YHS Bands Update: 18 December 2023
| This Week: Dec. 18 – Dec. 23 | Concert Bands | Jazz Band | YMB/AIP/YHSWG |
| Monday, December 18 | Rehearsal: 7 – 8:05 a.m.Clinician – please be on time! | ||
| YHS Choir Concert @ 7 p.m. – support our colleagues! | |||
| Tuesday, December 19 | AIP: 6 – 8:30 p.m.YHSWG: 6 – 9 p.m. | ||
| Wednesday, December 20 | YSO & Jazz Band Tour: 8 – 3:45 | ||
| Thursday, December 21 | Winter Break | ||
| Friday, December 22 | |||
| Saturday, December 23 | |||
Director’s Notes:
Congratulations to the students on a wonderful concert! I have received numerous positive comments about the performance from, students, parents, community members, staff, and Dr. Clark. The Yorktown Big Band also played in the YHS atrium for Friday Morning Music, which was extremely well received. I hope everyone has a restful break filled with people, activities, and food you love.
Class Happenings
The December concert reflection assignment will be available soon and will be due after we return from the break.
YSO & Jazz Band Elementary Tour
On Wednesday, December 20, the Yorktown Big Band and Symphony Orchestra are doing a tour performance at Jamestown, Nottingham, and Discovery Elementary Schools. Students in those ensembles (and their parents/caretakers), should see this letter and complete the permission slip. Hard copies of the permission slip are available in the band room under the TV. Please complete the permission slip and turn it in you have not already.
APS Winter Music Workshop
Apply to participate in a FUN, One-Day workshop for developing high school musicians who want to play new and interesting music together. This Honors-style event is geared towards students who are excited about music, but have not been accepted into Senior Regional/All-District Ensembles. Applications are due Wednesday, December 20. Event is Saturday, February 12.
Spring Trip
Commitment packages for the spring trip are due January 3. See informational emails through MyMusicOffice from Yorktown Band Boosters. Spring trip info can be found at https://yorktownband.org/boston
Wind Ensemble Evening Rehearsals
During the assessment cycle and into the spring, the Wind Ensemble has an evening rehearsal on Wednesday any week that the class meets fewer than three times during the school day due to the A/B Day calendar. These rehearsals are required. Typically, they are on Wednesdays due to the rehearsal schedules for indoor percussion and winter guard. I initially had a tentative one on the calendar for January 3. We will not rehearse on that evening. Our first Wind Ensemble evening rehearsal of the next cycle will be Wednesday, January 18. As always, please consult the Yorktown Bands google calendar on the website for the most up-to-date events. Instructions on how to add it to your own google calendar appear below.
United Sound Basketball Pep Band
On Thursday, January 11, our United Sound chapter including our new musicians will play in a pep band for the girls basketball game against W-L. This is required for United Sound members and open to any other band member interested in playing. See United Sound leaders (Ellie G., Julia L., Adam K.) for more information.
| “Next” Week: Jan. 1 – 6 | Concert Bands | Jazz Band | YMB/AIP/YHSWG |
| Monday, January 1 | Winter Break | ||
| Tuesday, January 2 | AIP: 6 – 8:30 p.m.YHSWG: 6 – 9 p.m. | ||
| Wednesday, January 3 | Spring Trip Commitment Packages Due | ||
| Rehearsal: 7 – 8:05 a.m. | |||
| Thursday, January 4 | AIP: 6 – 8:30 p.m. | ||
| Friday, January 5 | Rehearsal: 7 – 8:05 a.m. | YHSWG: 5 – 8 p.m. | |
| Saturday, January 6 | All-District Band Auditions @ McLean | YHSWG: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.AIP: 12 – 4 p.m. | |
On the Horizon:
- January 11: Basketball Pep Band with United Sound
- January 17: Wind Ensemble evening rehearsal
Financial Statements
Not all costs that you can pay on SchoolCash Online apply to your student, your statement from MyMusicOffice is your official balance and should be your guide. I am pushing out statements today from MMO. Please pay balances via SchoolCash Online or check. Students need to have a zero balance on their financial statements with the band to be eligible for the spring trip.
Student Happenings
If you/your student have any events coming up like recitals, concerts with outside groups, sporting events, etc., let me know and I am happy to include them in the updates so we can support you!
Outside (Non YHS/APS) Opportunities
- VCU Clarinet and Double Reed Day 2024 – January 13
- Check-in will begin at 9:30am, and the day should end around 4pm. Registration is $30.00.
- Any interested student should fill out this interest form.
YMB Portraits
The individual portraits from YMB Picture Day are up and available for purchase here. ALL proceeds from photo sales benefit the Yorktown Band Boosters.
YHS Bands Calendar
The most up-to-date calendar can always be viewed at https://yorktownband.org/WP/calendar/. I have also created a “list” calendar that is available at https://bit.ly/yhs-band-cal.
Also, you can add the YHS Bands Google Calendar to yours. Follow these steps:
- On your computer, open Google Calendar.
- On the left, next to “Other calendars,” click Add
From URL. - Enter the YHS Bands calendar’s address.
- Click Add calendar. The calendar appears on the left, under “Other calendars.”
From URL.Tip:It might take up to 12 hours for changes to show in your Google Calendar.
Social Media:
Join our followers on Twitter and Instagram by following @yorktownbands today!
Useful Links: