Events

Join the YMTA for a summer lunch and a brainstorming session about how to relaunch community music activities in a post-COVID landscape. RSVP to Gretchen Dekker (gretchenedekker@gmail.com) before 8 AM on Friday 7/8 to confirm your attendance and receive directions to the meeting location. YMTA Members, Friends, and any interested community music professionals are all […]

YMTA Members and Community! Come join us for the PMTA Workshop led by Marvin Blickenstaff! It will consist of three sessions: 1) 9:30 – 10:45 2) 11:00 – 12:15   Lunch) 12:15 – 1:15 3) 1:15 – 2:30 Topics: Guidelines for Interpretation Basic Technical Training for the Young Student What do you do when YOUR magic stops. […]

Watch this space for updates about the YMTA's annual SUSAN MILLER PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL, which will take place in early October 2022. Students receive valuable feedback on their prepared solo pieces, test their theory skills, and can elect to audition for participation in the HONORS RECITAL, all on one fun-filled day! Details coming soon...

Drop-in for 5-minute interviews (may need to wait depending on how busy it is) Based on Kirstin Myers’ and Morgann Davis’ podcast “Life Between the Notes”, student musicians are invited to be interviewed about the role that music plays in their life. These short sessions will be collected, curated, and shown on the YMTA website […]

Students who are auditioning at Trinity UCC will be given a 10-minute warm-up slot in the foyer prior to their performance. String players MUST use a mute to warm up, pianists MUST use headphones

Stop in and pick up your Festival “passport” and map and find out where all of the day’s activities are happening! Learn how you can get your passport stamped and earn a free slice of pizza from Archetype and hot cocoa from Prince Street Cafe (5-8 stamps). Extra-ambitious festival participants (8+ stamps) will qualify to […]

Individually packaged FREE snacks and pony bottles of water will help keep you going so you can visit ALL the venues and stations and get that passport filled with stamps… Snacks can be found at St John Episcopal and Heidelberg UCC

By Appointment (pre-registration required) Students who have pre-registered will play a closed (elementary) or public (advanced) audition for an adjudicator who will rate their performances. Beginners/early intermediate piano at ST JOHN EPISCOPAL (Choir Room), Elementary strings at HEIDELBERG UCC (Classroom), Advanced piano, strings, and voice at TRINITY UCC (sanctuary), Advanced overflow piano, strings, and voice […]

MAKE MUSIC ALL DAY LONG – drop in and play the keyboard or pull out your guitar or flute and share the spirit of the festival through performance! Students, teachers, and community performers including the YJSO Octet, Dallastown String Ensemble, and First Capitol Brass will be scheduled for sets throughout the Market’s opening hours, but […]

Drop-in (pre-registration required) All YMTA auditioning students take a level-specific PMTA theory test. These are graded and, if the student is applying for the “honors” track, count toward their eligibility for the YMTA honors recital on 1/28

This “top of the festival” Episcopal worship service will get everyone in the spirit by celebrating the season of journeying and light. Featuring the Community Festival Choir, Multi-Gen Brass, and Festival Strings in addition to the pipe organ, piano and maybe even a few handbells, music will ring out the old and ring in the […]

Sessions beginning on the hour (lasting approx. 20-30 minutes) Young music lovers can step right up to engage with sound and have FUN with music through this accessible, entertaining experience designed for young musicians (toddlers and preschoolers welcome) and parents! Led by certified Kindermusik educator Sarah Heckert of Windham Studios, ALL ages can participate in […]

Sessions beginning on the half-hour (lasting 15-20 minutes) Get (back) in the holiday spirit with Holiday Cup Rhythms! Tap, slap, and count your way into some fun – and funny – sounds played on ordinary Solo cups with piano accompaniment (best for students age 8+ with some music experience). You can also make and decorate […]

Rhythm grooves for all with “junk” instruments (buckets, chopsticks, pie pans, etc.) - Jeff will run 30 minute sessions that are drop-in, no-experience-required and participants will learn several rhythmic patterns that can be combined to form intricate African-inspired rhythmic “grooves”.

Pick up (or feel free to drop off!) donated music books, both repertoire and pedagogical volumes – if it’s on the table, it’s free to a good home (and you can drop off anything you’ve outgrown or want to trade). Especially welcome are pedagogical materials that families can trade to one another as students step […]

Students can experiment with electronic music production tools: vocoders, looping pedals, sound boards & mics, electric cellos, etc. Come find out what music + electronics has to offer!

