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 #8

Oct 25, 2026

Hello YHS Band Parents and Students,

Happy Halloween week! Here is the latest from the YHS Band Room…

PEP BAND THANKS!

Huge shoutout to our awesome Pep Band for being loud and proud in the stands all season long! No matter what the clock said, this band kept that Husker pride alive until the very last whistle. We love being your soundtrack to Yorktown’s Friday Night Lights! Scoreboards may change, but Husker pride is forever.

Also, I’d like to thank these students for being wonderful humans. They are helpful, inclusive, kind, and embody what good, safe, wholesome fun looks like on a Friday night.  Our section of the bleachers is always left immaculate because they clean up after themselves, and hauling our equipment is a breeze because many hands pitch in to help. It is a pleasure to spend a Friday evening with you!

AREA ALL-STATE CONGRATS!

Congratulations to our YHS Music students who represented Yorktown as members of Area All-State this week; honor ensembles made up of the best student musicians in the county! Their concert was Saturday afternoon – Bravo to all!!

Amy Cross and Zack Rindone (clarinet), Miles Fallon (alto sax), Tyler Guarini (tenor sax), Damien Ruiz (bari sax), Tali Lyons (trumpet), Vincent Cassetta (trombone), and Ethan Gutierrez (tuba)!

In all, 18 students from YHS Band, Choir, and Orchestra represented Yorktown!

VIDEO ASSESSMENT #1

In November, students will experience their first graded video assessment of the year.  I will film each student individually at their lesson and offer verbal and written feedback. The video assessment will allow me to help gauge their progress and their readiness to perform in our December concert.

Instructions on how to prepare for this assignment will be reviewed in class and available on Classroom and Dashboard.

This was week #7 of our school year together.  Finding 15-30 minutes of practice a day (so far) means a cumulative 12+ hours of personal practice for your student.  They should feel like they have established good practice habits, are improving their muscle memory, and are better able to answer their own musical questions.

If your student would like help preparing for their graded video assessment, there are guided practice sessions available. I am also available by appointment.

EVENTS THIS WEEK:

GUIDED PRACTICE / JAZZ BAND SECTIONALS

Offered weekly and hosted by our YHS Band elders (thank you!). Students who lead or attend a session receive 1 point of extra credit. Sessions are held period 9, unless noted otherwise. I am also always available for help by appointment.

Monday 10/26Clarinet & Bass Clarinet p.9, JB Rhythm p.9, JB Sax p.10,
Tuesday 10/27Tuba p.9
Wednesday 10/28JB Trombone p.9
Thursday 10/29JB Trumpet p.9
Friday 10/30 

PERIOD “0” JAZZ JAM!

Please join me before school (from 7:10…or whenever you get off the bus… until the first bell) to practice improvising. Help yourself develop your skills and a plan for success!

JAZZ BAND REHEARSAL #6 – THURSDAY 10/29

I love the energy you bring to our rehearsals! Keep that coming :). Your assignment this week is to use your resources to finish learning all of Sandu and Fly Me. Our REHEARSAL RECORDINGS are posted on Dashboard. Use them to guide your practice/sectionals.  Use A-CCOMPANY in your personal practice of Sandu – solo your personal track to guide you in exactly how your part should sound. NEW – GROOVIN’ HARD – learn m.1-53. (Don’t worry, it’s repetitive).  Please arrive by 6:50 so we can be warmed up and tuned to start promptly at 7:00. Thanks!

YHS BAND HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST
Such a fun tradition! Our 23rd annual costume contest will take place in class on Friday, October 30th.  Winners in each class will receive half of Ms. Kluga’s citrus order.  (Extra points if your costume is home-made, or in any way musical.)  Looking forward to celebrating this fun day with you!

NOVEMBER LESSON SCHEDULE

See attached. Wind Ensemble students are group 1, Concert Band students are group 2.

CITRUS SALE ~ Thurs. 10/1 – Wed. 11/13

Please support our 23rd annual Citrus Sale! Ordering info was reviewed in class, is attached, and is available on Dashboard and Google Classroom. 

Each year, our Band, Choir, and Orchestra ensembles all participate in regional music festivals.  The monies raised from our Citrus Sale help students defray the cost of their personal festival participation. In 2019, our best sale ever, our music students SOLD 1,498 boxes and earned a PROFIT of $21,820.

PLEASE SAVE THESE CITRUS DATES!

  1. Wednesday, November 13th is the deadline for all orders.
  1. Friday, December 11th is FRUIT DELIVERY DAY

Our fruit orders will be delivered to YHS by truck.  Students are responsible for picking up their entire order and then delivering to their customers. Pick-up hours are 2:30 – 6:30pm.  Parent and student volunteers will be needed all day (7am-7pm) to help unload and sort our orders. Please save the date!  

https://floridafruitstore.com/YorktownHSBand

UPCOMING EVENTS:

APPLYING TO MUSIC SCHOOLS PRESENTATION – 11/8/26

Is your student interested in studying music in college? This informative online presentation is being hosted by The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, and Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. The link to register is here.

Please also see the attached flyer (which I offered at Back to School Night), with similar information.

Thank you for your support! Wishing everyone a fun and safe Halloween!

Musically Yours,

Ms. Kluga

Our Next Event:

YHS MUSIC: CITRUS SALE 2026

CITRUS SALE ~ Thurs. 10/1 – Wed. 11/13 Please support our 23rd annual Citrus Sale! Ordering info was reviewed in class, is attached, and is...

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YHS Band Lesson Schedule - NOVEMBER 26