Join York Music Boosters, and you can be a part of a decades-long tradition of providing support to the York High School music and dance programs. YMB proudly boosts students in band, orchestra, choir, music production and dance.

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How does YMB help the Performing Arts students, teachers and programs at York?

• Grants, scholarships and private lessons for students to pursue opportunities in the performing arts

• Year-end award programs to honor exemplary students in the performing arts

• The hosting of concert receptions

• Support for York's one-of-a-kind Fine Arts Week and the York Album Project

• Help for students to offset the costs of school-sponsored travel, including by organizing fundraisers such as the traditional Holiday Greens Sale and Lou Malnati's Pizza Sale

  • During the 2024-2025 school year, for example, YMB organized fundraisers that deposited thousands of dollars into individual student escrow accounts. It also provided help for students in need of financial assistance to take part in school-led, out-of-state trips.

• Partner with District 205 on projects to improve the performing arts experience at York High School.

  • YMB, for instances, reached its "Dream Grand" goal (with Elmhurst Music Boosters), raising $22,000 to help bring a concert-worthy piano to the York auditorium.

YMB looks forward to carrying on this tradition, but these successes are only possible with your membership, donations and help.

Become a YMB member

Enjoy an original musical at York on May 30, a show bringing together generations of current and former students

The reading of "All the World's Fair" begins at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, in the York Auditorium and marks the culmination of a remarkable partnership between the school's Drama and Musical Theater Program and York alumnus Frederick Schmidt.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Schmidt is a former York student who attended through the fall semester of his junior year before transferring to Bremen High School in 1954 to produce a staged reading of his original musical, "All the World’s Fair." This performance brings together current York students, faculty, and school alumni in a creative venture that spans generations and more than 700 miles.

What makes this partnership especially remarkable is the story behind the work itself.

Schmidt, now in his late 80s and living in Charlottesville, Virginia, wrote "All the World’s Fair" as a testament to a lifelong passion for storytelling and the stage. That a man in his ninth decade would sit down to craft an original book, music, and lyrics — and then reach back across the years to the school that first nurtured his love of theater — is a story as moving as any musical he could have written.

Schmidt’s theatrical credentials run deep.

At the University of Chicago, he wrote, performed, and directed with The Blackfriars, one of the oldest collegiate musical theater organizations in the country. He was part of the inaugural season of what is now the Charlottesville Opera Company, helping lay the groundwork for an institution that continues to thrive today.

He has also devoted years to community productions of Gilbert and Sullivan — writing, directing, and performing in the operettas that sit at the very roots of the musical theater tradition.

And in a chapter that might belong in a different kind of story altogether, Schmidt performed as a supernumerary in Chicago Lyric Opera productions supporting two of the greatest opera singers of the twentieth century: Maria Callas in Il Puritani and Renata Tebaldi in Tosca.

"All the World’s Fair" is the culmination of a lifetime spent in and around the stage.

“We are thrilled and deeply honored to be the home of this reading,” said Rebecca Marianetti, co-director of York’s Drama and Musical Theater Program. “Fred’s commitment to this project — and his trust in our community to bring it to life — is an incredible gift. This is exactly the kind of work that reminds us why the arts matter.”

“This sort of partnership is exactly what York Drama strives to remind our students of: learning is a lifelong process,” Matt Bourke, co-director, said. “Our commitment to alumni programs and offerings is something we take pride in, and being able to bring this work of Fred’s to life with graduates of the last decade is the ultimate pleasure.” .”

A True Collaboration: From Script to Stage

The reading of "All the World’s Fair" will be a hands-on, full-circle creative experience for the York community.

The cast will have the rare opportunity to work directly on an original piece of musical theater — from vocal performance and musical arrangements to publicity, press, and production design. York juniors Brenna Wisniewski and Libby Anderson wrote and will perform the musical accompaniments to many of Mr. Schmidt's pieces , while York alumni with backgrounds in music, theater, and the arts, many of whom graduated in 2026, will lead the performance.

Cece Lampa, class of 2021, is directing the reading.

“I am so excited to help lead the charge on a production that will bring generations of York students together,” Lampa said. “We create theater for opportunities just like this, and I feel immense gratitude to be involved.”

Working on an original musical is a singular educational experience. Unlike a licensed production, students must grapple with shaping the material itself — interpreting a new score, helping refine arrangements, and crafting marketing materials for a show the world has never seen before. It is the kind of creative challenge that produces artists, not just performers.

