Sounds of laughter and excitement echo through the hallways, coming from a room usually filled with the elegant sounds of string playing. On Friday, Sept. 27 the Westwood Orchestra hosted their annual Squads Reveal after school with one mission: to create a friendly and familiar atmosphere for everyone in the program.

“In orchestra, we spend so much of our time rehearsing and being around each other [but] we don’t have [much] time to interact,” Junior Representative Aaron Yuan ‘26 said. “The basis of building a strong community is to know each other well, [which] is the purpose of Squads. This year we’ve tried to do inter-orchestra Squads so that [people] are able to interact with those outside of [their] orchestra as well.”

The Squads Reveal started with participants receiving envelopes with their names on them. Inside is a sheet of paper with the names of their Squad members, rules, and the monthly challenges that the participants would do with their members. After meeting each other, the new groups got together to play board games.

“I think [this year’s] Squads Reveal is pretty nice,” Orchestra Officer Ella Steinheider ‘26 said. “In the past years, we’ve tried to do some bigger group [interactions] like playing Mafia [together], but I think it got a little out of control because there were so many people. I think providing the option to play board games with a smaller group of people [helps] you get to know your members [better].”

To make the event more lively, students can request their friends to be in their group. They are also able choose the kinds of people they want in their groups based on similar interests. Squads Reveal settings are slightly different each year but have always centered around musical themes.

“Last year, we were only allowed to do Squads with the people in our orchestra, but this year you can request whoever you want so you can still be with your friends.” Srimansa Gadde ‘26 said.

At the end of each monthly challenge, the Squads celebrate with food. At the end of the school year, the Squad with the most points gets a grand prize.

“[We decorate plates] because then we stick them onto the podium,” Orchestra Vice President Jenny Yun’25 said. “Each Squad gets points for hanging out and the leading Squad gets food.”

The reveal concluded with members exchanging contact information and saying goodbyes. However, the farewells wouldn’t last long, as the Squads’ first monthly challenge is already coming up.

“Squads has been [around] for a long time. It was a tradition in the orchestra before [the pandemic],” Yun said. “Inter-orchestra Squads is a great way to increase collaboration and friendship within the orchestra. It’s a very good way to connect all the members of the orchestra community because sometimes you may only have time to interact with just your friends, but Squads is a way to allow people to meet new people and form new connections that they would not be able to make elsewhere.”