Dear YHS Band Parents and Students,
May the Fourth be with you! Not so long ago, in a Band Room not so far away… a group of awesome student musicians were (and are!) preparing for an epic concert and festival season!
EVENTS THIS WEEK:
GUIDED PRACTICE / JB SECTIONALS
Sessions are held period 9, unless noted otherwise. I am also always available for NYSSMA Solo help (or any help!) by appointment.
| Monday 5/4 | JB Rhythm Sectional p.10 |
| Tuesday 5/5 | JB Trombone, JB Sax both p.9 |
| Wednesday 5/6 | Iron Man p.10 – full cast! |
| Thursday 5/7 | Iron Man p.9-10 |
| Friday 5/8 | Iron Man p.9 |
JAZZ BAND TECH REHEARSAL IS THURSDAY 5/7 (#9/9)
Our final rehearsal before our concert! Please be prompt and pack your patience as our tech crew helps mic us up to sound our best!
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 your improv solos and our Jazz Band music.
CB FESTIVAL & SIX FLAGS TRIP – THIS SATURDAY 5/9
We are so excited for this weekend’s festival and Six Flags trip! Final itinerary and medical form were reviewed in class this week and are attached.
Please fill out the medical form and attach a Xerox of the front and back of your medical insurance ID card.
LOGISTICS FOR THE DAY
Step #1: Festival Performance at YHS:
Students are asked to be in their seats in the YHS auditorium, ready to perform, by 7:00am. Students should wear their YHS Band polo, long black pants (please no yoga pants, sweat pants, or leggings) and black shoes. Parents are welcome to attend!
We will perform for a panel of 3 adjudicators – music educators at the college and HS level from around our region. The adjudicators will score us on our performance, and then join us on stage to work with the students.
Step #2: Six Flags:
After our clinic, we will get ready to depart for a fun day at Six Flags! Please have your student pack a bagged lunch for the bus, water, any medications they need for the day, sunscreen, and shorts/comfortable pants. The band polo must be worn all day. We will give students time to change before we leave YHS.
The weather forecast is 68 and partly sunny. Students may want to pack a sweatshirt if they think they will be chilly.
Is anyone able to drop off bus snacks and cases of water, please? We could use 2 cases of water, and pre-packaged nut-free snacks like black forest gummy bears, cookies, bars, and chips. If you can help out, please e-mail me.
SIX FLAGS ACCEPTS CARDS AND MOBILE PAYMENTS ONLY – NO CASH!
You can either pay for purchases using a Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a debit card.
Students will receive a food voucher to be used for dinner in the park, but should bring mobile payment methods if they would like to purchase snacks, souvenirs or play arcade games.
Our chaperones (thank you!!) are:
Mrs. Picinich (staff), Mr. and Mrs. Allison, and Mrs. Tobey
Students – a reminder to make good choices regarding language and behavior. We are on display, and these special experiences are a privilege!
Thank you for all your support this year as we planned, fundraised, and prepared for this festival experience. It is truly a culmination of our year-long musical journey – student’s skills are at their individual best, and we as a team are at our musical best. I’m excited to be able to give them this experience – right in our own auditorium! I’m looking forward to a fun and musical day with your students! See you bright and early on Saturday!
NYSSMA 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 – please see me to sign one out!).
Performance permits and your original paperwork will be distributed the week of NYSSMA.
SENIOR STUFF!
Look at this crew! So proud of our seniors and so excited for the wonderful things they will accomplish. I am so blessed to have been a part of their entire YHS journey!
SENIOR BIOS & SENIOR WILLS DUE
These items were due on Friday 5/1. We would love to feature you in our spring concert program, and our YHS Band Yearbook. Worksheets to help you are attached.
· Senior Bio
· Senior Will
Please e-mail your completed bio and will to Ms. Kluga ASAP
SENIOR DINNER
It is a YHS Band tradition for the seniors and I to have dinner together before our final concert. Ryan Sandhop is organizing this year’s event (thank you!).
DATE: Tuesday 5/12 (the day of our concert)
TIME: 4:30
LOCATION: Little Sorrento
COST: $25 cash (please bring to Ryan by this Friday 5/8, so we can RSVP your spot).
MENU: Soft drinks, salad, pizza, vegetarian pasta
CONCERT GRAND FINALE REHEARSAL ~ MONDAY 5/11, p.9
All Concert Band and Wind Ensemble students, mark your calendars for this rehearsal. We will use the auditorium to practice the logistics for our Spring Concert grand finale.
MAY LESSON CALENDAR ATTACHED
FYI
SPRING BAND CONCERT ~ TUESDAY 5/12 @ 7:00pm in the YHS Auditorium
* Students are asked to arrive by 6:30 to warm up.
* Jazz Band students are asked to be ready to play by 5:45 for our soundcheck.
CONCERT DRESS
A reminder of our concert dress requirements as outlined in the Band Handbook. We call it “Concert Black.” Our goal is to look unified and professional.
· Black dress pants or long black skirt. Long means that the skirt falls below the knee. (no black jeans/jeggings/tights/yoga pants)
· Black professional blouse/button-down top. No sleeveless shirts, spaghetti straps, or crop tops. Please make sure the neckline is appropriate.
· Black Dress Shoes/socks/stockings
Jazz Band Students: add a white tie
CONCERT RECEPTION – PARENT HELP NEEDED
To celebrate our students’ performance and our seniors’ last concert, we will host a reception in the cafeteria.
To volunteer your time, or donate an item, please check out our SignUp Genius.
Your donations are always so appreciated! Thank you to Mrs. Rindone for creating and managing the SignUp!
YHS BAND SPRING DATE REMINDERS
Please mark your calendars!
5/9 (Sat) YHS Concert Band, Orchestra, Choir Festival Trip to Six Flags NJ
5/12 (Tues) @7pm YHS Spring Band Concert
5/25 (Mon) @10am Memorial Day Parade and Annual YHS Band BBQ
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)
MUSIC OPPORTUNITIES
Flyers are attached for your review and listed below. Some interesting musical opportunities for our students!
· GWYOA Auditions for 2026-2027 season
· Bennett Conservatory – Summer Jazz Institute
· Summer Music Camps
· 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.
· RiverRock school in Yorktown is looking for some student helpers for FamJam on Saturday 5/9. If this interests you, please e-mail me for more information. (FYI, Concert Band students this is the same day as our Six Flags trip).
As we continue to celebrate and enjoy festival and concert season, may “the force” be with us all! Please contact me with any questions and thank you for your help and support!
Ms. Kluga