BETA CHI CHRONICLEthe newsletter of Beta Chi of Kappa Kappa Psi

at the University of Virginia

Fall 2015

F

BETA CHI CHRONICLE - FALL 20152

2015 - 2016 OFFICERS

SPONSOR: Dr. William Pease, Director of Bands, University of Virginia

ABOUT BETA CHI Originally founded on September 23, 1950, and active until 1962, the Beta Chi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi was refounded at the University on April 23, 2005. The original chapter supplied the first President and Secretary/Treasurer of the Northeast District in 1958 and hosted the first annual District Convention that same year. Today, Beta Chi provides support for the Cavalier Marching Band and other ensembles in the Charlottesville community. The oldest active chapter in the Southern Precinct, Beta Chi has welcomed over 300 well-qualified musicians into the Brotherhood of Kappa Kappa Psi.

KAPPA KAPPA PSI MISSION STATEMENTKappa Kappa Psi is a fraternal organization that promotes the advancement of college and university bands through dedicated service and support to bands; comprehensive education; leadership opportunities; and

recognition; for the benefit of its members and society.

RECORDING SECRETARYJulia DiOrioYorktown, VA

CORRESPONDING SECRETARYElizabeth HarringtonNewport News, VA

HISTORIANAndrew Knuppel

Saint Johns, FL

ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICERCharlie SheehanCharlottesville, VA

PARLIAMENTARIANShaw DriggersWoodbridge, VA

PRESIDENTTaylor Fisher

Williamsburg, VA

VP OF SERVICEKatie Wonders Haymarket, VA

VP OF MEMBERSHIPJoe Lindsay

Alexandria, VA

VP OF FINANCESam Seldowitz

Centreville, VA

VP OF SOCIAL AFFAIRSLucy Trieshmann Newport News, VA

MUSICIANSHIP CHAIRMatt RiceClifton, VA

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BETA CHI CHRONICLEFALL 2015 EDITION

BETA CHI CHAPTER, SOUTHERN PRECINCT, NORTHEAST DISTRICT OF KAPPA KAPPA PSI

In This IssueBack to Blandy 4My Journey to the National Convention 6The Semester in Photographs 8The Shamrock Progressive 10Thanksgiving in the Big Apple 12Star Wars Music: Re-Awakened 13Alumni Day 2015 14

BETA CHI CHRONICLE - FALL 20154

Back to BlandyFall Retreat Recap

Left: Hoo’s Hangin? Brothers take advantage of the abundant trees at Blandy to set up their hammocks and (literally) hang out.

Some things seem inevitable each fall: popular University traditions like Trick or Treat on the Lawn, apple pick-ing at Carter Mountain, and watching (something resembling) football at Scott Stadium. Perhaps a few occur-rences are less desirable, like a stretch of one-week shows, countless hours at Carr’s Hill Field, and lots of time in the library. Of course, this wasn’t any ordinary fall semester for the Cavalier Marching Band or for the Brothers of Beta Chi: preparing for a trip to New York City for the CMB’s first ever appearance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade added a whole new layer of responsibilities and considerations to an already demanding semester.

Despite all of this, Beta Chi made it out to Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, Virginia for Fall Retreat: a weekend away from the craziness of school, band, and the like in order to spend time with each other, learn more about our Fraternity, and reflect on our experiences as Broth-ers. At Blandy, we had time for scavenger hunts and team-building games with our Houses, pick-up football games and hammocking, a dinner prepared by the different membership classes, and activities to teach us more about Ritual and what it means to be a Brother.

It was a great time for all: check out the video (at right) for a peek into our weekend!

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Left: Jeff House makes a human pyramid as part of the Scavenger Hunt.

Right: A letter crafting session during the afternoon.

