At Yorktown High School, it’s common knowledge that we have a National Honors Society chapter. Mrs. Williams heads the program to recognize and reward those who excel academically. Members work together to better the community through various activities, such as our school’s Homework Helpers. Fortunately, the same opportunities will soon be offered to those who procure outstanding musical achievement.

Our own orchestra teacher, Ms. Torrente, is determined to provide us with this opportunity. She took the initiative to work towards the goal of beginning a new Tri-M chapter at our school. Tri-M Music Honors Society recognizes musical students who go above and beyond expectations. The organization dedicates time to cultivating high school musicians internationally and improving communities through music. The very name “Tri-M” is derived from their phrase to “perform, lead, and serve.” YHS is proud to announce our new chapter’s startup after a year’s worth of hard work. 

Globally, Tri-M has over 8,500 chapters. Each chapter shares a passion with the next: wanting to share the joy of music. Being the only national honor society for musicians in the country, Tri-M unifies a school’s ensembles. Chapters are run for and by students, fostering a sense of community and pride in performance. To get a taste of the action, Ms. Torrente recently invited musically inclined students to observe Herricks High School’s Tri-M meeting. Tri-M individually recognizes Herricks as one of the top three chapters in the country for their achievement and excellent management. Their enthusiastic explanations about how they operate and willingness to answer any questions we had reflected their merit.

Soon after, Ms. Torrente selected our Tri-M chapter’s leadership board for the 2021 academic year. On January 26th, the student board conducted its first meeting. Our chapter is beginning to lay down the foundation for a lasting piece of YHS’s history.  In regards to accepting students to the honors society, Ms. Torrente and the board will be scoping out initiates in about three weeks. Initiates must be members of a YHS ensemble that maintain a 95 musical average and an 85 average in their academics. To be officially inducted as members in June, initiates must have a certain number of “points,” which can be earned by completing or contributing to tasks that share music with your community. This system is the organization’s basis for maintaining your Tri-M membership throughout high school. Our chapter is in the works of establishing our own unique points system. More information will be available in the coming weeks when the board presents this opportunity to each music ensemble class.