There are 3 main differences between the VMA and Tri-M Music Honor Society:

1. The VMA partners with AmeriCorps to confer the President's Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) to those who fulfill certain requirements. This is a federally-recognized award and highly regarded as it is not just for musicians.

2. Our volunteer hours focus on music-related service (we do recognize the significant amount of time students spend practicing so factor in those hours based on a standard metric when calculating qualifying hours for the PVSA).

3. If you choose to enroll in our leadership initiative, there are virtual guided workshops (5 per semester) featuring guest speakers and a google workspace to network and collaborate with musicians from other areas.

Feel free to speak with a Tri-M advisor at your school and we can see about working in collaboration with them.

In order to sustainably run the VMA and its Junior Program activities, we only recognize or “sign off” on volunteer hours earned for Junior Program members who have completed our Leadership Initiative. We designed the Leadership Initiative so that our VMA Leaders not only meet their high school community service hour requirements, but rise to the level of presidential recognition.

The VMA organizes a few concerts during the year for all members in the Boston area. These VMA-mentored concerts are professionally organized and monitored in an assisted living environment.

All Junior Program members can submit requests to participate in VMA-mentored concerts in the Boston area. A recommended donation of $50 per concert is greatly appreciated for Junior members not enrolled in the Leadership Initiative High School Division.

Yes! Here is the most recent brochure. For more in depth information regarding how your child can participate in the Junior Program, please take a moment to answer some questions in the Google form Exploring the Junior Program.

When you register your child online ($10 fee) as a Junior member and fill out the Junior Program Membership Application form (link in the membership area), your child is now a Junior Program member.

The Leadership Initiative is comprised of Junior Program members who want to take their volunteerism to the next level. They engage in 10 discussion-based virtual workshops throughout the year (only available to our High School Division), and commit to performing in two outreach concerts per year (applicable to both divisions; Elementary & Middle School, and High School). In order for us to confer presidential awards, we require Junior members to complete a simple application (Leadership Initiative Application).

High School Division Leadership Initiative tuition is based on household income. There is no tuition for the Elementary & Middle School Division. How High School Division members can start school chapters and more.

Yes! In fact, if you’re not from Massachusetts, we built the Leadership Initiative essentially for you. In order to build our Junior Program community across the country, we rely on Google Workspace to connect via Google Meet as well as shared apps, such as Google Classroom, Google Chat, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Groups. When you’re part of the Leadership Initiative, we work with you to make meaningful change in your community. Our roots are in Boston, Massachusetts, but we are seeking highschoolers who are interested in leadership roles across all 50 states. From our vision of VMA State Senators to Regional Delegates, discover how the VMA has big dreams, and how we can help you discover yours. Emerson once wrote, “hitch your wagon to a star”. Hop on the VMA wagon!

There is no formal performance audition process for our Junior members. From our experience, classically trained musicians tend to be well-equipped with the discipline and requisite musicianship to spread joy in this world. We do require, however, all Junior and Adult program members to complete the membership application Google Form, found within the website portal upon registration, to comply with our Code of Conduct and Waiver and Release.

Absolutely not. In fact, the thought of having to “give a concert,” without any professional musician at a venue, can discourage a Junior member from getting involved with any outreach performance whatsoever. For example, classically trained students often work on a movement of a piece over the course of several months. Performing the movement in a relaxed outreach setting is a great place to start instilling confidence and the courage to return another day, perhaps with another movement or piece. It’s usually as simple as a parent calling an Assisted Living Senior Home, and saying my highschooler would like to share a piece of music, similar in some ways to reading a poem. In fact, these miniature performances transform the wholly recital-centric activity into habitual, hybrid opportunities for concert and conversational community engagement.

The VMA demystifies and defines “concert performance” as the following:

“The act of performing at least one movement, or entire piece of music, instrumental or voice, composed in the baroque, classical, romantic, impressionistic, or 20th century neoclassical style, within the public setting of a generally accessible VMA approved forum; such forums include Assisted Living Senior Homes, Nursing Homes, Shelters, Senior Centers, Schools, Libraries, and Community Gathering Spaces. While concerts must include repertoire of the aforementioned genres, the program may include other diverse genres suitable to the venue’s preferences and requests.”

“In 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation founded the President’s Volunteer Service Award to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too.” - PVSA Website

As an Americorps Certifying Organization (CO), the VMA is deemed authority to confer Bronze, Silver, and Gold presidential awards to our volunteers. To maintain this privilege, the VMA must satisfy annual federal review criteria and examination standards. Only United States Citizens or Resident Aliens are eligible to receive the PVSA.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is a national award, highly regarded by high school and higher education admissions committees, including gradauate schools. Federally recognized extracurricular recognition provides a more reliable, standardized measure of student engagement outside of the classroom. Families who enroll their child in either of our two VMA Leadership Initiative divisions — Elementary & Middle School and High School Divisions — are eligible to receive the PVSA (United States citizenship or Resident Alien / Green Card status is required.

“Your application will stand out amongst the crowd – No matter where you apply for college, there’s a good chance you’ll be competing with thousands – if not tens of thousands – of fellow high school graduates for a limited number of spots. AdmissionSight is always reminding students how important it is to distinguish yourself from others in your application. Having the President’s Volunteer Award listed as one of your personal accomplishments will certainly catch the eyes of admission officers to ensure your application ends up on the top of the pile rather than the bottom.” - AdmissionSight

Undergraduate and graduate performance students, as well as professionally active classically trained musicians, are encouraged to become Adult Program members. Encouraging students to participate in the Junior Program and becoming a mentor in your community is how you can help the VMA grow. If you’d like to help the mission, we’d like to speak with you! Please contact us.

The Volunteer Musicians for the Arts began in 2012 with its Adult Program, consisting primarily of higher education students performing in the Boston area. Upon graduating year after year, they dispersed across the country and world, sharing our mission within their communities.

The Junior Program began in 2022 with primarily highschoolers performing in the Boston area. We believe that Juniors across the country can and will lead outreach efforts as members of the VMA. The Junior Program is designed to bring us all closer together, building skills and confidence to do good, wherever home may be.

If you would like to make a donation or start an online fundraiser, please click here. You can sell T-shirts through Bonfire, even stream live video via Tiltify to collect donations. For your birthday, invite friends to donate to your Facebook Birthday Fundraiser. Word-of-mouth marketing is very much appreciated as well. Thank you for your support.