Yorktown High School Bands

YHS Bands Update: 22 September 2025 

This Week	Monday 9/22	Tuesday 9/23	Wednesday 9/24	Thursday 9/25	Friday 9/26	Saturday 9/27
	Even	Holiday: Rosh Hashana	Odd	Even	Odd
Concert Band			Playing Assessment 1 Due			Playing Assessment 2 Due
Percussion						Rudiments 2 Assessment
YMB	Rehearsal:  4 – 7 pm Field 2		Leadership Mtg: 3:15 pm – Rehearsal: 4:45 – 7 pm Stadium Turf	Rehearsal: 3:30 – 5 pm Field 2	Rehearsal: 3:30 – 5 pm Field 2	Competition: VMBC Herndon Showcase of Bands schedule
Parents/ Caretakers				Back to School Night: 7 – 9 pm

Director’s Notes:
The YMB had a great Rising Patriots Night, including a solid run of parts 1, 2, and 3 of the show, Spin with the Patriots, and an exciting win by our football Patriots! Thank you to all who supported the various activities and needs of the evening.

YMB – Friday
I have added another Friday after-school rehearsal for this week, a possibility I alluded to last week. With the unusual rehearsal schedule due to the Tuesday holiday, and the early call time that does not allow for a Saturday morning rehearsal, a Friday rehearsal will put the students in a better position to have their best run on Saturday.

Band Costs
You may have noticed that costs have been added to students’ School Cash Online (SCO) accounts. Our school’s treasurer was out with an illness in August and I appreciate your patience as it has taken longer than intended to get this information out. These are for costs payable to Yorktown High School. Costs are explained in this document. Costs can be paid through SCO or via check to Yorktown High School. Cost should never prohibit student participation. Financial Assistance is available for those in need. Requests for financial assistance should be made directly to the Band Director prior to the due date for the related fee. Contact me for more information.

YMB – Competition Schedules
The YMB competition schedules are starting to come together. These are drafts until each event finalizes the performance schedule, but should be close for planning purposes. Available draft schedules are linked on the season calendar, as well as the band’s Google calendar which can be seen on the band website or added to your own Google calendar (directions below). 

Yorktown Jazz Ensemble Auditions
Audition information and materials are now available for the Yorktown Big Band. Audition dates are Monday, October 6, for the rhythm section, and Monday, October 27, for winds. Information about reserving an audition time is in the linked materials.

All-Virginia Jazz Ensemble Auditions
AVJE audition registration is Sep. 2 – Oct. 2 and virtual auditions are to be recorded and submitted Oct. 3 – 6. Link to info. Students planning to audition for All-Virginia Jazz must register with Mr. Witkowski.

Parent/Caretaker Info
Please fill out this form to share/update adult information for Yorktown Band Boosters. If you have not received emails through CutTime, please make sure you do this.

School-owned Instrument Rental
A contract must be completed for each school-owned instrument a student uses at any point during the school year (including marching band season). If your student is using or needs to use a school-owned instrument, please complete the contract electronically attached to this Parent Square message. Alternatively, a hard copy of the contract can be downloaded here and either electronically or physically returned to Mr. Witkowski.

Next Week	Monday 9/29	Tuesday 9/30	Wednesday 10/1	Thursday 10/2	Friday 10/3	Saturday 10/4
	Even	Odd	Even	Holiday: Yom Kippur	Odd
YMB		Leadership Mtg: 3:15 pm – Rehearsal: Winds 4:30 – 7; Percussion & Guard 6 – 8:30 pm	Rehearsal: 5 – 7 pm Stadium Turf		Rehearsal: 3:30 – 5 pm Field 2	Competition: VMBC Rock Ridge Regionals UPDATED schedule
Honors Events	SRO Auditions			AVJE Registration window closes	AVJE audition window opens

On the Horizon:

• October 10: Home Football vs. West Springfield (Homecoming) 
• October 17: Away Football @ Wakefield 
• October 18: YMB Competition – VMBC Oakton Classic 

Outside (Non-YHS/APS) Opportunities

• September 27 – NOVA Community College Music Department at Alexandria Campus – Percussion Residency with Professor Lee Hinkle, Associate Professor of percussion at Penn State University. He will be hosting a masterclass, rhythmic workshop for high school and college music students. This will be followed by an evening percussion recital that will also feature NOVA Faculty Corey Sittinger. Flier
  1. Same day as YMB Competition @ Herndon. Schedule TBA.
• UVA Band Day – November 8—experience what it’s like to be a Cavalier Marching Band member on a gameday! 
• Washington Performing Arts 2025-26 season
  1. Oct. 18: Third Coast Percussion with Salar Nader, tabla
     • (likely to conflict with YMB Competition)
  2. Nov. 8: Twincussion

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!
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:

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar. 
2. On the left, next to “Other calendars,” click Add   From URL.
3. Enter the YHS Bands calendar’s address. 
4. Click Add calendar. The calendar appears on the left, under “Other calendars.” 

Tip: It might take up to 12 hours for changes to show in your Google Calendar.
Social Media:
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