“The object of this Fraternity shall be for the development of the best and truest fraternal spirit, the mutual welfare and brotherhood of musical students, the advancement of music in America, and a loyalty to the Alma Mater.”

Sinfonia was founded on October 6, 1898 at the New England Conservatory when a group of thirteen young men under the guidance of Ossian Everett Mills met "to consider the social life of the young men students of that institution" and "to devise ways and means by whichit may be improved" Mills, bursar of the Conservatory, sought to create an Order in which men with a shared love of music could develop the virtues of manhood in themselves and in their fellows.

Sinfonia became a national fraternity on October 6, 1900, with the admission of a group of men at the Broad Street Conservatory in Philadelphia. Since that time Sinfonia has grown into the largest music fraternity in the world, with more than 140,000 initiates, and chapters on approximately two hundred college and university campuses across the nation.

For over a century, Sinfonians in nearly every field of study and professional endeavor have transformed the face of music in America.