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 #37

Jun 21, 2026

Dear YHS Band Students and Parents,

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and father figures in our lives!  Seniors, can you believe that prom is now in the past and that Graduation is this week?! 

I still have a few e-mail updates left in me as I continue to communicate information for the remainder of our year 🙂

SENIOR QUOTES

The last day with our YHS Band seniors is always bittersweet. I am so blessed to have had four years to watch them grow and we are all so very proud of the people and musicians they have become!

I wanted to share the following senior quotes from our end-of-year-survey:

“I have had an excellent experience with the band over these past four years. It has been such a lively, joyous aspect of my life…and I do not think a better community is possible. As for the underclassmen, enjoy the closeness we’ve all got in here and talk to everyone! You never know who’s going to be a new friend. I’ve personally met so many amazing people through band who I wouldn’t have met through anything else, so go start some conversations! Take every opportunity!”

“I am so grateful I was able to be a part of this band program. To all underclassmen, I would encourage them to stick with band for their entire high school career, and on. At the end of the day, band is worth so much more than taking another AP. Always choose band.”

“Band was the best experience I had in high school.”

“The 4 years is worth it! I had a great experience in band and it became so much more than a class with instruments, I’m so grateful for all the unique experiences and opportunities this program has exposed me to that I wouldn’t have went through otherwise.”

“Band has been an integral part of my growth academically and socially. Remember that you belong here and you’ll be welcomed with open arms.”

FIRST NIGHTERS SENIOR CELEBRATION

Thank you to this amazing parent group for hosting such a special and meaningful event for our senior performing arts students!

GRADUATION BAND IS THIS THURS. 6/25!

Students of the 2026-2027 Wind Ensemble (and siblings of graduates) will perform. The 2026 graduates, and our entire learning community, truly appreciate your time and talents!

Date:  Thursday, June 25, 2026

Place:  YHS Stadium

Time:  Arrive at the YHS band room by 5:30 PM. Ceremony is at 6:30PM

Attire: Please dress “nicely” (no jeans, t-shirts, or sneakers).

Bring: Your music, your instrument and water.

Students who perform at the graduation are eligible for 3 community service hours.

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES

Are available through finals. I’ll be in the building and available through 6/26 (as are all teachers/staff). Please e-mail me if you’d like to set up a time to earn a few points.

SUMMER RENTALS /PRIVATE LESSONS

If your student is interested in continuing to practice over the summer (hooray!), some YHS-owned summer rentals are available.  Rental fee is $30, check made payable to Yorktown Central School District.  Please e-mail me to reserve an instrument.

CHECK YOUR CLASS SCHEDULE FOR 2026-2027

I’d love to see you all back in Band next year! To make sure Band is in your schedule, and avoid possible scheduling conflicts, please double check with your guidance counselor.

DONATE YOUR BAND POLO

If you are not continuing in Band next year (sad face…), please consider donating your polo.  I’ll be collecting them in class this week.

YHS BAND SUMMER SOCIALS

Join me this summer as I bring my own family to enjoy the amazing (and free!) West Point concerts. Concerts take place at Trophy Point park – a gorgeous outdoor venue overlooking the Hudson.  Bring a blanket and a picnic and arrive at least 1.5 hours early to get through security and stake out your spot. (If the weather is poor, concerts will be held in Eisenhower Hall). Check out their website for more details.

My family and I are planning to attend:

Saturday 7/4: Independence Day Celebration.

Monday 9/7: Labor Day Celebration. This concert is spectacular, with a grand finale of fireworks over the Hudson, and Tchaikovksy’s 1812 Overture with REAL CANNONS!)

E-mail me if you are planning to attend – I’d love to sit together!

YHS BAND RETREAT & ICE CREAM SOCIAL 2026 ~ Thursday 8/27 from 3pm-8pm

Save the date!  All YHS Band students grades 9-12 are requested to attend a day filled with musicianship, friendship, and citizenship. Students will work together in sectionals, and full rehearsals, to jump start our year. Then, we will enjoy dinner and our 25th annual Music Dept. Ice Cream Social. So excited to use this opportunity to build our Band Family!

BAND PARENT HELPERS 2026-2027

A big THANK YOU to all the awesome parents who were instrumental in making our year a success! I so appreciate your time, help, creativity, and sense of fun. It is a pleasure to work alongside you to create our calendar of events for our students.

If you are interested in becoming a member of our core group of band parent helpers, please e-mail me.  I will be in touch in August to start planning our ’26-‘27 events. 

MUSICAL OPPORTUNITIES

Flyers are attached for your review and listed below. Some interesting musical opportunities for our students!

  • Summer Jazz Intensive 
  • Caramoor 81st Summer Concert Series
  • 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.
  • YWEW (Youth Wind Ensemble of Westchester) – Offers advanced band ensemble opportunities for 6-8 and 9-12 grade students. Meets Thursday evenings during the school year. From experience, this is a worthwhile opportunity if your student is interested.

I’ll stay in touch with a few final updates and a farewell before summer officially begins. Thank you all for your support!

Musically Yours,

Ms. Kluga

Our Next Event:

No current Lesson Schedule found. Please visit the Student Dashboard for the latest information.