The Tri-M Music Honor Society is the international music honor society for middle/junior high and high school students. It is designed to recognize students for their academic and musical achievements, reward them for their accomplishments and service activities, and to inspire other students to excel at music and leadership. Tri-M is a program of MENC: The National Association for Music Education, the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of music education. It was founded in 1936 by Alexander and Frances Harley, incorporated and renamed Modern Music Masters in 1952, and recognized in 1983 as the Tri-M Music Honor Society, a program of MENC.
The Tri-M Music Honor Society logo is rich in symbolism. The three Ms stand for “Modern Music Masters,” the society’s original name. Music is represented by the lyre and the scroll, which denote accomplishment and service. The five lines of the music staff indicate the five criteria upon which members are selected: scholarship, character, cooperation, leadership, and service. Music students at Milton are eligible to apply for Tri-M membership each fall. Because Tri-M is an honor society rather than a social club, members are chosen by their advisor. All honor societies have standards or criteria that students have to meet before they can become members.
Advisors pick students who show outstanding scholarship, leadership, service, and character to honor them for their accomplishments. The following criteria may be considered for your membership in Milton’s Tri-M chapter:
Music Participation
You have to be (or have been) in a school music ensemble or class for at least one semester of the current school year.
Grades/Scholarship
You have to have maintained a B average grade (or equivalent) in music, as well as at least a C average grade in your other classes during the last semester.
Leadership
Your advisor can consider any school or community activity that you’ve been actively involved in.
Service
Your advisor can consider any school or community service activity you’ve been a part of, as long as whatever you did, you did for someone else and didn’t get money or receive any other kind of payment for it.
Character
Your advisor is looking for members who demonstrate respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Examples include being responsible, following school policies and procedures, being respectful of others and their property, being honest, being punctual, and being patient. Talk to your advisor to find out what the guidelines are for your chapter regarding character-these guidelines should be included in the chapter bylaws.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, see the advisor, Mr. Andrew Cummings, for details.
Email: Andrew Cummings
