The students and Ms. Kluga are very excited to perform our music for you!  And, in case they haven’t shared, we have all been learning how to swing dance in class one day each week for the past 4 weeks.  ALL YHS band students are now equipped with about 10 stunning swing dance moves which Ms. Kluga hopes they will use at our event!  (All they have to do now is get up the courage to ask someone to dance 🙂

Also, on Thursday 2/9 during Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, professional swing dance instructors Bill Kline and Katrine Bangsgaard (from Swing and Samba Dance Studio) will be visiting YHS to work with our students.

On Friday, March 10th, the YCSD Band Program will hold it’s 4^th Annual Town-Wide Band Concert (a.k.a. BANDAPALOOZA!) in the YHS Gym.  All band students grades 5-12 will participate.  This is a wonderful experience for all of our students – fostering positive relationships between all levels, and allowing our youngest band students and parents to see the full progression of our band program.

As in years past, due to fire codes and the possibility of exceeding the maximum gym capacity, we ask that YHS band parents and families please not attend this concert as audience members.

Ms. Kluga apologizes for this and thank you for your understanding.  (If it is any consolation, the YHS Concert Band and Wind Ensemble students will each be performing a selection that you will already have heard at our Swing Dance).  However, we do need parent volunteers.  If you are interested in helping us achieve this intensely logistical feat, we would love your help!  Please e-mail Ms. Kluga.

As always, please contact Ms. Kluga with any questions and thanks for your help and support!  Looking forward to seeing you all the our Swing Dance!

Our full concert recordings are now available on www.yhsbands.com.  Click on the “Recordings” link at the top of the page.  Many thanks to our student webmasters Kaitlyn Nuebel and Max Schwartz for their efforts to post these recordings for all to enjoy!

Dr. Napolitano always takes the time to write a letter to our music students after each concert, applauding their performance.  Copies are distributed to students in class, but Ms. Kluga’s not sure they always make it home to you.  We are so thankful for Dr. Napolitano’s (and our entire administrations) support – his heartfelt letters are such a lovely gesture of appreciation of our student’s talents!

All students were sent home with their new music for our next concert.  To help guide their practice, professional recordings are now available on Dashboard.  Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Band music are all posted.  Happy practicing!

Our next concert performance is Saturday 2/11/16 at 7:00, in the YHS GYM.  This is our annual Swing Dance and Concert.  All YHS Band students are required to attend.  It is both a concert, and a dance, and everyone is invited!  (Yes, parents, you are invited!  Don’t let your student tell you otherwise J).  This is a well-attended and fun evening for our entire Yorktown community (last year we had audience members ages 2 – 92!).

INFO: On Saturday 2/11 at 7:00pm the YHS Gym will be transformed into a 1940’s Night Club, complete with bandstand, dance-floor, linen-clad tables and as much Valentine’s Day ambience as we can muster.  The YHS Concert Band, Jazz Band, and Wind Ensemble will perform Swing Era music for your dancing and listening pleasure!  Light refreshments will be served. Swing Era attire encouraged.  Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for non-band students and senior citizens.  The evening will begin at 7:00 with a one-hour swing dance lesson by a professional dance studio.  Live music (provided by your students!) and dancing 8-10:30pm.

Thank you, as always, for your support!

Congratulations to all YHS Band students on a beautiful performance at Wednesday’s Winter Concert!  Many thanks to the band parents who donated food items, or their time, to create our post-concert celebration.  Special thanks to Mrs. Serafin for coordinating the on-line donations.  What a special evening for our learning community!

The full concert recordings will be available for download later this week.

Was a great success!  Using a portion of the profit from this year’s Citrus Sale, we purchased over $200 worth of warm clothing, toiletries, toys and treats for our first grader, Luis.   Thank you so much as well to the families who sent in extra gifts! The students and Ms. Kluga are so happy that we have this opportunity to give back.

Our next concert performance is Saturday 2/11/17 at 7:00, in the YHS GYM.  This is our annual Swing Dance and Concert.  All YHS Band students are required to attend.  It is both a concert, and a dance, and everyone is invited!  (Yes, parents, you are invited!  Don’t let your students tell you otherwise J).  This is a well-attended and fun evening for our entire Yorktown community (last year we had many senior citizens attend and enjoy the evening with us!).  More details to follow.

Please review the dress requirements below for our concert (as found in the Band Handbook, which you all received back in September).  Our professional and unified visual appearance is an important part of each performance. Hopefully some items are already part of your student’s wardrobe, and all are available at your local department store.   Please contact Ms. Kluga with any questions.

Our concert is Wednesday 12/14, at 7:30 in the YHS Auditorium.  Students will need to arrive by 7:00 to warm up.

Concert Dress – (as found in the YHS Band Handbook).

Photos of good examples of concert dress for boys and girls are attached FYI.

Ladies:

• Black dress pants or LONG black skirt. LADIES, LONG MEANS YOUR SKIRT FALLS BELOW THE KNEE.  (no black jeans/jeggings/tights/yoga pants)
• Black Blouse– longish sleeves (no sleeveless shirts or spaghetti straps)
• Black stockings
• Black Shoes (no flip flops)

Gentlemen:

• Black Dress Pants (no black jeans/track pants/sweat pants)
• Black, Button-Down, Long Sleeved Shirt
• Black Socks.
• Black Shoes

To celebrate our student’s performance, we will host a reception in the cafeteria.  Look for an e-mail in the coming week from Band Aid Core Helper (BACH) Mrs. Serafin with info as to how to donate a food item, or to help us set up/clean up.  Thank you!

As you know from the JB Calendar, this week our rehearsal is WEDNESDAY 12/7 from 7:30-9:00.  This is our final rehearsal before our concert, and will take place with the Tech Crew in the auditorium. Please be ready to help set up the stage.

As noted above, our Winter Concert is Wed. 12/14.  Please arrive to the auditorium by 6:20 so we can successfully complete our sound check.  Thank you in advance for being prompt.

As decided by our seniors, our concert dress is all black and a gold bow tie (so fancy!).  Ms. Kluga has the gold bow ties that you will borrow.

Similar to NYSSMA, YHS Jazz Band students are eligible to audition for our Westchester All County Jazz Band.  Being selected is an elite musical honor and a fantastic opportunity to perform with some of Westchester’s most talented student jazz musicians!  Interested students should prepare a jazz solo, fill out an application and attend the audition.   Please see Ms. Kluga for solo literature and an application. The application is DUE to Ms. Kluga by Friday, 12/16.  Auditions are Saturday, January 7, 2017(9:00am – 12:30pm) at Hommocks Middle School (130 Hommocks Rd. Larchmont, NY 10538.

The citrus delivery date is Monday 12/19. All students are required to pick up their ENTIRE order on this day.  Please mark your calendars!  Please note the pick-up time is from 2:30 – 7:00pm.  The start time of 2:30 will not disrupt the middle school buses.

WE ARE IN NEED OF PARENT & STUDENT VOLUNTEERS FROM 2:30 – 7:00pm on Monday 12/19 to help students assemble and pick up their orders. Please see the e-mail from Mrs. Ryan-Onatzevitch for information on how to sign up.  Thank you!