12 minute read
Getting to Know our Fullerton Union High School Tri-M Chapter
by Troy Trimble, CMEA Tri-M Representative
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Troy Trimble
Chapter Advisor
Esther Liu
President
Elistein Estrada
Vice President
Chelsea Yun
Secretary
Samantha Dennis
Treasurer
Isabel Van Wye
Historian/Social Media
Let me start by acknowledging that in recent CMEA Magazine articles we have been seeing and hearing from Collegiate NAfME Chapters from across California - thank you, Anne Fennell, for doing this! After talking with our current CMEA President and President-Elect, we decided that it is now time to do the same for our wonderful Tri-M Chapters across the state. Our Tri-M chapters are lead by the absolute best music students and they are doing so many great things that many of us may not be aware of. It is my goal to have this quarterly highlight to be inspirational and to give other Tri-M chapters ideas on how to move ahead to do the best at their school sites.
I am excited to begin “at home” and present the student officers of chapter #7054 at Fullerton Union High School. Our chapter was established in 2014 after a conversation between former CMEA President Scott Hedgecock and myself about expanding the opportunities for the music students at our high school. Tri-M is such a natural bridge between all the music ensembles and students between the Vocal and Instrumental Music Programs and has really found its identity over the past three years with the great student leaders we have been blessed with. They have really taken on the idea of service and creating opportunities for our students to create and perform music in the community while being good advocates for music in our schools. I could not be a prouder Tri-M advisor, especially after such a trying year!
Meet the Tri-M Chapter #7054 Officers
My name is Esther Liu and I am the President of Tri-M Music Honor Society and a member of the Academy of the Arts (Instrumental Music pathway) at Fullerton Union High School. I have been playing the oboe for seven wonderful years, and I am currently the principal oboist of the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra and oboist in Fullerton Union High School’s Jazz Ensemble.
My name is Elistein Estrada and I am a part of the Instrumental Music Program at Fullerton Union High School. I play trumpet in the Jazz Ensemble, Concert Band, and was Drum Major for the Marching Band.
My name is Chelsea Yun, and I am the Secretary of the Tri-M Music Honor Society Chapter #7054, a member of the Academy of the Arts program at Fullerton Union High School (FUHS) focusing on Jazz Studies, the pianist of the Jazz Ensemble at FUHS, and a keyboardist at The Cause Church in Brea. I started playing piano in kindergarten and transitioned out of classical piano and began studying jazz piano in high school; additionally, I’ve been learning about music production since April 2020.
My name is Samantha Dennis and I am the Treasurer of the Tri-M Music Honor Society Chapter #7054. I am a member of the Choral and Vocal Music Program, as well as the Academy of the Arts Vocal pathway. I am currently President of the Choral and Vocal Music Program, a member of Fullerton Union High School’s Vocal Ensemble, as well as a soprano section leader for the group.
Chapter Officer Reflections
Why did you decide to participate in music in high school?
As a little girl, I watched my older sister take part in music ensembles in middle and high school. Upon witnessing the fond friendships she made in her symphony and hearing the fluttering sound of her flute and piccolo, I knew that I had to follow in her footsteps and enroll in music classes at school. I needed a way to expand my repertoire of music—so that I was not only studying the solo oboe—and experience the rich challenges of creating music with other musicians. -Esther Liu, President
I decided to participate in music having prior experience in elementary and middle school. I enjoyed playing and thought, why not just keep playing? Once I was performing, I knew I made the right choice. -Elistein Estrada, Vice President
I decided to participate in music in high school not only because I wanted to continue music after playing in my school’s band from 5th to 8th grade, but also because I was already deeply immersed in the music world for so much of my life with piano and wanted to continue growing as a musician. I thought joining the jazz ensemble would help me to expand my range of musical skill and creativity since I was only playing classical music and playing exactly what was written on the sheet music. -Chelsea Yun,
Secretary
I joined choir in junior high because I was already involved in some community theater shows and had been taking private voice lessons for some time. I had a desire to enter into choral music and was involved in choir starting in 6th grade. I participated in the Junior High Honor Choir program and decided I wanted to continue to be involved in choir in high school. -Samantha
Dennis, Treasurer
What made you want to become a student leader in the Fullerton Union HS Tri-M Chapter?
If you knew that you could make the true emotional impact of music known to both musicians and non-musicians, why wouldn’t you grasp that opportunity? To so many people who have not understood how music uplifts, inspires, and provokes, they regard music as unnecessary. As a student leader, I grasped my chance and demonstrated the power of music to the members and local areas of need. -Esther Liu, President
I wanted to be a leader in a club that held much merit across the nation. I’ve heard of the NHS, but this was more my field since it was music related and I felt I had a chance at the board. -Elistein
Estrada, Vice President
Specifically in the Fullerton Union HS Tri-M Chapter, I wanted to be a leader because I wanted to have a say in how the club was run. I had a desire to come up with service projects, performance opportunities, and other ways to spread music awareness in our school and community. -Samantha Dennis,
Treasurer
Why is the Tri-M Music Honor Society important to you?