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As a newly inducted brother of Kappa Kappa Psi, I was excited to become more involved with the chapter. I wanted to put myself out there and make the most of my time as a student and a brother. When I first heard about the National Convention I was a hesitant. This was a huge commitment both financially and timewise. I was working a summer job and had other responsibilities at home. After some personal debate, I decided to go for it. I figured this opportunity only comes once every two years, and I wasn’t sure what my summer after 3rd year would be like. At the time I also figured someone else would come with me. A few weeks passed and I began to re-alize this was going to be a solo mission. Excited and a little apprehensive, I registered and began preparing for the trip.

The next step in my journey was figuring out where to sleep during this 5 day excursion in Lexington, Kentucky. Normally when you share a hotel room, you know the person or people. However, for five nights in a big city, I was willing to compromise on normativity for the sake of my bank account. So using contacts from our Corresponding Secretary, Elizabeth, I went on Facebook and asked strangers in KKΨ if they would like to split a hotel with me for five days. I was ignored a lot. But finally, I got in touch with some brothers from Buffalo, New York that were looking for a third person for their room. Everything fell into place at the right time.

It was the morning of Tuesday, July 28th that I loaded up my car and set forth on a 6 hour drive to a strange new place. Luckily, I had made a huge playlist beforehand to make the drive easier. I’ve never minded driving long distances alone. I’ve always liked being able think about my life and the world and enjoy the sights.

After a little less than 6 hours, I arrived at the largest convention center I had ever seen. I met up with my hotel mates, Jess and Shelby. We drove over to our hotel, which was a few blocks down, and checked in. Jess and Shelby had driven down from Buffalo the day before. They were great people and I spent a lot of time with them over the following days.

That afternoon we had our first official meeting with all of the representatives. We were signed in, given an itinerary, and allowed to mingle with different chapters. It was amazing see-ing all the different brothers from chapters around the US. Some chapters had travelled all the

My Journey to the KKΨ National ConventionBy: John Brownhill

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way from the west coast. I met brothers from the California Polytechnic Institute. Their chapter flew four representatives to come to Nationals! I also met brothers from Purdue, Ohio State, and Oklahoma State.

The delegation was set up so that each chapter had one assigned delegate to represent that chapter’s interests. Chapters that did not send a delegate had their respective delegate seat filled by an active brother or a brother on alumni status from another chapter. The main delegation was where delegates voted for national representatives, constitution changes, and new legislation. From the main delegation, we were divided up into districts, where we held caucus meetings. These meetings were where we talked with our district president to decide how we felt about particular national board candidates and legislation changes.

The itinerary for the National Convention was packed with things to do at almost every hour of every day. The activities were designed to educate and inform brothers across the country so that they could take information back to their chapter. For example, there were workshops on communicating with your director, making an effective fundraiser, bringing music back to your chapter, musicianship as service, and leadership with the rituals. Additionally, there were numerous concerts including a few by the Boston Brass. The itin-erary kept people engaged, but also allowed for some free time for making new friends. We actually had a free afternoon built in, so Jess, Shelby, and I drove into the city and visited the Newport aquarium. From 7am to midnight we were doing activities; it was an amazing and exhausting experience.

What I liked most about the National Convention was that I was voting on decisions that affected the entire fraternity. Getting to learn about the politics of the convention and seeing how the fraternity operates on a national level was a truly eye-opening experience. I know that as a brother and an individual I gained a lot by attending, and I would highly recommend the experi-ence to anyone who is on the fence about attending.

Outside the Newport Aquarium.

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The Semester in Photographs

Above and left: Beta Chi kicked off the school year with a picnic in Garden III.Below, left: Brother Kingsley takes his best shot at a game of cornhole during Family Weekend.Below, right: Before the Notre Dame game, Brothers treated their families to some food and fellowship for Family Weekend.

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Above: Exec spent many a sweaty Tuesday eve-ning meeting after marching band rehearsals.Right: Astro House cooks up their dish for the

House Progressive.Below, right: Brothers dig in at the House

Progressive, which featured a dish cooked by each House.

