Overview

The Vanguard Youth Wind Ensemble will begin its tenure in March 2026! This ensemble is designed to be an honor band that rehearses on weekend afternoons, with one concert cycle to start in this first season. Screening for membership will be conducted via video submission.

Participation Eligibility

The Vanguard Youth Wind Ensemble is open for woodwind, brass, percussion student instrumentalists currently enrolled as 9th-12th graders* in the greater Bay area. Performers must be enrolled in their school’s band program to participate. Attendance is mandatory for all rehearsals and performances. 

*Students in 7th or 8th grade will be considered with recommendation by their band director and/ or their private lessons instructor. Please e-mail Katie VanDoren for more information (kvandoren@scvanguard.org)

Upon completion of your video screening, each member will be assessed a $50 participation fee, which will cover sectional instructors, a commemorative T-shirt, sheet music purchasing & rental, as well as other associated expenses.

Video Screening Requirements

Screening requirements for all instruments include the following and each excerpt should be between 2 and 5 minutes in length.

• Technical Etude/Excerpt of your choice
• Lyrical Etude/Excerpt of your choice

Video Audition Procedure

VYWE screening will be open from Monday, March 2nd, 2026 thru Friday, March 13th, 2026. Screening results will be emailed out to auditionees on Monday, March 16th, 2026 with a Meet and Greet for all members on Saturday, March 21st, 2026.

• Performers will submit a video recording of the screening requirements outlined above
• To avoid submitting multiple videos, performers can stitch multiple videos into one video for submission.
• Performers will upload their screening video onto YouTube as “UNLISTED” and submit the link on the VYWE Submission Form, which can be found linked on the VYWE webpage above.

Rehearsal & Performance Information

The Vanguard Youth Wind Ensemble rehearsal and concert dates are listed below:

Concert Cycle:

• Sunday, March 29th, 2026 • 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
• Saturday, April 4th, 2026 • 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
• Sunday, April 12th, 2026 • 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
• Sunday, April 19th, 2026 • 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
• Sunday, April 26th, 2026 • 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
• CONCERT – Sunday, May 3, 2026 @ 6:00 PM

TBD: All rehearsals and the concert will take place at a local High School.