Dave Grusin was born on June 26th, 1934.

Grusin was a 1953 initiate of the Beta Chi Chapter at the University of Colorado Boulder and named Phi Mu Alpha’s 16th Man of Music in 1991. Brother Grusin has been awarded several Grammys and an Academy Awards for his work as a film score composer.

Dave Grusin is well known for compositions in featured films like “The Milagro Beanfield War,” “The Champ,” “The Goonies,” and “The Fabulous Baker Boys.” He has also claimed fame as a talented jazz recording artist and has seen success as a producer/label owner at GRP Records. GRP was named the top contemporary/traditional jazz label of the 1990s by Billboard Magazine.

Frederick Fennel was born on July 2nd, 1914.

Brother Fennell was initiated into the Alpha Nu Chapter at the Eastman School of Music in 1934. As an internationally recognized conductor, Fennell was one of the prominent figures who promoted the legitimacy of the wind ensemble as a major performing group. During World War II, Fennell would serve as the National Musical Advisor for the United Service Organizations (USO).

Throughout his career, Fennel had been the director of several notable orchestras including the Tokyo Kosei Symphony Orchestra. Noted as one of America’s most-recorded conductors, he made several recordings with prominent wind ensembles such as the Cleveland Symphonic Winds and Dallas Wind Symphony.

For his immeasurable contributions to American music and tireless promotion of musical programs, Brother Fennell was awarded the Charles E. Lutton Man of Music award at the 51st National Convention in Washington D.C., in 2003.

Van Cliburn was born on July 12th, 1934

Van Cliburn was initiated into the Alpha Chi Chapter at the University of Tula in 1958. During the same year, he participated in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia. In an event designed to demonstrate the technological superiority of the USSR during the Cold War, Cliburn would win first prize. The win propelled him to international fame, earning him the nickname “The Texan Who Conquered Russia” on the cover of the New York Times Magazine. For the power of his musical diplomacy and his influence on the world through the arts, Brother Cliburn was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush in 2003 and the National Medal of the Arts by President Obama in 2010. Today, his legacy lives on through the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition held once every four years at venues around the globe.

For his contributions to American music and his endeavors in the arts and humanity, Cliburn was awarded the Phi Mu Alpha’s “Man of Music” award at the 1962 National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cliburn would follow his acceptance of the award with a speech and exceptional performance for the Sinfonian Brothers in attendance, displaying his gratitude through song.

When speaking on the joy of sharing music, Brother Cliburn said, “Its always there, it will be there after you and I and everyone we know today are dead. That music will still be alive.”

Jamey Aebersold was born on July 21st, 1939.

Brother Aebersold was initiated into the Gamma Omega Chapter at Indiana State University in 1976 and is a renowned American jazz saxophonist, educator, and publisher.

In 1967, Aebersold released the first book in his “Play-A-Long” series, a world-renowned series of jazz instructional books that are considered standard for most jazz educators. In his books, he touches on techniques that are regarded as essential building blocks for most jazz musicians. In addition to his series of instructional books, Brother Aebersold has taught musical improvisation at the University of Louisville, where he also hosts a summer jazz workshop that he has led for over fifty years now. At his camp, young jazz students are exposed to master classes, ear-training sessions, jazz theory, and concerts put on by the faculty and the nation’s leading artists. With his years of experience in leading workshops and teaching all levels – from novice to pro, it is clear to see why Aebersold is the world leader in jazz education.

For his dedication to the art form and tireless promotion of American music, Jamey Aebersold was awarded Phi Mu Alpha’s “Man of Music” award at the 54th National Convention in Orlando, Florida in 2009.

William Schuman was born on August 4, 1910.

Brother Schuman was initiated into the Beta Gamma Chapter at Columbia University in 1930. Known as a prolific American composer, educator, and administrator, Schuman is often noted for his adaptation of European models to American themes. He began composing in high school, forming a jazz ensemble in which he played violin and banjo. He would later earn a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University Teachers College and study at Juilliard under the composer, Roy Harris.

After holding a teaching position at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, Schuman was named the president of the Julliard School of Music. While there, he brought about academic reform and added several prominent American composers to the faculty. Schuman wrote works in virtually every musical genre, each mirroring his strong personality in their sharply defined sense of structure, line, and dynamism. The secular cantata A Free Song received the first Pulitzer Prize in music in 1943.

“In the great stream that is the history of music, some composers add drops of water, others add buckets. When the final catalog is finished, I just hope to have put some drops in the stream. That’s enough, that’s enough to be optimistic about.”

William James “Count” Basie was born on August 21, 1904.

Known to the world as the “King of Swing,” Brother Basie was initiated at the Mu Nu Chapter at Louisiana Tech University in 1970. He was a true innovator leading the band for almost 50 years and recording on over 480 albums. In his lifetime, he earned nine Grammy Awards and made history in 1958 by becoming the first African-American to receive the award.

Basie and his Orchestra appeared in five films, all released within a matter of months in 1943: Hit Parade, Reveille with Beverly, Stage Door Canteen, Top Man, and Crazy House.

He has had an unprecedented four recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame – One O’Clock Jump (1979), April in Paris (1985), Everyday I Have the Blues (1992), and Lester Leaps In (2005), along with a slew of other awards and honors not only for his music, but for his humanitarianism and philanthropy around the world.

David Maslanka was born on August 30, 1943.

Brother Maslanka was initiated in 2008 at the Rho Tau Chapter at Appalachian State.

David was a world-renowned composer having composed over 150 musical works, which included nine symphonies, seven concertos, a Mass, and over fifty pieces for wind ensemble. His contributions to American Music were substantial and inspirational. Throughout his career, he had worked with hundreds of students and faculty sharing his love and passion for music.

Colonel John R. Bourgeois was born on August 31st, 1934

Colonel John R. Bourgeois was initiated at Loyola University New Orleans’ Zeta Pi chapter in 1956. He is well known for his career with the United States Marine Band that spanned nine presidential administrations and serving as the ensemble’s director from 1979 to 1996.

It all began with “The President’s Own” in 1958 when he joined as a French Hornist and arranger shortly after joining the Marine Corps. Later, as the ensemble’s director, Col. Bourgeois was the Music Advisor at the White House. He selected all the musical programs there and directed the band for four Presidential Inaugurations. He regularly conducted the Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra at the White House appearing there more frequently than any other musician in the U.S.

Since retiring from the Marine Band, Bourgeois has been actively involved in music as a guest conductor, has published new editions of classic band compositions, and was named Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia’s “Man of Music” at the 50th National Convention in 2000.