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 15.4 million students enrolled in high school in fall of 2020. Of those 15.4 million, I can guarantee that there are millions of student musicians, too. Given that Tri-M Music Honor Society is the only national honor society for student musicians in the country, this organization plays a critical role in pushing musicians to realize the significance of merging music and service, while maintaining academic scholarship and judicious character. Within my own chapter, there is tremendous value in making the “smaller” difference within the club body, so that members will leave high school with a natural and influential yearning to serve the world with their musical talents. -Esther Liu, President
This club is important to me because it’s where the most committed and talented people flock to. I knew that if I joined this club I would be surrounded by some top notch people and having a chance to lead them was just an even bigger bonus. Tri-M made me feel like my skills in music aren’t for nothing like some people have told me before. I felt like I was making a difference in my community. -Elistein Estrada, Vice President
The Tri-M Music Honor Society is important to me because it allows students who are involved in their school’s choral or instrumental programs to further their love for music in a service aspect. It allows music students to be involved in an honor-level club that challenges them to share their love for music within their school and community in unique ways. -Samantha Dennis,
Treasurer
What special events did you take part in that you enjoyed and what skills did you learn from these?
I was in charge of communicating with retirement homes and donors for special video performances that we would send. I learned about networking with other people and using them to try to create a relationship that will last. -Elistein Estrada, Vice President
One of my favorite events that I participated in was Music in Our School's Month. Although this is not one specific event, I greatly enjoyed preparing musical trivia and fun facts to share with my peers over the loudspeaker, creating posters to be hung up around campus for students to see, and having one of our old pianos out in the quad during break for anyone to play. These were special moments that our club shared in which the outcome was more students hearing about Tri-M and music as a whole. I loved being able to organize these different events throughout the month and truly sharing our love of music with the student body.
-Samantha Dennis, Treasurer
How will your work or role in this chapter affect you as you move on to the next stage of life?
Transferring my Tri-M experiences to university, I wish to continue performing at concerts for local businesses and retirement homes, playing in my church’s orchestra at various events, and speaking to government officials about supporting funds for music education. At university, I have the goals of urging an existing orchestra to perform at local primary and secondary schools to promote increased music involvement in future generations. I hope to join similar organizations to Tri-M and exhibit how music is much greater than notes on paper: Through the steady progress of student musicians and strengthening of peer relationships, I hope to showcase music’s capacity to foster a comforting, supportive space for people of all backgrounds. -Esther Liu, President
My role in this chapter will affect me as I move onto the next stage of life because it taught me both about how much of an impact music can have on other people as well as developing my leadership skills. -Chelsea Yun, Secretary
My work as treasurer will prepare me for college and my future career, as I plan to pursue a degree in accounting. Working with money already has shown me that I enjoy this aspect of a business and I will continue to use the skills I’ve developed as Tri-M Treasurer, such as organization and attention to detail, in the future.
-Samantha Dennis, Treasurer
What are you excited about and most proud of in this year’s work within the chapter?
I am super proud of how well we were able to communicate to our club and being able to create opportunities for them to complete their requirements for the year. -Elistein Estrada, Vice
President
I am most proud of this year’s consistency despite working through virtual and hybrid learning. Our Tri-M members were still able to complete their service hours and projects, albeit digitally, this year and we were able to host an induction ceremony to honor new, continuing, and graduating members. As a whole, we conducted virtual club meetings, collaborative virtual projects with other chapters, and still spread our love for music even though we could not meet in person to make music together. -Samantha Dennis,
Treasurer
What challenges did you deal with within the chapter, given Covid 19, and how did you work around these challenges?
The inability to perform together and host public performances in person. What first appeared as a challenge, however, allowed us officers to realize how much we could accomplish through virtual performances where distance is the least of our worries. Now, we can easily compile videos of student performances (We even collaborated with Northwood High School’s MUSE Club!) and dedicate a virtual concert to people who need a reminder that there is someone thinking of them even during quarantine, such as the senior citizens in Morningside of Fullerton (Fullerton, CA) and Atria Golden Creek (Irvine, CA). -Esther Liu, President
We made it our goal to have this year as forgiving as possible given our circumstances. That said, we also made it our goal to make sure our members wouldn’t have an excuse to not complete their requirements since it is an Honor Society. -Elistein Estrada,
Vice President
One challenge we dealt with within our chapter this year was finding service project opportunities for our members to complete. Fortunately, we were able to connect with the retirement homes of Morningside of Fullerton and Northwood High School’s MUSE program (Irvine, CA) on two separate occasions to put together a virtual concert for those in the retirement home and the Atria Golden Creek Senior Center, respectively. -Chelsea Yun, Secretary
What is one goal you’d like to accomplish or did accomplish with this chapter?
Although I will be starting university this fall, I have one goal for the chapter and next year’s officers: to go international. Just think of the many overseas countries we could collaborate with virtually! Even though we may speak different languages, we will still be bound to the universal language of music. After all, music collaborations are like conversations; it will always benefit us to learn more about those who share similar musical sentiments outside of our immediate circle. -Esther Liu, President
One goal I would like to accomplish with this chapter is to expand our outreach. I’d love to become an active role in our nearby community in Fullerton so that they know we are actively striving to make a positive impact in our community through music, and eventually reach out to other chapters in the state, and maybe even out of the state! Who knows what we could accomplish! -Chelsea
Yun, Secretary
In terms of music, what are you looking forward to, once you graduate with your degree?
After I graduate with my degree, whether or not I decide to stick with music in college, I am looking forward to continuing to promote programs such as Tri-M to highlight the significant impact music can have on a community, as well as encouraging children and students to play music so this spirit behind the drive of Tri-M members across the nation will never die out. -Chelsea Yun,
Secretary
Follow Fullerton Union HS Tri-M Chapter #7054 on Instagram and on Twitter @fuhstri_m.
If you would like to create a Tri-M Chapter at your school or have any questions about running a chapter, e-mail troyatrimble@ gmail.com and visit https://musichonors.com to learn more.
