ELMHURST – York High School Fine Arts week will bring together three bands of Dukes for a free rock concert.

“It’s something we haven’t done before,” said York music teacher Chris Gemkow, who leads the Fine Arts Week Committee.

Fine Arts Week is a decades-old tradition at York that celebrates student accomplishments in music, theatre, poetry, photography and other arts. Every year, the committee, which includes about a dozen students, brings in professional artists during the school day as well.

This year students wanted to bring The Symposium, but the band could only come for an evening show. The committee decided to have one evening talent show instead of two and offer a collective concert on the other evening.

“It’s the perfect lineup,” said Sam Clancy, York alumnus and guitarist for The Symposium.

He and his fellow York alumni will share the stage with a band of current York students called Willis as well as a band that includes three York teachers, The Rented Mules.

They all play rock but with different styles. The Symposium compares their sound to the Strokes, and Willis is influenced by the Arctic Monkeys. History teachers Adam Gearing and Tim Albert join Gemkow and two other members of The Rented Mules to play mostly American rock covers with a few originals as well.

“I suppose we were flattered by the invitation,” said Clancy, 25.

Bassist Benny Goetz, 20, the youngest of the group and Clancy’s cousin, recently hooked the band up with another gig. Since Clancy, Charlie Gammill and Brian Buckley all graduated in 2006, they never got to know the members of another Elmhurst rock band, The Orwells.

With Goetz’s help, The Symposium opened for The Orwells, who recently performed on David Letterman, last week at Lincoln Hall.

“They have a lot of energy,” Clancy said of The Orwells. “The crowd was really amped.”

Clancy said the opportunity to open for The Orwells was exciting, and he is looking forward to The Symposium’s upcoming show, Grasslands Gallery, in Brooklyn.

Still, the band hasn’t completely lost its Elmhurst roots.

“We’re a bunch of kids who hang around too long,” Clancy said.

Clancy and Gemkow both commented on how many York graduates have success in the music world. Gemkow said it would be hard to define one reason why, but he believes the opportunities offered at York are important.

“In many other schools you don’t have that kind of inclusion,” Gemkow said.

He mentioned the variety of classes open to all students, even those without previous experience. Beyond band and choir, York’s music department offers guitar and piano classes in addition to music production.

“I just think encouraging students to express themselves artistically is crucial,” Gemkow said.

Fine Arts Week is funded by ticket sales to the annual talent shows that are open to the public. While the rock concert Wednesday night is free, tickets to the Thursday talent show cost $10 at the door.