfonia in your Convention address. How do you think most brothers are able to go past the first level (the collegiate sociability)? Conversely, what might keep some members from experiencing anything deeper than this first level?

Most frequently I think it happens when brothers attend something outside of their own chapters. One of the most frequent things we hear is that brothers have that “aha moment,” realizing Sinfonia is something greater than what they thought, after attending a province workshop or a regional or national event. It’s a funny phenomenon when your entire experience of Sinfonia is based on your own chapter, then you meet this group of people who do all the same things and feel the same way, but they’re people you don’t know. It can make you more instantly comfortable with people outside your own clique, and that’s the first step for many brothers to become someone who’s not afraid to reach out beyond their comfort zones. Brothers also learn things about the Fraternity when they attend events, and they can’t wait to share with their chapters. Over the years I’ve received countless messages from brothers who attended events asking how they can get the brothers in their chapters to realize what they are missing. I think you can’t fully. They really have to see it for themselves.

Some members miss out on experiencing this because it’s not until you actually do participate beyond the chapter that you realize there’s something you were missing in the first place. Members are most frequently restricted from experiencing anything beyond the chapter because of busy schedules and the expenses of travel. That’s where travel grants through the Foundation really make a difference.

Brothers also go beyond thinking of Sinfonia like any other college Fraternity when they study and learn. We do an extraordinary job teaching about Sinfonia’s history and Ritual, our legacy and mission, not only through events but with written materials. That’s how it was for me. The first time I looked through the 100 year-old Sinfonia Yearbooks that happened to be in my school library and realized the vision of the founding generation, I never looked at Sinfonia the same way again.

We announced a lot at the Convention…composition initiatives and contests, partnerships, alumni and veteran programs, and renewals of existing and strong programs. It has already had an impact on our brotherhood and our place in American music, and will continue to do so. But what’s the next step? Is there yet another level the organization can reach to be at the forefront of both a fraternal and musical movement?

In some ways I think we really are at the forefront of the fraternal movement. Sinfonia is advanced in terms of our integrity of our mission, Ritual and symbols; the sincerity and effectiveness of our educational processes instilling high ideals in new members; and developing real brotherhood and friendship among us. The bond between Sinfonian brothers goes very deep. I see strong brotherhood and friendship everywhere on every level. To some people what I’m saying will sound cliché, but when you’re working in the organization you notice whether people actually enjoy being around each other. When we focus on brotherhood and our highest principles and do that right, everything else falls into place. I think that’s what we’re seeing now. Continuing to develop our education on Sinfonia’s history, Ritual and symbols will continue to be one of our highest priorities.

On the musical front, our purpose should be to advance music in America along the lines of Sinfonia’s ideals and standards. In practice that comes down to the message we communicate about why music is essential in education and society. Sinfonians are great in number and growing, and they’re everywhere – not only in the music world but in every profession. That gives us an extraordinary potential influence. Grass roots efforts are the key. Alumni especially should band together around their work as active and vocal advocates and supporters of music and arts education in our communities. I think then we would naturally see a stronger alumni experience, the growth of alumni associations to give structure to those efforts, and Sinfonia more recognized as an influence in American music.

It also comes down to the music we create. At the Convention we premiered a new fanfare by Brother David Holsinger and announced that we are renewing Sinfonia’s tradition of commissioning new American music with two exciting composition initiatives – a major work for wind ensemble by Brother Holsinger, and a $5,000 composition contest for men’s chorus, both to premiere at the 2015 Convention. There’s no greater example of being at the forefront of American music than actually creating new American music.

You talk a fair amount in your speech about the omnipresence of Music, even predating modern civilization. Rather than elaborate on what the speech already covers in some depth, I’m curious about your own connection to music in your life. What artists or works have moved you in ways strong enough to speak about its power with such passion?

I’ve had a deep love of music as long as I can remember. My favorite childhood toy was a lap-size chord organ – that’s a prehistoric version of a modern electronic keyboard – and it was hard to pull me away from it. I’d also spend hours in my room listening to classical music “hits” on vinyl. I begged for piano lessons and started playing in fourth grade. Playing the piano was the first thing I really identified with. I knew it was what I was supposed to do.

As far as works, I have been moved most of all by western classical music, from the Renaissance to the 21st century, but most of all by Mozart. His piano concertos and operas have always been deeply moving and fascinating to me. For me there’s magic in the energy of that music. In graduate school I felt very strongly that I had to know more about why music was so powerful, so I changed my major from medical microbiology and immunology to music theory and wrote my Master’s thesis on Mozart’s D minor piano concerto. I also traced his footsteps in Europe and made a journalistic effort in the office of the President of the Mozarteum to uncover something about the mystery behind his skull. Music has always been a compelling influence in my life.

The restoration of the Object, Ritual, coat-of-arms, and various aspects of the Fraternity once lost to history seems nearly complete. Is it? And, having been around maybe not since the beginning of this movement, but close to it, what changes in the Fraternity as a whole have you seen as a result of these changes/restorations?

There are always little things, of course, but I think for the most part the fundamentals have been restored. When we’re talking about the Object, Ritual, and symbols, these changes were made as a response to a lengthy education process about the “higher levels” of Sinfonia’s mission, as I put it in the speech. It’s really the accompanying education that made a difference. As brothers learned what our history and symbols teach about who we are, what we have done, and what we were meant to be, they’ve started to realize the Fraternity was something much greater than a social or professional club. For many brothers, that also changes the way they see themselves as Sinfonians. After the 2009 Convention a brother told me that learning about Sinfonia’s Ritual, Object and history gave him a stronger sense of responsibility to Sinfonia’s legacy and what it really means to be a Sinfonian. I’ve never forgotten that. Education equals dedication. Today the Fraternity is as strong as it has ever been, and that has been in direct correlation to our having one positive direction and a renewed sense of identity and purpose.

One of the ways we’re helping to make the information from Convention available is through our new conference call series. What’s the hope for these? And though you won’t personally be involved with every one, what kinds of topics are you looking forward to discussing in them?

As we completed the 2009-2012 triennium we launched a number of new initiatives, and we want to focus on those throughout this triennium to ensure that what we worked to establish last triennium now gets implemented on the local level. We hope for the conference call series to encourage and facilitate that, so we’ll be talking about the new Recommended Fraternity Education Program, the new initiative for chapters to recognize alumni with 10-, 20-, and 50-year pins and ceremony, and music advocacy. We’re also covering chapter operations, American Music Programs, and the Mills Music Mission. The idea is to cover every large area of the Fraternity (education, alumni, advocacy, operations, music, and philanthropy) so that we can help establish a new and higher level of activity in our local chapters and alumni associations.

The conference call series that President Mongiovi talks about at the end of the interview is one of the ways in which we are helping all brothers to understand how to take advantage of the opportunities available to them as Sinfonians. Click here to learn more about them.

We hope all brothers can appreciate the importance of what we do, both as musicians and Sinfonians, and as citizens in a larger world, and that the feeling of brotherly love and fraternal duty coming out of the summer’s Convention helps to ignite a passion in all brothers.