An interactive, hands-on opportunity to see, touch, hold, play, and hear advanced performers play the instruments of the orchestra. Periodic pop-up ensemble performances by the YJSO Octet as well as performances by a York Symphony quartet and the First Capitol Brass will highlight this open-forum experience.

Drop-in Any Time A drop-in opportunity to learn the Blues scale, play a simple progression, and do a 12-bar blues improv experiment – encourage auditioning students to do this to loosen them up (!) and make sure there are no-experience-needed chances to play along (percussion, perhaps).

Come play with us DOWNTOWN on January 6th, 2024! FESTIVAL WEATHER UPDATE as of Friday Morning:Due to the impending snow for Saturday, January 6th, the Miller Music Festival will be scaling back. All activities will take place from 10am-12:30pm. The festival will conclude after the 1pm The Matinee "TRADITIONS" recital and Miller Scholarship Competition at […]

15-minute sets performed by local talent – all genres, all styles! Come and check it out to see who is MAKING (their own) MUSIC at Creative York today… The MacCloskey Family Band and soloists from York College and members of our own York Community! Performances at 10:40, 11:40, 12:40, and 1:40.

Join Rodney Barnett and Dick Frey to discover the King of Instruments from the inside out! Look, see, touch, play, and get inside a pipe organ – there are two wonderful instruments in today’s venues and two excellent teaching artists to show and share. Students who play the keyboard (all levels) may bring a short […]

Session on the hour at 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm, and 2 pm. Take 30 minutes with ethnomusicologist Jan Protopapas to “go deep” in a mini-workshop on Indian classical vocal music with harmonium. Learn a simple melody in an Indian raga accompanied by a cyclical rhythm and experience new sounds as Jan leads small […]

Drop in to view art; music ongoing Experience immersive music all day with rolling rotations for solo cello with Baltimore Symphony Solo music provided by BSO cellist Lukasz Szyrner and conservatory students Katrina Wolfe and Ryan Schick, as well as sitar sets with John Protopapas, “troubadour” songs with singer/songwriter John Terlazzo, and American folk music […]

Join Peter Botros at this exciting step-in opportunity to SHINE with music! This is your chance to be “part of the band” after just a few minutes of learning some easy tunes and riffs…or to just stand back and let the music wash over you. Come and SHINE with us through music! Location TBD: Continental […]

See, touch, learn about, and play a clavichord and a (digital) harpsichord. Learn why a harpsichord isn’t a piano, and try a short piece on YOUR instrument – with harpsichord accompaniment! Periodic period-accurate performances of our signature festival pieces may just…break out, so come ready to jump in and play! Enjoy pop-up performances by the […]

Drop-in fun as well as guided learning sessions on the hour (not between 1-2 pm) Two octaves of BOOM WHACKERS and Malmark hand chimes will be set up for anyone to step in and try their hand – drop-in sessions will run about 15 minutes, and all that is required is a sense of adventure, […]

Drop-in all day, guided sessions at :15 and :45 (decorating is ongoing at will) Come learn about flutes and whistles at the flute factory with Alicia Kosack and friends! Participants will get to choose their own colorful whistle and can personalize their instrument at our craft table, then learn some simple tunes and play a […]

11:00 am – 12:45 pm and 2:00 – 3:15 pm, ongoing demonstrations all day long Did you ever wonder how the piano makes sound? What are all those PARTS you can see in there – what do they do? Let expert registered piano technician and tuner Mabel Tang take you on a journey INSIDE the […]

11:00 am – 12:30pm and 2:00 – 3:30 pm on the hour and on the half-hour (approx.. 15-minute session) Embark on a whimsical journey with Mozart's "The Magic Flute"! This enchanting opera weaves a tale of love, wisdom, and trials as Prince Tamino and the bird-catcher Papageno set out to rescue Princess Pamina. Amidst mystical […]

Interactive readings at 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 2:30 pm. Local author M.J. McCluskey will read some sneak preview passages from her young reader book “The Mystery of the Naked Violin” with special musical performances played on a VERY special violin to accompany the story! Additional readings or popular children’s books about music including such […]

