The founders[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] named the club in honor of Saint Wilfrid (sometimes spelled Wilfred or Wilfrith, c.633 – c.709), an influential English bishop known for his strong advocacy of sacred music.
Those who consistently fail to reply may be asked to resign in order to secure openings for proposals of candidates who may have expressed interest in membership.
[16] Some notable Chairs of the past include Gerrit Smith,[3] J. Christopher Marks,[4] Walter Henry Hall,[5] T. Tertius Noble, R. Huntington Woodman, Walter C. Gale,[6] Samuel A. Baldwin,[7] Seth Bingham, John Hyatt Brewer,[8] Edward Shippen Barnes, S. Lewis Elmer,[17] Norman Coke-Jephcott, Maurice Garabrant,[18] Hugh Porter,[19] Vernon de Tar, Ray F. Brown,[20] T. Frederick Candlyn, Jack Ossewaarde, Philip James, Harold Friedell, Alec Wyton, [[Willard Irving Nevins,[21] Donald Coats,[22] Bassett Hough,[23] George Markey,[24] William Self, George Powers,[25] Richard Westenburg, Charles Dodsley Walker,[26] Gerre Hancock, Leonard Raver,[27] Frank Cedric Smith,[28] William Whitehead,[29] and Eugene W.
[30] Other notable members have included James M. Helfenstein,[9] William C. Carl,[10] Clement R. Gale,[11] Clarence Eddy, Charles Whitney Coombs, Horatio Parker, Bruno Siegfried Huhn, Clarence Dickinson, Frank Sill Rogers,[31] Charles Ives, Clifford Demarest, Gaston Dethier, Mark Andrews,[15] David McK.
[34] Prominent honorary members have included Vasily Safonov, Victor Herbert, David Mannes, Joseph Bonnet, Marcel Dupré, Sir William McKie, Harold Gleason, Maurice Duruflé, and Pierre Cochereau.