News: CCU New National Music Society

CCU Awarded Campus Chapter of National Music Honor Society

The Colorado Christian University School of Music has recently been awarded a campus chapter, named Kappa Delta, of the nationwide Pi Kappa Lambda music honor society. While the University's application was approved in December 2009, the formal installation ceremony will take place at the School's annual Music Scholarship Gala, scheduled this year for April 16. The ceremony will be conducted by Pi Kappa Lambda Regent Dr. Daniel Sher, Dean of the College of Music at the University of Colorado and also the outgoing president of the National Association of Schools of Music, the nationwide accrediting body of which CCU is a member.

Music Scholarship Gala and Installation Ceremony
When: Friday, April 16, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Where: CCU Music Center, 9200 W. Ellsworth Ave., Lakewood, CO 80226
Contact: Sarah Watson, 303-963-3104, swatson@ccu.edu

During the ceremony, CCU will introduce six of its music faculty members as charter officers of the new chapter:

  • Dr. Allen Schantz, President
  • Dr. Frank Eychaner, Vice President
  • Dr. Christelle Menth, Secretary
  • Mark Dorn, Treasurer
  • Steven Taylor (Dean of the School of Music), Officer
  • Kyle Fleming, Officer

Three CCU students will also be inducted into the Society at the Gala:

  • Natalie Stone, senior
  • Laura Smith, senior
  • Krista Beckman, junior

The Gala is reservation based and open to the public. Proceeds will support music scholarships and programs at CCU. For tickets or more information, call 303-963-3104 or e-mail swatson@ccu.edu.

Pi Kappa Lambda

Founded in 1918 by members of the alumni association of Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.), Pi Kappa Lambda is a nonprofit honor society for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors of music. Based today out of Capital University (Columbus, Ohio), there are 205 active chapters and more than 64,000 individual members. Each year, the Society selects and recognizes upperclassmen who have demonstrated superior achievement from among its member schools.

Local chapters of Pi Kappa Lambda are established at institutions of higher learning that carry professional accreditation, maintain curricula with majors in music, and have been approved for their quality by the officers of the Society. Annual activities at member institutions include honors recitals and public performances, and membership can include benefits for students such as scholarship aid, tutoring programs, and prizes to seniors in categories of performance, composition, and creative teaching.

"Being awarded a new chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda is a great honor for the School of Music at CCU. It links us with sister schools of music with strong traditions of excellence and academic distinction throughout the United States," said Steven Taylor, Dean of the School of Music. "Only the top 10 percent of upperclassmen are eligible for membership. The students awarded membership are selected by the music faculty, and for them it becomes a mark of recognition of both their academic achievement and personal excellence in music. We are honored to have Dr. Sher as our installing officer."

CCU Music Programs

Currently, CCU offers major and minor music programs in performance, sound recording technology, K-12 education, and worship arts. The annual Music Scholarship Gala honors supporters of the University's music programs and showcases some of the most talented student performers in the School of Music.