Mount Pisgah’s chapter of the Tri-M Music Honor Society (Tri-M) is an integral part of the school’s community, yet it is not a well-known one. 

Tri-M is the country’s only honor society for student musicians and it involves over 84,000 students in grades 6–12. There are currently over 2,100 chapters of Tri-M found in all 50 states.

To be inducted into Tri-M at Mount Pisgah, a student needs to do more than just take a school-offered music class.

“[One] must have attended Mount Pisgah for at least one semester or have a positive recommendation from a Tri-M advisor at his or her previous school, must be enrolled in a school-sponsored music ensemble or class for at least one semester in the current school year, [and] must have maintained an A average in his or her music classes and an overall B average in in the previous semester,” chapter advisor Audriana Johnson said.

In addition, leadership traits and skills are required to be accepted into the honor society.

“One must be committed to completing service hours, must demonstrate respect for adults and students in words and actions, [must show] honesty, integrity, kindness, responsibility, and accountability,” said Johnson.

In addition, students must not have any major behavior violations and must get a recommendation from a Mount Pisgah faculty member or administrator.

Johnson then interviews and selects chapter officers from a pool of applicants, and an induction ceremony led by the chapter’s student officers is held once a year in the fall for those eligible to join.

There are currently 28 members of the Mount Pisgah chapter, and another induction ceremony will be held next fall.

Once in the Tri-M Music Honor Society, students have the opportunity to help their community through their musical abilities.

“The chapter seeks to serve Mount Pisgah and the surrounding community through music,” Johnson said.

The chapter meets about once a month to brainstorm, plan, and prepare for upcoming service projects and events. Johnson assists the officers and chapter members in brainstorming ways to serve the school and the community, and they have done several important service projects in years past. 

“[During] the past two years, Tri-M students have gone to area nursing homes to perform for the residents there,” Johnson said. 

“Last year, Tri-M students went across the street to sit in on elementary music classes,” Johnson said. “They interacted with the students in various ways; band and orchestra students took their instruments to show them to the elementary students as they were learning about instrument families, [and] chorus students taught and learned some rounds that they performed with the lower school students when they were learning about rounds and canons.”

Even though COVID-19 has affected the chapter and limited which activities it can participate in, the members were still able to do a project last semester.

“We sent Christmas cards to the virtual students in the lower school, middle school, and upper school,” Johnson said.

The chapter is currently in the process of planning its spring semester events, and it is continuing to look for ways to serve the school and community through music. 

“I love Tri-M because of the community we’ve created,” senior and Tri-M officer Skyler Kasselmann said. “There aren’t many times when the band, chorus, and orchestra are able to work together during the school day, so it is great to be able to use our collective talents to serve others around us.”