Pi Kappa Lambda. Alpha Chapter (Northwestern University)
Biography
Pi Kappa Lambda, a national honor society in music, was founded in 1918 at Northwestern University. The previous year, the Alumni Association of the School of Music had appointed a committee to explore the possibility of forming a national honor society in music. Committee members were alumni and faculty members Walter Allen Stults (Music 1909, later Chair of the Vocal Department and first President of the Society), Louis Norton Dodge (Music 1903, Professor of Piano and Theory) and Carl M. Beecher (Music 1908, later Dean of the School of Music). Upon discovering that there was no national honor society for students of music, the committee recommended that the School of Music take the initiative. Their recommendation was accepted the following year when the Alpha Chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda was founded at Northwestern University. The Greek letters Pi Kappa Lambda were chosen to honor long-time Dean and founder of the School of Music, Peter Christian Lutkin.
The mission of the Society as stated in 1918 was to promote “high scholarship in musical institutions and to give recognition to students of marked ability that have maintained a consistently high record in their work.” The Society's members included a small number of students from the graduating class of the School, alumni who achieved important careers in music, and honorary members chosen for their distinguished musical careers. This mission and membership policy have changed only slightly over the years. The Society's current statement of its mission reads: “The primary purpose of PKL is the recognition and encouragement of the highest level of musical achievement and academic scholarship.” The Society also now allows college juniors with high academic performance and graduate students to become members.
The growth of the Society took place slowly but steadily through the 1960s. In the early years, chapters were often formed by Northwestern School of Music graduates at the institutions in which they were currently employed. The Society was careful to focus on schools that had fully developed programs in professional music education and only accepted members who exhibited a high achievement in music. By 1937 there were sixteen chapters of the Society. By 1967 there were sixty-five chapters. It is today one of the largest national honor societies in music, with 181 chapters.
The Society is governed by Biennial Conventions to which each chapter may send a voting delegate. The Board of Regents, composed of past presidents and officers elected at the biennial conventions, conducts the regular business of the Society. The Secretary-Treasurer is in charge of the national office of the Society. For many years the national office was located at Northwestern University.
In addition to its general work to promote excellence in music scholarship and performance, the Society has also undertaken several national projects and its local chapters offer various programs in line with this overall mission. National projects have included publishing works of music scholarship (in partnership with Northwestern University Press) and conducting a national opera competition.