President’s Message: A Strong Foundation

Barbara Hill Moore with former student Kurt-Alexander Zeller

By Kurt-Alexander Zeller, International President, Mu Chi, Atlanta Alumni |president@muphiepsilon.org

I hope that we all will think deeply about how whatever we do today, as individuals and as chapters, can help our fraternity to prosper not only in the present, but also in the future. The investments of time and toil and treasure that we make in our fellow members, our chapters, our schools and our communities should be made looking beyond our present concerns and activities, important as those are, toward ensuring a bright and secure future for our Mu Phi Epsilon. The legacy of the eminent Mu Phis who came before us can continue only as long as we continue to build the bridge to the future that they started.

As we continue our year of focusing on “Building Bridges,” perhaps the most important bridge of all to be building is a bridge from the past to the future. Mu Phi Epsilon has had a storied past of 118 years of achievement and eminence in music. It has an exciting and dynamic present of friendship experienced, enjoyed and shared. But we cannot stay in the present, any more than we can stay forever in the middle of a bridge. We must go on to the future, and Mu Phi Epsilon’s future will be only what we all build together, starting right now.

I had the opportunity to see an instance of the present forming a bridge between the past and the future earlier this year when I took my music drama workshop class at Clayton State University to present at the National Opera Association’s national conference. Beaming up at my students from the audience was Barbara Hill Moore (Mu Chi), who had been my voice teacher at Southern Methodist University back (way back) when I was the age my students are now. Then, in the session immediately following ours, Mrs. Moore’s eminent career as performer, teacher and advocate was profiled, as she was recognized with the National Opera Association’s “Lift Every Voice” Legacy Award — and my students were greatly inspired to realize that they themselves are part of the future continuation of that legacy.

Each of us is building that bridge to the future with every action we take in the present — even if we can’t always know what that future may bring. When Mrs. Moore said to the 19-year-old me, “I think you really ought to consider joining Mu Phi Epsilon” — I’m sure neither one of us imagined that someday I would be International President!