Across the Miles: A Homecoming 70 Years in the Making

Fred Schmidt walked the halls of York High School in the early 1950s, attending through the fall semester of his junior year before transferring to Bremen High School, where he graduated in 1955.

Today, from his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, he is collaborating with a new generation of York students, united by a shared belief that stories — sung, spoken, and performed — have the power to bring people together.

The partnership is a reminder that a school is not just a building or a chapter closed long ago — it is a living community. The creativity Fred discovered at York never left him. Decades later, it found its way into a fully realized original musical. That this musical is now coming home to Elmhurst feels, to everyone involved, like something more than coincidence.

“York gave me something I’ve carried my whole life,” Schmidt reflected. “To have this show come back there — to be worked on by students who are right where I was all those years ago — is more than I could have hoped for.”

About the 'All the World's Fair'

"All the World’s Fair" is an original musical written by Frederick Schmidt, who attended York High School through the fall semester of his junior year before graduating with the Bremen High School Class of 1955. The staged reading will be presented by York High School’s Drama and Musical Theater Program.

Set during Chicago’s legendary World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, "All the World’s Fair" unfolds on the front porch and yard of a modest Chicago home just off the famous Midway Plaisance, where the first-ever Ferris Wheel towered over fairgoers from around the world.

The musical follows Pa, a retired Irish immigrant police sergeant who cuts hair in his front yard to earn extra money during the Fair, and his daughter Eileen, who rents a spare room to Fair visitors and teaches waltz lessons in the dining room.

Into their small, ordered world steps Tim, a young farm boy from downstate Illinois selling music boxes on the street, and with him comes the possibility of a life neither he nor Eileen had quite imagined.

Warmly comic and genuinely romantic, the show weaves together an ensemble of policemen, hucksters, a seasick ship captain, and a trio of poker-playing “cousins” — all set against the spectacle and energy of one of the most celebrated events in American history.

"Brick by Brick," the Latest York Album Project, Is Now Available for Streaming

Check out "Brick by Brick," the York Album Project's newest album featuring 27 original songs created, recorded and produced by York High School musicians with cover art by York sophomore Bennett Messina. The album is available on all streaming platforms. 

Under the direction of teacher Chris Gemkow, the York Album Project has been releasing original student songs for more than 10 years. The latest album continues to highlight the talent of our community's young songwriters and music producers.

The York Album Project is an extracurricular activity -- all of the students put in considerable time outside the school day to record their songs.

Give it a listen

Thank You for Participating in the Parking Spot Raffle

YMB expresses it deep appreciation to everyone who participated in the 2026 Last Chance Parking Spot Raffle. Through your participation, we were able to raise thousands of dollars for the performing arts programs at York. The winning raffle ticket was drawn at the May 14 York Orchestra concert. Congratulations to the the Poulson family!

Congratulations to all of York's ILMEA Honorees for 2025-2026

Top high school musicians from across Illinois are gathering in Peoria in January. Among them: several outstanding students across York's various Performing Arts programs.

York Music Boosters congratulates these talented and hard-working students for being being chosen to participate in the highly selective Illinois Music Education Association All-State Festival, as well as those honored for their original compositions.

York music teachers and participating students traveled to Peoria for two days of rehearsals with nationally renowned conductors, culminating in a performance at the Peoria Convention Center. Here is the list of York's All-State musicians:

All-State Performers

• Heidi Bedinghaus | Honors Chorus

• Gabe Boutin | Honors Band

• Sam Deverman | Honors Orchestra

• Megumi Gallwas | All-State Orchestra

• Eamon Hall | Honors Orchestra

• Kirsten Jao | All-State Band

• Vivien Lo | All-State Orchestra

• Colin Mahoney | Honors Band

• Alexios Malamis | Honors Orchestra

• Yiorgos Malamis | Honors Band

• Emily Saldanha | Honors Band

• Itzel Zamora-Garcia | All-State Band

All-State Composition Competition Honorees

• Jack Bricker

• Anthony Olague

• Kai Ramsay

• Tessa Schultz

• Devin Smego

In the fall, 37 York Performing Arts students were selected to take part in ILMEA festivals.