Below, left: Once again, Beta Chi helped to organize the annual CMB Flag Football Tournament, which saw many competitive

matchups in 3 different divisions.

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Our performance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and subsequent home game against Virginia Tech this fall caused many band members to miss spending the holiday with their families. In light of this, the Beta Chi Social Committee decided to revive a little holiday spirit and throw a Thanksgiv-ing Progressive for the whole band to enjoy. Collaborating with our Sisters in Iota Kappa, the committee spent many hours this semester planning, cooking and, eventually, eating.

Starting at our very first meeting of the semester, the com-mittee began writing a menu for the big day: turkey, gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, rolls, sweet tea, and dessert. Before leaving for New York, we took the massive shopping list to Costco and filled my Jeep to the brim with enough food to stuff 320 people. Two hours and several tough decisions later (applesauce just didn’t make the cut), we unloaded the food before getting on buses for the Macy’s Parade.

After an exhausting week in New York, our work for the Progressive truly began. Brothers and Sisters hopped off the bus, then hit the ground running to get everything ready for the next day’s event. We cooked countless pans of food, distributed supplies and prepared the houses, leaving just enough time to rest up for the next day’s game. After a close fight against Tech, the Progressive finally began. The band flocked to Shamrock, ravenous after a long day, and ate until they were stuffed. Moving from house to house, they picked up a different course at each location. They chatted with fellow band members and enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving feast together. The event received rave reviews and many requests for it to happen again next year. Overall, the Thanksgiving Progressive was a success and allowed us to celebrate the holiday with our band family.

Two full carts from Costco, feat. industrial-sized cans of vegetables.

The Shamrock ProgressiveA Thanksgiving Dinner for the CMBBy: Lucy Trieshmann

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This event would not have been pos-sible without the tremendous support we received both within and outside of the band. In addition to funds from both Iota Kappa and Beta Chi, we received very generous outside donations. Kate Queen and her husband, Dr. Tim Queen (UVa School of Medicine, Class of ’90), provid-ed a monetary donation, and Dr. Steve Walters donated his time and resources to provide all of the delicious turkey we en-joyed at the progressive. He and his wife Kathy own SMOKE, a barbecue restaurant in Newport News. My mother, Sarah O’Dorisio, drove a trailer full of turkey from Newport News to Char-lottesville on the day of the event, ensuring a delicious and fresh meal for our band. She and two alumni Brothers, Kyle Ruempler and Sarah Cottrell-Cumber, set up all the food stations while we played at the football game. We also could not have done this without the generosity of the five band houses opened their homes for the event. Thank you to everyone who helped make the Thanksgiving Progressive an overwhelming success—we could not have done it without you!

Band members fill their plates with turkey (above), hungry ‘Hoos come down Shamrock

Road (far left), Snack Pack pud-dings remind us that presentation

is important (left), members of the clarinet section enjoy their

dinner on the curb (below).

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Thanksgiving in the Big AppleBy: Claire So

Confession: I am a huge homebody. I love breaks because they mean coming home to Northern Virginia, eating Korean food, and being able to hangout in my pajamas all day with my childhood friends and family. It also means getting away from UVA for a bit, which as much as I love can be overwhelming at times. So when the CMB’s trip to New York City to march the Macy’s Parade was announced, I was both excited and sad that an all-expenses-paid trip to New York with some of my favorite people came at the cost of missing a major family holiday. When departure day arrived though, any lingering disappointment disappeared within a minute of hopping on the bus.

I could tell you about all the fun things I did before, during, and after New York but that’d take me more pages than is probably appropriate and my tendency to ramble would probably pop up. So the story I’d like to tell starts with another confession: I’m kind of terrible in the mornings; ask my broomie (brother + roommate) Sophie about it. But when another brother posted in the GroupMe about going to the NBC Today Show in the hopes of seeing Adele, I was in the hotel lobby at 5:30AM, ready to see one of (in my opinion) the greatest singers around right now.

