Ben Folds – Honorary Initiation

The Beta Tau Chapter at Miami University in Florida initiated singer-songwriter Ben Folds on October 29th, 2015.

Back in August, a brother at the Beta Tau Chapter at the University of Miami proposed that the chapter initiate Ben Folds. Members knew that Ben would be in Miami to perform in Festival Miami, and thought that it would be a perfect opportunity to initiate Ben into the Fraternity.

The chapter composed a formal letter explaining the Fraternity, our values, and why the chapter thought Mr. Folds would be a good candidate for membership. The chapter reached out to Ben’s publicist, who put them in direct contact with his manager.

After some correspondence had been exchanged between the manager and the chapter to determine when, where, and how much time Ben would be in Miami, agreement was reached that Ben Folds was willing to join the Fraternity and would be available for initiation on October 29, 2015 at 5:00 pm. The chapter became very excited at the news and quickly moved to make sure the venue, rehearsals, and preparations for initiation were squared away.

Excitement and anticipation for the initiation grew as the brothers of Beta Tau reached out to chapter alumni, chapters in the surrounding area, and alumni from other chapters living nearby,  inviting them to join the chapter for the Ritual. The initiation went wonderfully well and Ben obliged the chapter by posing for pictures before he had to leave for another performance.

The day after the initiation, Ben’s manager sent a message to the chapter:

“Just wanted to reach out and say thank you for hosting Ben last night and the honorary induction. He really enjoyed meeting you and was so honored by being brought in to your fold. I spoke to him this morning and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Also we reposted the group photo to his FB page this morning. Everyone loved it.”

Listening to his music growing up, I never expected to get the chance to meet him, much less initiate him as an honorary member into our chapter. Seeing his performance at Festival Miami truly showed his musical talent, as well as his personality and sense of humor.
-Grant Kimes (Beta Tau Chapter President)

Ben has always been a personal hero of mine, and to see him take the time out of his busy schedule to accept our vows was a really amazing and humbling experience!
-Lovell Rose (Beta Tau Alumni Relations Officer)

I’ve never met a musician so genuine and so humble. His passion for this art and its advancement is inspiring. It was an honor and a privilege to welcome him to our family.
-Jake Pressman (Beat Tau Vice-President)

Initiating Ben Folds was such a surreal experience. Speaking with him afterwards, he was completely honored and had only humble things to say about how happy he was to be a Brother.
-Nick Katz (Beta Tau Alumnus)

Multi-platinum-selling singer/songwriter/producer Ben Folds first found mainstream success as the leader of the critically acclaimed Ben Folds Five. He has gone on to have a very successful solo career, recording multiple studio albums, a pair of records documenting his renowned live performances, a remix record, music for film and TV, as well as numerous collaborations with artists from Sara Bareilles to William Shatner.

In 2012, Folds reunited with the Ben Folds Five, released a new album and toured the world in 2012-13. In early 2013, the group released their first LIVE album.

Folds returned to his solo career in 2013.

Folds has also achieved critical acclaim for his insight as a judge on NBC’s a cappella competition “The Sing-Off,” which aired for five seasons.

Over the past year, Brother Folds has also made cameo appearances in film and TV, including a role on Comedy Central’s “Community.” He’s also written and recorded several songs for film and TV consideration.

A Nashville resident, Ben owns and operates the historic RCA Studio A, once managed by Chet Atkins, and the home to thousands of legendary recording sessions in all genres of music from Elvis Presley to the Monkees, Dolly Parton to Kacey Musgraves, Tony Bennett to the Beach Boys and Brian Setzer to Hunter Hayes. The studio is Folds’ creative hub, where he composes, collaborates, produces and records his works, as well as those of others in the industry.

Brother Folds, who serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Nashville Symphony, has composed a highly acclaimed 25-minute, three movement concerto for piano and orchestra. He premiered the concerto in Nashville and has been performing it and other orchestrations of his pop hits with major symphonies before sold out crowds across the nation. He is also touring Europe, the Pacific Rim and Australia this year.

A member of the distinguished Artist Committee for Americans for The Arts, Ben Folds is a leading outspoken advocate for music therapy and music education. He recently participated in a special conference at Sundance Resort, hosted by Robert Redford, that explored how music and art therapy can help our nation’s military veterans.

Brother Folds is also an avid photographer, whose work has been featured by Imaging Edge Magazine, National Geographic and the Weather Channel. He currently shoots images which he sells and distributes online through his platform: www.benfoldsphotography.com.