Welcome to the YHS Bands!

A character education program within itself, the YHS Band experience is centered around three key components: musicianship, citizenship, and friendship. Through these, and the magic of music making, we strive to build community and musical excellence!

MUSICIANSHIP

We take great pride in our tradition of musical excellence and service! Daily classes include Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and weekly pull-out lessons. Jazz Band rehearses one evening a week, with a weekly sectional. Pep Band fires up the crowd at Varsity Football games, and Chamber ensembles rehearse after school. Major ensembles compete in regional festivals, and students shine at the NYSSMA Solo Festival. Highlights include our Winter and Spring Concerts; the Swing Dance Concert (students explore Jazz, improvisation, musical icons, and the pop culture of the Swing Era, learn to dance, and present a full community Swing Dance!); “Bandapalooza” (our district-wide band festival); and musical enrichment with local clinicians.

CITIZENSHIP

A pillar of the YHS Band program is character education; finding ways to make our community better through musical outreach, peer-leadership, and expressing gratitude are all lessons learned in the YHS Band Room. Highlights include: musically honoring our Veterans and First Responders, visiting with local nursing homes and children with special needs, hosting our community at our Swing Dance Concert, hosting 500+ students at our annual district-wide band festival, supporting our music programs through community fundraisers, using part of our fundraising to sponsor a needy child at holiday time, fostering a strong peer-tutoring program and a very active student executive board.

FRIENDSHIP

We strive to create a welcoming and supportive community for all students! Through team-building activities, social events, and the shared joy of making music together, we cultivate a true sense of Family within the Band and across our Music Department. Students form friendships, build leadership skills, and learn teamwork, dedication, and school spirit. Highlights include annual apple picking and ice skating outings, pep rallies, and celebrations. We also strengthen connections through mentoring and shared traditions that keep our community close-knit. Above all, we celebrate the countless “bandtastic” memories that make our program a place where everyone belongs and feels proud to share their talents!

YHS BAND UPDATE #33

May 25, 2026

Hello YHS Band Parents and Students,

PARADE CONGRATS!

Great job to the 75+ band students who marched in today’s Memorial Day parade! Thank you for donating your time and talents to honor the men and women who gave their lives fighting for our freedom. Your music was so appreciated by our community, and especially, our Veterans.

Students who performed at the parade are eligible for 2 community service hours.

Thank you also to the Chacko, Lam, and Whalen families who helped transport our equipment (and me!) to and from the parade, and to Mrs. Cabral, Mrs. McGill, and Mrs. Mezzancello who provided water to our student marchers. Again, our success was thanks to your support! We could not do this without you.

BAND BARBEQUE THANKS!

What a fun afternoon! Huge thanks to our amazing band families who so generously made this event possible – especially the Grabowski family for so kindly and generously hosting the BBQ at their beautiful home. It was a joyous celebration of a great year!

TAPS ACROSS AMERICA

Thank you to the group of band students who participated – joining thousands of other musicians in a powerful and solemn moment of remembrance.

SHOUT OUT TO OUR STUDENT BUGLERS!

Many thanks to senior trumpet players Ichiro Iizuka and Devin Robinson for performing the honor of Taps at two Town of Yorktown ceremonies this morning. Great job!

VETERAN’S VISIT

In case your student did not share with you, this past Wednesday I invited local Veterans to visit our classes. During their presentation the Veterans shared their service experiences, the magnitude of sacrifice, and what Memorial Day means to them. 

Throughout the school year, one of my main goals is to find the meaning behind our music and convey that meaning to the audience. The Veterans’ presentation helped students understand how our Memorial Day performance is an important tradition – meaningful to our community and country. I am proud of the students for their attention and respect during the presentation, and I hope it helped them feel pride during today’s performance.

JAZZ BAND RELAY FOR LIFE PERFORMANCE INFO

WHAT: Perform at Relay for Life

WHEN: Friday, May 29th

WHERE: Veterans Memorial Field (Veterans Road, Yorktown center). Park in the ACME lot and walk up the stairs to the track.

WEAR: Concert Black and a white tie

TIME: Report at 6:45pm sharp. We will perform for the general audience 7:15-7:45pm. 

HELP, PLEASE: Help will be needed setting up at 6:45pm and cleaning up after our performance

*You can receive 2 hours of community service for your time.

RELAY FOR LIFE – PARENT HELP NEEDED

We will need parent assistance, please, bringing stands, and equipment from YHS to Relay and back again.  If you have a large car and are able to help, please e-mail me.  We will load equipment on Friday 5/29, and will need help returning equipment to YHS after our performance.

NYSSMA SOLO FESTIVAL IS THIS FRI-SAT 5/29-30!

Official playing permits were distributed last week in class.

You have 5 days until your audition.  Your daily job is to: do a good warm-up, practice scales/rudiments/sight reading factory, and practice running your solo from top to bottom. You will be glad you did!

REMINDER: Make sure you have purchased an original of your music to bring with you to your audition. (Ms. Kluga has a limited number of originals that you can borrow – first come first served).

I AM AVAILABLE EVERY DAY FOR NYSSMA HELP! Please see me to make an appointment!

YHS BAND SPRING DATE REMINDERS

5/29 (Fri) @ 7:15pm Jazz Band performs at Relay for Life (Evening)

5/29-30 (Fri-Sat)        Up-County NYSSMA Solo Festival @ Somers HS

6/25 (Thurs) 6:30pm Graduation (Wind Ensemble 26-27 students will perform)

REMINDER – BRING YHS RENTAL INSTRUMENTS TO SCHOOL

If you have an instrument at home that you rented from YHS, please bring it in by Tuesday morning 5/26. The instruments will be picked up for cleaning and maintenance.

YHS BAND YEARBOOKS AVAILABLE

Created by our Band Officers, the yearbook is professionally printed, and contains photos and captions of our many Band events throughout the year.  

The cost is $40 each (check made payable to YHS Music Boosters). If your student is interested, a sign-up sheet is available in the band room. This is not a fundraiser; the books are sold at cost.

I am still smiling from today. So proud of our students and so thankful for our community – both within the Band Room and beyond.

With Many Thanks and Musically Yours,

Ms. Kluga

Our Next Event:

YHS Band Lesson Schedule -MAY 26