Band Members Return for Alumni Performance
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Past and present band members proudly perform Fight Song.
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The alumni band members cheer on the band.
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Mr. Thomas Turpin conducts the band.
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Retired Head Band Director Mr. Jack Green conducts the Alma Mater.
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Saxophone alumni Romtin Farsi ’18 and Alexis Chang ’18 pose with current band members Will Sedberry ’20 & Aaron Watson ’20.
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Past and present trumpet members prepare to play Fight Song.
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Alumni Alexis Chang ’18 prepares with the band before performing at halftime.
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Past and present flute members perform the Alma Mater.
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Mr. Green cues a section at the start of Alma Mater.
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The low brass section performs Fight Song.
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Drum Major Cordell Foulk ’19 conducts the band.
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The Alumni Band Members await their halftime performance.
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Drum Major Shelby Castleberry ’19 conducts Fight Song alongside past drum majors Yunji Kim ’14 and Cameron Adams ’17.
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Alumni drum majors, current drum majors, and Mr. Thomas Turpin conduct the band through Fight Song.
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The Westwood Warrior Marching Band plays the Alma Mater conducted by Mr. Green.
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The Clarinet section performs.
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For years, the directors have searched for different ways to inspire alumni to return and support the band. After months of thoughtful planning and preparing, retired band director Mr. Jack Green returned to the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex on Friday, Sept. 14 to conduct the newly founded Westwood Alumni Band. The band consisted of graduates from 1990 and more recent years like 2018.
“It was an amazing experience to come back and conduct these awesome kids,” Mr. Green said. “Seeing so many generations of Westwood students and being able to conduct them again brought me a lot of joy.”
The turnout of alumni was bigger than the directors expected. About 50 former students were present the night of the football game and a few of them flew in from out of the state just to be there. This came to show how much of an impact this band program had on them.
“It was so cool being with all the different generations of alumni,” Vivian Tran ‘19 said. “I didn’t know a lot of them, but seeing how much they care for this band program was really inspiring.”
After meeting some of the alumni, the Westwood Warrior Marching Band performed Uprising by Muse with the SunDancers. After the SunDancers performed, the band and the alumni played the Alma Mater and the fight song.
“Conducting the band again after two years was something I will never forget,” Cameron Adams ‘17 said. “It was really nostalgic being in front of everyone again and it made me realize how much I truly miss this.”
Alumni jumped and cheered after performing in front of a crowd after so many years. Many of them had gone on to do jobs that aren’t involved in music, and had forgotten what it was like to feel the support of an audience. After the performance, the alumni cleared the field and got an up-close view of the band’s show, Celestial Motions.
“It was so awesome performing for the alumni because they got to see how much the band has improved,” Penelope Higdon ‘22 said. “But it was even better performing with them tonight because many of them haven’t touched their instrument in years, but they came back anyways because they love this program that much.”
After the performance, the alumni and Mr. Green took a photo together to commemorate the success of the first Westwood Alumni Band. Past and present students had smiles on their faces as they left the stadium.
“The Alumni Band was far more successful than I could have ever imagined,” Mr. Green said. “I had a blast, and I can’t wait to continue this tradition for many years to come.”
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