Seniors – if you have a YHS-owned instrument (it will say it on the case), please return your instrument to school on June 12th, when you report to pick up your cap and gown.
Underclassmen – if you have a YHS-owned instrument, you will keep it for the summer.
All Students – if you have a rental instrument from an outside rental company (Music and Arts, Ardsley, etc) – please contact the company to either extend your contract, or schedule a time to drop off the instrument to their location. We cannot collect these instruments at YHS.
Will be starting this week. Be on the look for an e-mail from the First Nighters with your scheduled time. Please wear concert black for your photo, hold your instrument, and wear your senior pin. If you would like Ms. Kluga to deliver your senior pin to your home, please e-mail her.
We have a variety of special events in the works to honor our YHS Band seniors and our year together!
SENIOR PAPER PLATE AWARDS – each year the underclassmen make small awards to present to our seniors. Awards will be distributed virtually Thursday 6/11 at 1:00 during our Full Band Zoom.
Underclassmen: if there are senior band students that you would like to honor, look for an e-mail from Abbie Ellison and Trevor Griffiths on how you can participate. All awards must be in good taste and appropriate for a school setting.
SENIOR/ALUMNI VIRTUAL ENSEMBLE – Our YHS Band seniors are teaming up with the YHS Band Alumni Association to create a special virtual ensemble project, which will be presented to our YHS Band Family one evening the week of 6/15 via Zoom. Date TBA.
This project has actually been in the works since October! Originally designed by YHS Band senior Abbey Milhaven as a top-secret collaboration to be revealed as a live performance at our spring band concert (Note: It was also secret from me!), now due to the circumstances, her plans needed to be made public. But, we are excited to move forward with the project in its new form – the silver lining being that a virtual ensemble allows even more alumni to participate! Please join us to celebrate our seniors, and our program.
Our books have been ordered, and will be delivered the week of June 22nd. If your student is interested in purchasing a book, please sign up on this Google form https://forms.gle/VbVQGfoG2q94s7UU9. The Band Yearbook is created by our Band Officers, is professionally printed, and contains photos and captions of our many band events. The cost is $30 each. This is not a fundraiser; the books are sold at cost. For students that ordered books, we will figure out a distribution/money collection date later this month.
This week, please join the Officers on Wednesday 6/3 at 3:00pm for band snack time. Again, many thanks to our very dedicated YHS Band Officers (Connor Townes, host) for setting up these weekly band social events!
· Officer Applications for 2020-2021 are attached for interested students.
· If you are planning to continue in Concert Band or Wind Ensemble next year, please double check with your guidance counselor that it is in your schedule.
· Looking ahead, we will have a full band zoom meeting on Thursday 6/4 at 1:00pm. Please mark your calendar.
Many thanks to our trumpet students Brian Beaudreault, Michael Benvenga, Dominick Fortuna, and Trevor Griffiths for participating in today’s national sounding of Taps. A photo is attached. So proud of you!
Interestingly, did you know that trumpets (bugles) were integral to the success of military battles? Back before the advent of technology every military unit had a bugler, and the job held a huge responsibility. Because the trumpet is directional, and can project sound a good distance, buglers were used to command the troops, both on and off the battlefield. The bugler needed to memorize different fanfares so he could quickly disseminate information; attack, retreat, time to eat, time to wake-up (Reveille) time to sleep (Taps), and more.
For additional information on bugle calls and their history, visit the sites below.
Also interestingly, today Ms. Kluga’s family visited a cemetery near their home in Shrub Oak – to pay respects to the veterans buried there. We were honored to find the grave of Charles F. Hendee, a bugler with the First Independent Battery, Connecticut Light Artillery during the Civil War. It was such a large honor and responsibility to be a bugler that this title was engraved for the ages on his headstone. A photo is attached.
Applications are attached. Interested students please return the application to Ms. Kluga by this Friday 5/29. Additional required meeting dates and times are listed at the bottom of the application. Questions? Contact Ms Kluga.
This week, please join the Officers on Wednesday 5/27 at 3:00pm for band snack time. Again, many thanks to our very dedicated YHS Band Officers for hosting this weekly band social event!
Topic: Band Hangout Time: May 27, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Ms. Kluga is so proud of our students for creating this musical distance-learning experience. Although virtual performances will never replace the educational value and magic of live music, she’s so happy we could put something together to honor the significance of this day in our community. The video is in this week’s email. Please enjoy.
Thank you to local veteran Pat McDonough and the Yorktown American Legion for providing the photos and information about our local war memorials contained in our project.
Please take 15 minutes out of your Memorial Day to watch this excellent video created by Pat McDonough and members of the Yorktown American Legion. The video takes you on a virtual tour of our local war memorials, with historic details and information skillfully narrated by Mr. McDonough.
In an effort to honor Memorial Day in a socially-distanced way, please consider participating in this National experience.
At 3:00pm on Memorial Day, trumpet players and instrumentalists of all types are invited to step outside their homes and perform Taps for their neighborhood. More details and a link to the music can be found below. If you participate, Ms. Kluga would love to see a photo of you or hear your video. She plans to play Taps from her driveway. Her sister, who is a trumpet player in the Air Force, will be playing Taps from where she is stationed in Illinois.
FYI: Trumpet players – if the music is too high for you Taps can be played using any valve combination for all notes (like a lip slur). Try starting on low D (1+3) and using that fingering for all the notes.
In case you missed it from Ms. Kluga’s last e-mail, please take 12 minutes to watch this video about the significance of Taps – featuring the buglers at West Point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-zEvRCNJd0
