Two weeks ago, our students took the spotlight during Fall Muestra Week, showing off all the amazing progress they’ve made—and having a ton of fun doing it!

On November 22, Philharmonia and Combo students attended the Yakima Symphony Orchestra’s From the Danube to the Moldau concert, seated just a few rows from the stage, close enough to watch soloist Yerin Kim perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 at the piano.

YAMA has kicked off for the year! With a few weeks under our belt, here’s an update of what we’re working on.

We’re excited to kick off another incredible year at YAMA! Our 2025–2026 season officially began on October 6 with “Welcome to YAMA” week!

At the start of summer, our Philharmornia students enjoyed a special camping trip where we visited Maryhill Museum and Goldendale Observatory!

That is a lot of ink! That is the feeling I would get whenever we were given a new piece of music. Saturated with ink, the page was filled with so many notes, time signatures, crescendos, and it had very few white spots. I always felt like, how am I going to get through this?

In a reflective interview, two of YAMA’s Assistant Teachers (ATs), Rachel Mendoza and Itzel Perez, describe what it is like being an Assistant Teacher at our Garfield Elementary site.

YAMA has been a huge part of my life and has introduced me to one of my closest friends. In YAMA I’ve learned to be comfortable in my own skin. YAMA Philharmonia has recently had the opportunity to go to Seattle to meet and work with incredible musicians.