Dear YHS Band Students and Parents,
Annnnnd…..it’s June! Wow. Read on for end-of-year reminders and updates!
CONGRATS JAZZ BAND!
Many thanks to our Jazz Band students for a great final performance at Friday’s Relay for Life! What a fantastic way to share your musical talents with our community, support an important cause, and celebrate the end of another great year. A HUGE THANK YOU to parent volunteers Mrs. Griffiths, Mrs. Guarini, and Mrs. Zheng, who helped transport equipment and navigate logistics!
NYSSMA SOLO FEST CONGRATS!
Congratulations to our 60+ YHS music students who performed at this weekend’s NYSSMA Solo festival! These disciplined young musicians were graded on their scales, technique, musicianship, and sight-reading skills. Bravo! Score sheets will be available this week.
BRING YHS RENTAL INSTRUMENTS TO SCHOOL TOMORROW!
If you have an instrument at home that you rented from YHS, please bring it first thing! The instruments will be picked up tomorrow morning for cleaning and maintenance.
BAND YEARBOOKS
Will arrive later this week! If you are interested in securing a copy, please bring in $40, checks made payable to the YHS Music Boosters.
A FEW UPDATES FROM THE FIRST NIGHTERS
This awesome parent organization is always hard at work behind the scenes, volunteering their time and creativity to highlight our Performing Arts students and programs! Thank you!!
NEW DATE! SENIOR CELEBRATION – MON. JUNE 15th 4-6
The First Nighters will be hosting a senior celebration at the Yorktown Community Center. You should have received an Evite – please RSVP ASAP
PERFORMING ARTS GRADUATION CORDS
Please fill out the recent survey from the First Nighters so they can get you your performing arts cords to wear at graduation. Check your e-mail for details.
GRADUATION BAND – THURS. 6/25
The YHS Band has been asked to perform at the 2026 YHS Graduation. Students of the 2026-2027 Wind Ensemble are asked to play. (If you are not in next year’s WE, but are a sibling of a graduating senior and would like to save your family a ticket, you are also welcome to join us!)
The 2026 graduates, and our entire learning community, truly appreciate your time and talents!
Who: Students in the ’26-‘27 Wind Ensemble and/or siblings of graduating seniors.
What: Provide graduation music for the seniors of YHS!!
Date: Thursday, June 25, 2026
Place: YHS Stadium
Time: Arrive at the YHS band room by 5:30 PM. Ceremony is at 6:30PM
Attire: Please dress “nicely” (no jeans, t-shirts, or sneakers).
Bring: Your music, your instrument and water.
Students who perform at the graduation are eligible for 3 community service hours.
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES
Are available through finals. Please e-mail me if you’d like to set up a time to earn a few points.
SUMMER RENTALS /PRIVATE LESSONS
If your student is interested in continuing to practice over the summer (hooray!), some YHS-owned summer rentals are available. Rental fee is $30, check made payable to Yorktown Central School District. Please e-mail me to reserve an instrument.
CHECK YOUR CLASS SCHEDULE FOR 2026-2027
I’d love to see you all back in Band next year! To make sure Band is in your schedule, and avoid possible scheduling conflicts, please double check with your guidance counselor.
DONATE YOUR BAND POLO
If you are not continuing in Band next year (sad face…), please consider donating your polo. I’ll be collecting them in class this week.
YHS BAND SUMMER SOCIALS
Join me this summer as I bring my own family to enjoy the amazing (and free!) West Point concerts. Concert take place at Trophy Point park – a gorgeous outdoor venue overlooking the Hudson. Bring a blanket and a picnic and arrive at least 1.5 hours early to get through security and stake out your spot. (If the weather is poor, concerts will be held in Eisenhower Hall). Check out their website for more details.
My family and I are planning to attend:
Saturday 7/4: Independence Day Celebration.
Monday 9/7: Labor Day Celebration. This concert is spectacular, with a grand finale of fireworks over the Hudson, and Tchaikovksy’s 1812 Overture with REAL CANNONS!)
E-mail me if you are planning to attend – I’d love to sit together!
YHS BAND RETREAT & ICE CREAM SOCIAL 2026 ~ Thursday 8/27 from 3pm-8pm
Save the date! All YHS Band students grades 9-12 are requested to attend a day filled with musicianship, friendship, and citizenship. Students will work together in sectionals, and full rehearsals, to jump start our year. Then, we will enjoy dinner and our 24th annual Music Dept. Ice Cream Social. So excited to use this opportunity to build our Band Family!
BAND PARENT HELPERS 2026-2027
A big THANK YOU to all the awesome parents who were instrumental in making our year a success! I so appreciate your time, help, creativity, and sense of fun. It is a pleasure to work alongside you to create our calendar of events for our students.
If you are interested in becoming a member of our core group of band parent helpers, please e-mail me. I will be in touch in August to start planning our ’26-‘27 events.
MUSICAL OPPORTUNITIES
Flyers are attached for your review and listed below. Some interesting musical opportunities for our students!
- Summer Jazz Intensive
- Caramoor 81st Summer Concert Series
- Jazz Forum – Westchester’s premier Jazz club, located in Tarrytown, NY. Free tickets for students – use the code STFREE at checkout to redeem the tickets at www.jazzforumarts.org/events.
- Sunday 6/7 6-8pm:Big Band Night at Boscobel. Enjoy an evening of live music and dancing
- YWEW (Youth Wind Ensemble of Westchester) – Offers advanced band ensemble opportunities for 6-8 and 9-12 grade students. Meets Thursday evenings during the school year. From experience, this is a worthwhile opportunity if your student is interested.
I have a few more updates in me before we wrap up our year together! Wishing everyone a great week. Thank you all for your support!
Musically Yours,
Ms. Kluga