Senior Band

• Gabe Boutin | Tuba

• Nicholas Deligiannis | French Horn

• Jonah Hertel | Tuba

• Kirsten Jao | French Horn

• Erin Lamorte | Oboe

• Colin Mahoney | Bass Clarinet

• Yiorgos Malamis | Bb Clarinet

• Emma Salamanca | Flute

• Emily Saldanha | Bb Clarinet

• Arjan Shuaipaj | Percussion

• Henry Teague | Trumpet

• Itzel Zamora-Garcia | Bb Clarinet

Senior Chorus

• Libby Anderson | Alto I

• Sarah Anstiss | Soprano II

• Heidi Bedinghaus | Alto I

• Kate Bigane | Soprano I

• Matthew Ericksen | Bass I

• Ava Glavinskas | Alto I

• Alex Wilson | Tenor II

• Winifred Wolf | Alto I

Senior Jazz Band and Senior Jazz Combo

• Eamon Hall | Jazz Bass Trombone

• Alexios Malamis | Jazz Drum Set

Senior Orchestra

• Brynn Asgedom | Violin

• Sam Deverman | French Horn

• Kenneth Gallwas | Cello

• Joseph Gallwas | Violin

• Megumi Gallwas | Violin

• Sarah Gerbasi | Violin

• Eamon Hall | Bass Trombone

• Madeleine Jao | Oboe

• Madison Leighton | Viola

• Vivien Lo | Cello

• Alexios Malamis | Percussion

• Jane Skattum | Double Bass

• Kaviraj Ubhi | Cello

• Ainsley William | Oboe

• Brenna Wisniewski | Oboe

York Musicians Performing in the Community: Photos from Chamber Concert at Elmhurst Public Library

Customized Shirts Available in YMB Merchandise Store: Wear Your Support for York Performing Arts

Check out our new online store for Performing Arts parents, students and supporters! You can customize a shirt, and we also have new "I'm with the Band" shirts so you can show your support for the York Marching Band, whose pregame, in-game and halftime performances help make Friday night football games so special.

• YMB online store

All the Performing Arts in One Night

Watch the 2025 York Collage Concert

Seeking New YMB Board Members: Join Us and Help the Performing Arts at York

Are you interested in contributing to the continued success of York’s band, choir, dance, music production and orchestra programs? Would you like to join our fun and dedicated group of York Music Boosters serving on the YMB Board? We need people to serve for the school year ahead. Please contact us at yorkmusicboosters@gmail.com.

Shoutout to These Award-Winning Performing Arts Students at York!

York Music Boosters congratulates all of the exemplary students in band, choir, dance, music production and orchestra who here honored with year-end awards for the 2024-'25 school year. The following York students won these YMB-sponsored awards. (Award winners are chosen by the York High School Performing Arts teachers.)

Riddle Award*

Band | Liam Fahey

Choir | Lola Torson

Dance | Dayne Crow

Music Production | Kai Ramsay and Angel Morales Corona

* The William Riddle Award is awarded to outstanding York Performing Arts sophomores or juniors who put the needs of others first and help their peers to develop, learn and succeed. Winners can use the awards for lessons, summer camps, and instrument upgrades or for additional music and leadership enrichment opportunities. The award is named after William (Bill) Riddle, who led the Performing Arts Department for 11 years.

Ostwald Award*

Ignas Zemaitaitis

* This scholarship award is presented to a sophomore, junior, or senior orchestra student who consistently demonstrates dedication to musicianship; dependability; a positive attitude; leadership by example; and a kind, helpful spirit. It honors the legacy of Ray Ostwald, who retired as York High School orchestra director after 27 years of service at the school.

York Performing Arts Memorial Award*

Alexa Klein

* The York Performing Arts Memorial Award is a testament to YMB’s deep commitment to fostering a vibrant community and nurturing a rich cultural heritage within the York Performing Arts Program. It is bestowed upon a senior student who not only showcases outstanding leadership and citizenship, but also exemplifies exceptional musicianship. This memorial scholarship is our way of honoring the enduring legacy of York music students whose contributions have gone beyond mere performance, embodying leadership and service to our community.

YMB also congratulates these other year-end award winners in the Performing Arts:

• Band — Matthew Markwald: Sousa Award; Anthony D'Alessandro: Paulus Award; and Justin Anderson: Louis Armstrong Award

• Dance — Brooklyn Nuss: Outstanding Senior in Dance

• Orchestra — Noah Choi: Inez Mittelstadt Orchestra Service Award; and Zhihanna Liu: National School Orchestra Award

A board of dedicated — and fun — individuals from the York community serve on the YMB Board, helping lead and advance the mission of York Music Boosters. Below is the list of members who served on the YMB Board during the past school year; the list of YMB members for the 2024-25 school year will be posted here soon.

We are always looking for people who are interested in helping YMB and/or joining the YMB Board.

Please contact us here.