In 1916 the Alumni Association of the School of Music at Northwestern University appointed a committee comprised of Carl Milton Beecher, Louis Norton Dodge, and Walter Allen Stults to examine the possibility of creating an honor society in the field of music. Consequently, in 1918, the Pi Kappa Lambda Society was granted a charter by the State of Illinois. The society’s name was chosen from the Greek equivalent of the initials its first member, Peter Christian Lutkin, Dean of the School of Music at Northwestern University. Dean Lutkin was issued key number one of the
society.
Plans for the establishment of a chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda at NEC began in 1926 and were fulfilled with the installation of the Iota Chapter by President-General F. B. Stiven. The Iota chapter charter members were George Chadwick, Frederick Converse, Francis Findlay, Arthur Foote, Wallace Goodrich, and Stuart Mason.
The activities of this chapter primarily involved performances of compositions by its members, performances by its members, or performances of prize winning compositions.
Physical description
One box containing four folders
Provenance
This collection was placed on loan at the Conservatory library in 1974 by the Iota Chapter’s president, NEC voice faculty member, Mark Pearson. The collection was formally donated to NEC in 1979.
Access
Access to the Pi Kappa Lambda collection is granted by the NEC Archivist. Appointments must be scheduled in advance. There are no restrictions pertaining to this collection.
Copyright
All copyrights to this collection belong to the New England Conservatory. Permission to publish materials from this collection is granted by the Director of Libraries. This collection should be cited as Pi Kappa Lambda collection, New England Conservatory Archives, Boston, MA.