Spoiler alert: we didn’t see Adele. We did however return to the hotel (with donuts and cof-fee, at least) and sat in the lobby, bemoaning our fate and watching the Today Show (and Adele) from a TV screen. While we were there, another group of brothers came downstairs, and while we talked about our failure to see Adele, they mentioned their plans to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. I asked to tag along, and went on to tackle the New York subway (not so scary with friends), the Brooklyn Bridge (beautiful), and Central Park (not what I expected).Walking the Brooklyn Bridge wasn’t something I had anticipated, but it was a beautiful walk with amazing skylines and even better company, complete with a group selfie. Buying an Olaf at the Disney Store (after a round of Let It Go) later that night was just the icing on my metaphorical cake.

What I’m trying to say through this rather disjointed account is: I was so, so sad I wasn’t go-ing home for break, because at UVA, it can feel a lot like I’m always trying to adjust my personality to fit into UVA culture. My adventures in New York reminded me of the home and family I have within the brotherhood of B’tachi, because with these people, it’s okay that I’m kind of (really) dorky and love Disney movies and am cranky in the mornings. It reminded me of my lesson on the definition of brotherhood, and why I love KKPsi: it’s a place where I’m always welcome with

Star Wars Music: Re-AwakenedBy: Matthew Rice

open arms. P.S.: Thanks Sophie Choi for putting up with all the Frozen in our apartment. (Also, do you

wanna build a snowman?)

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Star Wars Music: Re-AwakenedBy: Matthew Rice

Everyone recognizes the Star Wars films by their mu-sic, even if they have never seen the movies themselves – and the newest addition of Episode VII is no different. The Force Awakens was marketed as the sequel we always wanted; J.J. Abrams was going back to the roots of the Original Trilogy by using practical effects instead of CGI, including many physical sets. He also went back to the roots by bringing John Williams back to write the score of the new film.

In all of the films, Williams took inspiration for the score from Late Romantic composers, as well as incor-porating modernist orchestral writing like that of Gustav Holst. Each track helped to ground the strange fantasy world with well-known audience-appreciated music. Although the original Star Wars movie featured impressive visual effects, relatable characters and an appealing plot, the mu-sic may have had an even more important impact on the film’s success. Star Wars can be credited as beginning a revival of grand symphonic scores in the late 1970s. One particular technique that Williams used to help in this revival was called the leitmotif. Often used in operas and older film scores, the leitmotif is a phrase or melodic cell that signifies a character, place, plot development, mood, idea or other specific part of the film. This technique adds an “anchor” between certain parts of the film to the soundtrack, and allows an audience to follow thematic elements through-out the movie with audio cues.

So with the revival of the Star Wars series and these same musical elements being incorpo-rated throughout the new movie, why is the music so recognizable? Probably partly because the whole series is portrayed in the media so much, but in my experience people who have never seen the movies may not recognize any scenes or any plot but will still recognize the music. Music is strongly associated with the striatum in the brain – part of the brain’s reward system. This struc-ture releases dopamine and is activated by listening to music as well as other activities. Music is not only pleasurable, but can be emotionally driven and interpreted in different ways. In the end, the music of Star Wars is culturally relevant, as well as catchy, innovative and pleasing to the ears.

open arms. P.S.: Thanks Sophie Choi for putting up with all the Frozen in our apartment. (Also, do you

wanna build a snowman?)

The Beta Chi Chronicle is a seasonal newsletter that features articles written by current Kappa

Kappa Psi Brothers and Alumni. Articles are written on a volunteer basis and are collected by the Beta Chi Historian. If you would like to

write for a future issue of the Chronicle, please contact Andrew Knuppel, the Chapter Historian,

at ajk5yh@virginia.edu.

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Alumni Day 2015

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Alumni Day!

Brothers past and present ended Homecomings Weekend 2015 with breakfast and fellowship on Sunday morning at the Hunter Smith Band

Building.