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Murder Mystery Fall Retreat

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On November 9th, we held our first retreat of the year with a 1920’s twist.

Each member of the chapter had a role in the action-packed, drama-doused murder mystery. From the gang leaders Southside Sal and Notorious Nick to characters like Contentious Cal and Lawful Larry, there were plentiful opportunities for attendees to act their hearts out and have some fun.

Thanks to the brotherhood committee for this awesome retreat!

All-Band Game Night

Welcome to the first of many weekly Iota Pi news updates!

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On October 10th we hosted our very own Game Night, complete with card games, board games, a LAN party, and console games. Over 70 students from the many bands at Cal Poly attended and enjoyed some snacks and friendly competition. Some of the games played included Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. (Project M, complete with a tournament!), Cards Against Humanity, and the casino game, Craps. The event was a raving success and we hope to have many more like it.

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20th Annual All-State Music Festival

Cal Poly All-State Music Festival

The 20th year of the Cal Poly All-State Music Festival went off without a hitch!  Led by our fearless crusader Kevin Capacia and his steadfast banner-man Bryan Schmidt, 87 high schoolers from across the realm of California were housed, fed, and guided around the campus (when they were not sitting in multiple hours of rehearsal) for the weekend.

On the first night of the festival (also coinciding with Friday of the University’s Open House) the Cal Poly Symphony, Jazz Band, and Wind Ensemble (directed by Christopher Woodruff, Paul Rinzler, and director of bands Andy McMahan) performed a masterful concert to showcase the talents of the students involved in the Cal Poly’s music department.

Our director of bands emeritus, William Johnson, was able to return to conduct the festival Wind Orchestra, and the students in the festival Jazz band (led by Chuck Wood) joined together on the last night of the weekend to create a whirlwind of a performance for their parents and the Cal Poly community.  The hard work and hours of rehearsals paid off for each of the groups, and highlighted the genius of the solo competition winners: Robert Collar (clarinet) & Henry Wolfe (flute).

Cal Poly All-State Music Festival

Omega Class Service Project

Omega Class Service Project

While most of Iota Pi’s service projects directly benefit Cal Poly’s band program, it is important to remember our capacity to reach beyond that scope and help promote musicianship in the community at large. One recent example of this is the Omega class’s service project: organizing the choral music library at Paso Robles High School.

Aimee Ware, an alumna of Iota Pi, began work this year as the new choir director at PRHS, where she found a large and dauntingly unorganized library of choral music. Upon hearing of this, the Omegas made it a mission to help Aimee get all the pieces sorted, cataloged, and filed neatly away.

It was no small feat. In all, the project involved roughly 30 volunteers and 15 hours of work split over two separate days. The majority of the first day was spent sorting music by SATB, SAB, SSA, etc. then compiling dedicated folders for each individual piece. The second day consisted almost entirely of cataloging each piece by entering its information into a Google spreadsheet, which multiple volunteers were editing simultaneously using their own laptops. By the end, over 2600 pieces were cataloged, and we even cleaned up the adjacent band room.

Because of the efforts of KKΨ, Aimee can more easily teach music without being crippled by a disorganized library. Perhaps more importantly, the students of Paso Robles High School may more easily experience the art of music in all its glory.

Omega Class Service Project

DLC 2013

District Leadership Conference 2013

The 15th Annual District Leadership Conference hosted by Iota Pi from February 15th-17th proved to be a great success with over 180 brothers and sisters attending from the Western District. The love between the organizations Kappa Kappa Psi and its sister sorority, Tau Beta Sigma emanated throughout the weekend, exemplified in the picture shown to the side. Some of the best things about the weekend were the instant friendships made with brothers and sisters, the reunion of old friendships, and the realization prospective members had at seeing the magnitude of the bond outside chapter setting. Besides the new memories and bonds made, many different events helped define DLC.

Over the weekend, leadership workshops as well as other general workshops presented by the Joint Western District Council benefited everyone present. The workshops centralized around the theme of DLC’s “Full-Service Chapter Maintenance” and can be found online at http://thewest.kkytbs.net/events/dlc/dlc-workshops/. Before the workshops, Iota Pi hosted service projects that benefited the bands and community including: making posters for elementary school band programs, maintaining music stands, cleaning shakos and boards, and retrofitting percussion cabinets. Service projects brought brothers and sisters closer by working together towards a common goal.

Although hosting DLC seemed to be a large daunting task, the chapter handled all of its needs with a great attitude and its best foot forward. From housing over 130 people to thinking of service projects for around 180 people to boiling gallons of hot water for PJ’s and Hot Chocolate, all of it turned out successfully. Brothers and sisters from the Western District thanked Iota Pi for being such wonderful hosts, but Iota Pi truly thanks everyone for coming because the event would have been nothing without them. All of the hard work done by the chapter really showed throughout the whole weekend and the district council could not thank us enough. Having been chosen to host DLC was such a great honor and privilege and it brought the chapter even closer together. This event kicked off the district season and really showed that the best are truly in the west.

Iota Pi loves Western District!

District Leadership Conference 2013