Performances + Events
Kappa Gamma Psi
Kappa Gamma Psi was founded on December 11th, 1913 at the New England Conservatory of Music to satisfy the desire for an organized student relationship with the institution and its faculty. After this fellowship was recognized as an asset to the institution, nationalization was planned.
At that time, Kappa Gamma Psi was only for male students of music. With only men in the fraternity, the First World War gave a rocky start to its expansion. The formation of the Gamma Chapter in 1923 at the Boston Conservatory of Music marked the beginning of stable expansion for the fraternity.
Kappa Gamma Psi History
The fraternity steadily gained chapters until the start of United States involvement in World War II, when growth leveled off. Then, as the Vietnam War progressed, chapters of Kappa Gamma Psi became inactive. In 1968, the Alpha Chapter, at the New England Conservatory, went inactive. By 1976, only one chapter remained active: the Iota Chapter at Ithaca College. The Iota Chapter is still active today and Kappa Gamma Psi has maintained its national board and its identity as a national fraternity.
In 1976, Iota Chapter began inviting female students to join. In the 1980s, having developed more diverse performance interests (a trend that began in the 1950s), the chapter officially changed the fraternity’s designation from Musical Fraternity to Performing Arts Fraternity. Today, Kappa Gamma Psi is open to male and female performers of any major.
Archival Collection
This collection consists of 3 manuscript boxes – approximately .35 lin. ft. The first box contains 17 folders of paper records; the second box contains 9 folders of photographs and a guest book; the third box contains issues of the fraternity’s publication.
These records were created/maintained by the Alpha Chapter of Kappa Gamma Psi at NEC. After the Alpha Chapter dissolved, these records remained in storage at NEC and were transferred to the Archives in 2004. The issues of Gray and Black were donated to NEC by faculty member John Moriarty in 2008.
Access to this collection is by appointment with the NEC Archivist. A few folders have access restrictions.
All copyrights to this collection belong to the New England Conservatory. Permission to publish materials from this collection is granted by the Archivist. This collection should be cited as NECA 20.3. Kappa Gamma Psi Records, New England Conservatory of Music Archives, Boston, MA.
This collection contains the records of the National Music Fraternity, Kappa Gamma Psi’s Gamma chapter at New England Conservatory. The collection is organized into 7 series: 1) Minutes & By-Laws 2) Reports, Treasurer’s Records 3) Pledging/Ceremonies 4) Event Records 5) National Fraternity Records 6) Photographs 7) Publications.
The majority of the written records date from 1956-1961; however there is one volume dating from 1926-1927 containing the Minutes of the 1926 convention of Kappa Gamma Psi, as well as Minutes from the National Body Meetings of those years. The records from 1956-61 include charter and by-laws, treasurer’s ledgers and audits, quarterly reports, pledge materials, information relating to ceremonies and rituals, and a few event records.
There is also a group of approximately fifty photographs. These are primarily formal group pictures and photographs from fraternity events dating from 1916-1958. There are also a few autographed portrait photographs of honorary fraternity members, Josef Adamowski, Georges Longy, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, and Francis Findley. The Guest Book lists members and their addresses from 1965. The third box contains several single issues of the fraternity’s publication, Gray and Black, from the years 1948-1958, and 2 issues of the Newsletter from 1960.
Series 1 Official Records
- Box 1 – Folder 1
- Constitution and By-Laws
- Box 1 – Folder 2
- Minutes, 1957-1958
- Box 1 – Folder 3
- Minutes, 1959-1960
- Box 1 – Folder 4
- Minutes, 1961-1962
Series 2 – Reports, Treasurer’s Records
- Box 1 – Folder 5
- Quarterly Reports, 1959-1961, 1964
- Box 1 – Folder 6
- Treasurer’s Records, Accounting ledger, 1940-1953
- Box 1 – Folder 7
- Treasurer’s Records, Accounting ledger, 1952-1953
- Box 1 – Folder 8
- Treasurer’s Records, 1956-1961
Series 3 – Pledging/Ceremonies
- Box 1 – Folder 9
- Pledging Procedures and Ceremonies (Restricted access to members only)
- Box 1 – Folder 10
- Member essays (Restricted access)
Series 4 – Event Records
- Box 1 – Folder 11
- Bean Supper
- Box 1 – Folder 12
- Debate series
- Box 1 – Folder 13
- Skits & Pieces
- Box 1 – Folder 14
- Other
Series 5 – National Fraternity Records
- Box 1 – Folder 15
- Important documents – Information, By-laws, etc.
- Box 1 – Folder 16
- Minutes, Financial reports, publications, constitution, Kappa Gamma Psi hymn
Series 6 – Photographs
- Box 2- Folder 1
- Photographs – Portraits
- Box 2 – Folder 2
- Photographs – Groups – Dated (1919-1927)
- Box 2 – Folder 3
- Photographs – Groups – Dated (1927-28 –1939)
- Box 2 – Folder 4
- Photographs – Groups – Dated (1958)
- Box 2 – Folder 5
- Photographs – Groups – Undated
- Box 2 – Folder 6
- Photographs – Groups – Undated
- Box 2 – Folder 7
- Photographs – Oversize – Portrait
- Box 2 – Folder 8
- Photographs – Oversize – Groups – Dated
- Box 2 – Folder 9
- Photographs – Oversize – Groups – Undated
Series 7: Publications: Gray and Black; Newsletter
- Box 3– Folder 1 – Gray and Black
- v. 1, no. 1 (December 1948)
- v. 35, no. 1 (May 1950)
- v. 36 no. 1 (November 1950)
- v. 38 no.1 (May 1952)
- v. 38 no. 2 (November 1952)
- v. 39 no. 1 (April 1953)
- v. 39 no. 2 (November 1953)
- Box 3– Folder 2 – Gray and Black
- v. 40 no. 1 (April 1954)
- v. 40 no. 2 (February 1955)
- v. 41 no. 1 (December 1955)
- Special issue, 1957?
- v. 43 [no. 1] (December 1957)
- v. 43 no. 2 (May 1958)
- Box 3 – Folder 3 – Newsletter
- Fall and Winter 1960
