Urbana High School Bands
Welcome!
The award-winning Urbana High School band program is more than just a variety of musical ensembles. We are a family of students, directors, parents, and community partners who collaborate to promote excellence in our UHS band program. Throughout the year, the UHS Band Boosters provide support to our bands and raise the necessary funds to make high quality music education accessible for all students regardless of income or background.
Announcements.
Urbana High School Wind Symphony is honored to be selected to perform at the 50th Annual Illinois SuperState Concert Band Festival on Friday, May 3 at 3:30 pm in the Krannert Center for Performing Arts. We hope to see many of you in the audience. This is a distinguished honor for concert bands in the state and the second year in a row for UHS to have been selected. We couldn't be more proud of our musicians!
Thank you to all of the extraordinary alumni, students, current and past band directors, honored guests, families, community members, volunteers and sponsors who made the Urbana Bands 100th Anniversary Celebration a night to remember for the ages! We are grateful to our sponsor, We Love Urbana, for this wonderful collection of photos and video. View the collection here.
Watch a full recording of Urbana High School Bands 100th Anniversary Concert on April 20, 2024 here. Thank you to Robin Kravets and Rob Kooper for capturing the concert on video.
Thank you to Carlton Bruett Design for this fascinating history mural recently installed outside the UHS Band Room to commemorate our 100th Anniversary. If you haven't seen it yet, stop by the band room and check it out, or take a look here. PC: C. Bruett, K. Fay, R. Kravets, Rosemary Yearbook
View "A Century of Urbana Bands," a photo retrospective of Urbana Bands at this link. We are grateful to Jen Showerman for curating the exhibit and to the following photographers for documenting our bands over the years: Karen DeBauche, Dick Cogdal Family, Kanittha Fay, Karl Hendrickson, Robin Kravets, Debra Larson, Peter Mortensen, Daniel J. Perrino Family and Rosemary Yearbook Staff.
More than 100+ UHS Bands Alumni from across eight states and nine decades joined us in celebration for the historic 100th Anniversary Alumni Band Concer. Former UHS Band students ranging from the Class of 1935 (age 107) to the Class of 1923 (age 19) lined up to launch the concert with a nostalgic processional. A proud day for Urbana and a memory for the ages! View a glimpse of the line-up for the processional here.
Calling all 8th Grade Band Families! Welcome to UHS Bands! You are cordially invited to join us for the last remaining Urbana Band Boosters 2023-24 remaining meeting date on May 9! The meeting will take place from 7 pm to 8 pm in the UHS band room. Families, alumni and friends are all welcome to attend.
Congratulations to the UHS Jazz Band and the UHS Race Street Jazz Combo for their first place performances at the Danville Jazz Festival!
We are honored to announce that the Urbana High School Band Boosters have been awarded a Community Commitment Grant from the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois (CFECI) for the purchase of new music stands and folios to launch the Urbana Bands 100th Anniversary Equipment Fund. Find the full list of CFECI Community Commitment Grant recipients here.
In order to keep band families up-to-date with on-site event information, please sign up for GroupMe here and complete the Family Information Form here.
Click here to learn about the Band Room Expansion Project. Thank you to our generous donors!
Thank you to Robin Kravets and Kanittha Fay for photos and videos found throughout this website and to Kanittha Fay for website design.
Urbana High School Bands
The Urbana High School Bands include two concert bands, a marching band with color guard, a big-band style jazz ensemble, a jazz combo, a brass choir, a woodwind choir, and a percussion ensemble. Please click on each section below to find out more information.
Concert Bands: Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony
Stacey Peterik, Director
Christi Fernsberg, Director
Kristi Kaplan, Color Guard Instructor
Aaron Kavelman, Percussion Instructor
Urbana High School Band Boosters
The Boosters are comprised of parents, alumni and community members. Urbana Bands are committed to making our award-winning program accessible for all students regardless of financial need. All are welcome and encouraged to join our extended band family. Our entire Urbana community benefits when we collaborate together. Please join us!
Donations
If you would like to support the band with a donation, checks payable to Urbana Bands can be sent to the attention of Mr. Hicks at Urbana High School, 1002 S Race, Urbana, IL 61801.
To donate online: Please click here.
Thank you!
Alumni and Friends
The Urbana High School bands are rich in history and we would like to hear from our Alumni and Friends!
Please consider completing the Urbana Bands Alumni & Friends Database Form to stay up-to-date on the latest news and events.
Sometimes you don’t have to do anything extra. Here are some of the ways you can help out:
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram
Band Families are invited to join our GroupMe at UHS Band Boosters Group Me for more information.