The sound of chattering and plates clashing together overlap each other, while a beautiful melody starts to dominate the cafeteria. On Sunday, Sep. 10,  Westwood Band hosted its first annual Bites & Beats, a fundraiser where Wind Ensemble members offered attendees food showcasing numerous cultures, accompanied by performances of ensemble pieces. The fundraisers also included events like silent auctions and karaoke.

The purpose of Bites & Beats was to raise money to cover the costs of music and transportation for the prestigious Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Festival, held every year in Chicago in December.

“[The Midwest Clinic] is regarded as the pinnacle music convention for bands and orchestras around the world,” Head Band Director Thomas Turpin said. “The committee opens up invitations and applications for ensembles to come and be featured performers around springtime every year.” 

This is the first time the Wind Ensemble has ever been invited to perform at The Midwest Clinic, and students in Wind Ensemble are looking forward to this opportunity.

“I’m really excited for [The Midwest Clinic],” Kiarie Kimani ‘26 said. “As an ensemble, it really shows how much we’ve grown. It’s also a great way for us to showcase what the Westwood Band is like.”

With the success of Bites & Beats, the directors and students in the program hope to make this fundraiser a tradition.

“The plan is to hopefully make it a yearly event,” Mr. Turpin said.¨What we would do is have all the proceeds from this event go toward offsetting the costs of band fees for students in the future.”

The Wind Ensemble will next perform at The Midwest Clinic from Dec. 20-22.