This midafternoon recital will feature adult members and friends of the Matinee Musical Club of York, a 100+ year-old organization that encourages local musicians to keep performing in the community. A diverse and stellar program of vocal and instrumental music featuring First Capitol Brass, flute, violin, cello, organ, voice, and piano will be presented including […]

Two programs featuring students who achieved HONORS level at their Miller MAKE MUSIC Festival auditions on January 6th (Violin, Cello, Piano, and Voice) DeMeester Recital HallYork College of Pennsylvania

Come and enjoy an afternoon of musical delights for piano, strings, and voice in the beautiful sanctuary of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in York! This dual program will feature both student and adult performing members and a wide variety of repertoire selections, including music by Brahms, Tchaikowsky, and Clara Schumann.

Join members of the York Chamber Players Jeni Herrera-Mullar, Sara Male, and Gretchen Dekker for an evening of music composed by women from the 17th to the 21st centuries. This innovative multi-sensory program will include works by Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, Clara Schumann, Nadia Boulanger, Rebecca Clarke, and Meira Warshauer and will feature visual […]

Friday evening, April 12, the incredible Jupiter String Quartet will be performing at York College of Pennsylvania. The concert begins at 7:30 pm in Waldner Performing Arts Center, and it is free and open to the public. The group will perform quartets by Wynton Marsalis and Su Lian Tan, and Ken Osowski will be joining them for […]

Join the adult and student members of the Matinee Music Club of York for a recital and the RESCHEDULED Wolf Piano Competition (it was snowed out in January!) Beginning at 6 p.m. with the competition and concluding with a recital program featuring both adult and student members, this will be an exciting finish to the […]

Come and hear two iconic masterworks for solo piano performed in one evening by Dr. Hyesung Hwang, piano faculty member at York College of Pennsylvania. On Wednesday evening April 17th at 7:30 p.m. in DeMeester (Wolf) Recital Hall, Hyesung will perform Modest Mussorgsky's monumental "Pictures at an Exhibition" followed by Beethoven's equally revered final Sonata […]

Join York Youth Symphony student members and their professional teaching artist coaches for an afternoon of music for CHAMBER ENSEMBLES! Winds, strings, brass, and piano will all be featured playing music by both classical and contemporary composers including the premier of "Letters to Myself II" by composer and pianist Kt Allenbaugh. FREE and open to […]

Join our students for a final, festive recital event for this program year at the beautiful Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York! Students of all ages - but especially our youngest performers - will have an opportunity to show and share all of the progress they have made this spring in their studies. All are welcome, […]

Join students and friends of the YMTA as we bring the JOY of music to our senior residents where they live! A light and fun-filled educational program will be offered featuring performers of all ages and levels playing music from the classics to today. This is a great opportunity for YMTA students to earn service […]

...but wait, there's more... join YMTA students and friends as we offer a SECOND Salon recital in June - this one at Spiritrust Lutheran Kelly Drive on their beautiful Steinway grand piano! ALL ages and levels are welcome to participate in this fun, educational event - service hours are available for students. Sign up to […]

Join all of your musical friends to MAKE MUSIC all day - it's INTERNATIONAL MAKE MUSIC DAY on Friday, June 21st, and the YMTA will be part of the excitement in downtown York and the surrounding areas! Join the String Fling, take a turn at the Piano-a-Thon, do the Organ Crawl, sing in the Mobile […]

Welcome back from your summer of studying, practicing, and being inspired through vacation and restorative time with friends and family! Come share "how I spent my (musical) summer vacation" piece with us at this KICK-OFF event where all ages and levels are welcome to perform.

Come play with us as we bring the music to the seniors at the Residence at Fitz Farm at the first SALON RECITAL of the 2024-25 season. All ages and levels are welcome to share their pieces in these community-friendly programs emceed (and usually accompanied) by Gretchen Dekker. Service hours are available for students in […]

Welcome back to another season of "Salon" recitals held on the THIRD Saturday of every month at the Spiritrust Village at Kelly Drive! Come play the beautiful Steinway (or any instrument, or sing) and share the joy of music with our senior friends at this welcoming facility in York. All ages and levels welcome, and […]

The Salon Recital series continues at The Residence at Fitz Farm on the SECOND SATURDAY of every month at 1 pm - come, share your music with the senior residents of this beautiful facility! This event is for all ages and all levels, and family and friends are welcome to attend in the audience. Service […]