Sinfonia Club founded at New England Conservatory of Music

Background. The New England Conservatory of Music is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. Ossian Everett Mills served as the bursar of this institution. He sought to encourage the personal development of young men at the conservatory through wholesome social interaction. This goal motivated him to suggest that older students invite newer students to a social reception, which became the catalyst for the formation of the Sinfonia Club.

Founding. A social reception was held on September 22, 1898, at the New England Conservatory. Several men who attended this reception began discussing the possibility of organizing a more permanent social club. A meeting was planned for October 6, 1898, for this purpose. On that date, the Sinfonia Club was officially founded by Ossian Everett Mills.

Naming. The fraternity attributes the name "Sinfonia" to prominent American composer George Whitefield Chadwick, then director of the conservatory. Chadwick was elected as the second honorary member of the club after Ossian Mills, and suggested the name "Sinfonia" from a student organization to which he had belonged in Leipzig, Germany.