# Kappa Gamma Psi

Kappa Gamma Psi (ΚΓΨ) was an American music fraternity founded in 1913 at the New England Conservatory. Its last surviving collegiate chapter went inactive in 2008 but continues to have alumni chapters.

## History

Kappa Gamma Psi was founded by twelve men who were members of a men's club at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts on December 11, 1913. It was a performing arts fraternity for male students.
Its second chapter, Beta, was established at the University of Michigan in 1916. World War I slowed the fraternity's expansion and resulted in Beta going inactive. Its first post-war chapter was Gamma at the Boston Conservatory of Music in 1923. By 1927, it had chartered five chapters in the United States and had initiated 235 members.
The fraternity expanded to have thirteen chapters at schools of music or universities with a department of music. It was overseen by a board of national officers that met at an annual national convention.
By 1976, the only active chapter was Iota at Ithaca College. In the 1980s, it changed from a musical fraternity to a performing arts fraternity. Iota went inactive in 2008. As of 2024, the organization still has one active alumni chapter.

## Symbols

Kappa Gamma Psi's badge was a circle of twelve pearls over an inverted triangle. Inside the circle were the Greek letters ΚΓΨ. There was an amethyst at the three points of the triangle.
Its jewels were the amethyst and the pearl. Its colors were gray and black. The fraternity's publication was the Gray and Black.

## Membership

Membership was limited to music students. The fraternity also initiated honorary members. The fraternity was originally all male but became coeducational in the 1970s.

## Activities

Kappa Gamma Psi's Iota chapter (Ithaca College) formerly sponsored a competition for new compositions. The widely performed band composition "The Leaves Are Falling", by the American composer Warren Benson, was commissioned by Kappa Gamma Psi in 1963. "Deux Preludes", a work for flute, clarinet, and bassoon by the Czech-born composer Karel Husa, was commissioned by the Iota chapter in 1966. Elie Siegmeister's "Sextet for Brass and Percussion" was commissioned in 1966. In 1974, the Iota chapter commissioned Alfred Reed's "Double Wind Quintet".

## Chapters
### Collegiate chapters

Following are the former collegiate chapters of Kappa Gamma Psi, with inactive chapters and institutions noted in italics.
| Chapter | Charter date and range | Institution | Location | Status |
| Alpha | December 11, 1913 – 1968 | New England Conservatory of Music | Boston, Massachusetts | Inactive |
| Beta | March 21, 1916 – 1919 | University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, Michigan | Inactive |
| Gamma | 1923–1932; 1948–1976 | Boston Conservatory of Music | Boston, Massachusetts | Inactive |
| Delta | 1924–1956 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, Utah | Inactive |
| Epsilon 1 | 1924–1939 | Pennsylvania State University | State College, Pennsylvania | Reassigned |
| Zeta | 1927–1932 | University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | Inactive |
| Eta | 1927–1939 | Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Inactive |
| Theta | 1928–1938 | Louisiana Polytechnic Institute | Ruston, Louisiana | Inactive |
| Iota | 1929–2008 | Ithaca College | Ithaca, New York | Inactive |
| Kappa | 1929–1954 | Chicago Musical College | Chicago, Illinois | Moved |
| Lambda | 1933–1939 | Cincinnati School of Music | Cincinnati, Ohio | Inactive |
| Epsilon 2 | 1950–1973 | Boston University | Boston, Massachusetts | Inactive |
| Mu | 1954–1956 | DePaul University | Cincinnati, Ohio | Inactive |

### Alumni chapters

Following is a list of Kappa Gamma Psi alumni chapters, with active chapters in bold and inactive chapters in italics.
| Chapter | Charter date and range | Location | Status | References |
| Boston Area | 2009 | Boston, Massachusetts | Active | |

## Notable members

* Halim El-Dabh, composer
* Bert Remsen, actor

### Notable honorary members

* Harold Bauer, pianist and violinist
* Pablo Casals, cellist and conductor
* Philip Greeley Clapp, director of the School of Music at the University of Iowa, conductor, and composer
* Frank Battisti, judge
* George Eastman, entrepreneur, inventor, and photographer
* Duke Ellington, jazz pianist and composer
* Ossip Gabrilowitsch, pianist and conductor
* Philip Hale, music critic
* Louis Hasselmans, conductor and cellist
* Hans Kindler, cellist and conductor
* Fritz Kreisler, violinist and composer
* Erich Leinsdorf, conductor
* Georges Longy, oboist, conductor, composer, and founder of Longy School of Music
* Ignacy Jan Paderewski, pianist, composer, intellectual and statesman
* Jesús María Sanromá, musician
* Elie Siegmeister, composer
* Lawrence Tibbett, opera singer
* Bruno Walter, conductor, pianist, and composer