The history of Greek Letter music organizations at Coe College is a long one. While the path has not always been smooth, the Men of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia have, somehow it seems, always found a way to prevail. The first musical organization at Coe to use Greek Letters was the sorority Phi Omega Phi, founded in the early 1920’s. This organization became the Mu Psi Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon Sorority on May 22, 1926. This must have gotten the men of the Coe College School of Music thinking. By the fall of 1929, under the leadership of Professor of Music Paul Ray, director of the Vesper Choir, a group of 24 students, faculty, and prominent Cedar Rapidians submitted a petition to the faculty of Coe College for review. On December 18, 1929, the faculty gave its approval for the formation of the musical society Pi Sigma Rho. Several of the charter members of Pi Sigma Rho were members of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, including Prof. Ray and a local dentist Dr. Morris Katzoff. Under the guidance of these men, the fledgling fraternity modeled itself after Sinfonian image.

    In its first year the fraternity was very active, holding meeting every two weeks. It sponsored many events such as a spring concert of music by American Composers on May 19^th. The concert included a special tribute to music department Professor Louise Crawford. On the following day, the men of Pi Sigma Rho hosted the first All-Greek sing, where each of the campus’s fraternities sang in competition for prizes. Choruses from each of the campus’s fraternities (consisting of 12 men each) sang their best fraternity song as well as one verse of Coe Loyalty. Phi Kappa Tau won first place, and were awarded a silver cup. Chi Beta Phi won second place. However, by the spring of 1930, the fraternity was beginning to feel the limitations of being a local organization. Again, under the leadership of Prof. Ray, the men of Pi Sigma Rho entered a petition with Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia that began with a letter that read, in part:

We, the undersigned, having organized and maintained an honorary musical fraternity for men in Coe College at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, named Pi Sigma Rho, and believeing that mutual benefits would ensue from an affiliation with Phi Mu Alpha, do respectfully petition the grant of a charter for a local chapter of Phi Mu Alpha, at Coe College

    After extensive investigation, Province Governor Tolbert MacRae wrote the following in endorsement of the petition:

I have just returned from a very pleasant visit to the campus of Coe College… If found two active brothers in Prof. Ray … and Prof. Russell… They have been very active in the organization of Pi Sigma Rho and have brought together a very fine group of faculty and students which I wish to recommend very highly to the Grand Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

    The petition was passed in October of 1930 and the Beta Kappa Chapter was installed at Coe College at 5:00 in the evening on November 1, 1930, in the Recreation Room of the Men Gymnasium. The installation ceremony was lead by Governor MacRae, with a ritual cast supplied by the Alpha Delta Chapter of Iowa State College. Supreme National President Lutton was among the national officers in attendance. Following the ceremony, a dinner was held at the Hotel Roosevelt, and a formal reception was held in Voorhees Hall.