The intonation and blend of the wind instruments bring out the purity of a B-flat chord that starts soft in volume, then grows before the drum majors cut off, letting the sound resonate in the stadium. The crowd erupts with cheers as the Westwood Warrior Marching Band concludes their performance. The band placed eighth with a score of 75.500 at the Bands of America (BOA) Austin Regional on Saturday, Sept. 21.

“I was pretty happy with eighth place,” Mihika Ferris ‘25 said. “[It’s] a really strong performance and I know we’ll keep getting better throughout the season.”

The band’s 2024-2025 program is entitled Timeless. Timeless showcases a journey throughout music history, playing selections such as Claire De Lune by Claude Debussy and Ode to Joy by Ludwig Beethoven. As the season’s first competition, BOA Austin was the band’s first opportunity to showcase their hard work.

“I feel there is something so special about your first competition of the year,” Condesa Martinez-Lozano ‘25 said. “It sets a point of reference you can reflect on to see how far you’ve improved at the end of the season.”

In the week leading up to the competition, the band put in their best effort to be prepared. Small changes were made just days before the competition to fine-tune the show and improve performance quality.

“The dedication and effort we’ve put in, especially over the past week, have been truly remarkable,” Martinez-Lozano said. “Witnessing all the last-minute adjustments fall into place makes me excited for the future.”

Before they knew it, the band was in the warm-up lot before their performance. The warm-up before performing is crucial for students to prepare both mentally and physically. Absolute focus from every person is key to ensure the performance will go well.

“The prelims warm-up atmosphere was electric; the brass sounded incredible and everyone was extremely focused,” Noah Revelett ‘26 said. “Finals warm-up was also great, and both warm-ups made me think we were going to have a good run and we did.”

Hours of rehearsals in the Texas heat and dedication to every detail of the show all led up to the moment the band walked onto the field to perform.

“[The band] performed well,” Ferris said. “I felt like I was very focused in warm-up and through the show and that I remembered all of the little details that I had been working on in rehearsal.”

The band will compete next at the Texas Marching Classic on Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex.

“I think we’re in a very good place for the rest of the season,” Revelett said. “We have to keep pushing really hard in this break between competitions, but we showed a lot of potential at BOA Austin.”