From the very beginning of the Pierian Sodality of 1808, its alumni formed a club of "graduate members" so that they could continue playing together after graduation. In those early decades the Pierian Sodality had less than a dozen members, consisting mostly of winds (including several players of wooden flutes and a serpent). This rag-tag ensemble, however, was more than adequate for their concerts of popular songs and ubiquitous serenading.
 
In 1837, Pierian alumni created a more permanent organization for College graduates and "others of kindred tastes resident in this vicinity." They called it "The General Association of Past and Present Members of the Pierian Sodality," later known as the Harvard Musical Association, which still exists today. In the early years, the HMA provided sheet music to the Pierian Sodality from its magnificent music library, at that time the best in the Boston area.

Over the years, as the Pierian Sodality became the Harvard University Orchestra and finally the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, it has been run by the students themselves, supported by the University (which provided space, and, in later years, paid the salary of the professional music director) as well as by a loose network of alumni and parents.
 
The 1907 floor plan for the Music Building (completed in 1914), featured a "Pierian Sodality Room" as well as a "General Rehearsal Room" for the Pierian Sodality, the Glee Club, and the Banjo and Mandolin Club.
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