Pi Kappa Lambda (ΠΚΛ) is an internationalhonor society for music. It was established atNorthwestern University in 1918. It has chartered more than 270 chapters.
Pi Kappa Lambda was established on May 17, 1918, atNorthwestern University.[1][2] Its founders were faculty members Carl Milton Beecher, Louis Norton Dodge, and Walter Allen Stults.[3][4]: 2–3 The society is dedicated to the promotion of music education in institutions of higher learning.[1] It also recognizes and encouragesmusicianship and academic achievement in the field of music.[1]
Pi Kappa Lambda was chartered in Illinois in 1918.[3] Stults was its first president, serving from 1918 to 1925.[4]: 2 The society held its first national convention at Northwestern University on April 10, 1925.[4]: 13 The society is governed by a Board of Regents[1] It joined theAssociation of College Honor Societies in 1940.[5][1]
In 2012, the society had 207 active chapters, 1,350 active members, and 70,000 total initiates.[1]
By 2024, it has chartered over 270 in the United States, with 207 being active.[6][4]: 20–29 Its national office is located in Saint Simons Island, Georgia.[4]: 5
The Greek letters Pi Kappa Lambda were chosen for the name of the society based on the initials of its first member,Peter Christian Lutkin who was the dean of the School of Music at Northwestern University.[3][4]: 3 The society's motto isPiero Kala Labein or "Strive Always for the Beautiful".[7]
Pi Kappa Lambda's insignia is a gold key shaped like aGreek lyre with the Greek lettersΠΚΛ at its base on a black enamel background. Above the letters, on either side, are apanpipe andfoils, the traditional symbols for music and drama.[8][4]: 20
Pi Kappa Lambda's seal is a depiction of its key, enclosed with a circle surrounded by a row of stars with the words "Incorporated, A.D. 1918".[4]: 20
Pi Kappa Lambda's colors are gold and white.[2] Its honor stole is gold and features the Pi Kappa Lambda key and name.[9] Its regalia also includes a gold medallion bearing the society's insignia and hung on a white ribbon.[8]
Potential members of Pi Kappa Lambda are men and women who are juniors, seniors, and graduate students in music majors with superior musical and academic achievements.[1][10] Senior must rank in the top twenty percent of their class, while juniors must be in the top ten percent of their class.[1] Graduate students must have completed two-thirds of the classes required for their degree with a 4.0 GPA.[1] Faculty are also eligible for initiation into Pi Kappa Lamba.[1]
Pi Kappa Lambda holds a biennial national convention in even-numbered years, sometimes in conjunction with other organizations.[11][1] It also sponsors the publication of a series of monographs on American music, grants scholarships and certificates of honor to outstanding freshmen and sophomore students, holds composition contests, and provides other services in its program of activities.[10][1] It commissions a new musical composition biennially.[1]
^abAnson, Jack L.; Marchenasi, Robert F., eds. (1991) [1879].Baird's Manual of American Fraternities (20th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. p. VI-79–81.ISBN978-0963715906.
^abc"About Us".Society of Pi Kappa Lambda. Retrieved2025-02-07.
McClellan, William; Getman, Jessica L. (2013), "Fraternities and sororities", in Garrett, Charles Hiroshi (ed.),The Grove Dictionary of American Music, vol. 3 (Second ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 376,ISBN978-0-19-999061-0
"Directory of Music Organizations".The Instrumentalist.38 (2). Evanston, Illinois: The Instrumentalist Co.: 110 September 1983.
"Reports from member organizations".National Music Council Bulletin.39 (2): 40. 1980.
