With bright stadium lights shining down on the field, the Westwood Warrior Marching Band hit the final pose of their show, Red. Their performance of parts one and two of the show marked the end of the band’s annual March-A-Thon fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 16 at the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex.

The band members had a fully scheduled day, with four hours of rehearsal, followed by dinner before the evening’s performance. The event was attended by alumni, sponsors, parents, and other attendees. 

“March-A-Thon was a really good practice for a competition,” Noah Revelett ‘26 said. “It was really special getting to perform for my parents and friends that came back to watch after they graduated.”

During the rehearsal, students worked on their competitive show, Red, mainly focusing on cleaning the forms and running parts one and two without a metronome. 

“The drum majors are basically the heartbeat of the band and keep us in time,” Jillian Riethmiller ‘27 said. “It’s important that we are always watching them to keep time or subdividing when we can’t see the drum major.”

After rehearsal ended, the students had a short amount of time to put on their uniform, put their hair up in neat show buns, and eat dinner. It was the first time students wore their show uniform for the season.

 “I think our first run with uniforms made me envision how great our show is gonna be this year,” Riethmiller said. “When you’re just in regular clothes at rehearsal, you give it your all, but there’s something special about looking the same, and being cohesive as a group that you wouldn’t really get when not in uniform.”

As the stadium began to fill with audience members, seventh and eighth graders from Grisham and Canyon Vista arrived for a brief rehearsal and to meet the high schoolers. This annual tradition allows the younger band students to experience what marching band is and get excited for their future. 

Flooding into the choir room, choir members eagerly joined their friends into creating a powerful harmony, filling the music wing with memorable melodies. The annual tradition, “choir camp”, held on Monday Sept. 2, holds a legacy of transforming choir into a well-knit community. 

Other than on the stage, JV, varsity, boys’, and girls’ choirs rarely collaborate and get the chance to connect. But from the moment the three-hour camp started, the musical reunion provided opportunities to meet other people and to grow as a group.

“I liked how I was with my friends and [could] compete against them,” Baptiste de Cormis ‘29 said. “The mix of age and personalities made me discover new people.”

The afternoon consisted of various activities where each student was assigned a group run by a leadership officer and designated by a color. After creating a team cheer, each group competed in events such as a three-legged race, a post-it showdown, and a cup-speed tournament. 

“The little games gave us a chance to communicate with other people and spend time with the choir as a whole,” Rosemary Mucluck ‘27 said. “They were really fun and helped us bond.”

For others, what came after the games was even better. With a couple practice-runs, the choirs all rushed to the gym to perform the national anthem at the varsity volleyball home game against Vista Ridge.

“In Pitch Perfect 2, they all find their sound at the fireplace [scene], and that’s kind of like how we were,” Ian Schultz ‘29 said. “We all locked in and sang the Star Spangled Banner [together].”

For the first time of the school year as one, all types of voices partook in creating a harmonious melody. Not only rehearsing the national anthem for upcoming singing opportunities at football games and events, but also the choir anthem The Lord Shall Bless You and Keep You by composer John Butter.

“I liked hearing everyone’s voices combined and how it all blended,” Sissi Ge ‘29 said. “I just liked singing [all] together.”

To celebrate the end of the festivities and the beginning of the 2025 choir community, students enjoyed pizza and homemade s’mores bars, the highlight of the night.

“In general, I just felt like everyone was really inclusive,” Ge said. “Everyone just supports each other.”

The Westwood Choir will perform their first concert  at the Hope Presbyterian Church on Monday Sept. 29.

Fostering community within young dancers, the SunDancers held their annual SunDancer Summer Dance Camp (also referred to as Kiddie Camp), a student-led camp for dancers from kindergarten through ninth grade, on Monday, July 28 through Wednesday, July 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

The campers were split into four different age groups and were managed by different sets of SunDancers. Some dancers handled campers from kindergarten through fifth grade, while others handled dancers from sixth through ninth grade. Additionally, the social officers, mainly upperclassmen, organized and managed the three-day event. For the officers, organization was an essential portion of planning since the camp had numerous moving parts, such as various campers attending the half-day camp while others stayed the full time.

“Organizing is an important part and definitely needed,” Social Officer Suhaani Srireddy ’26 said. “Our main goal is to make sure that they’re here and that they have a fun time.”

Camp attendees spent two days learning dances with their assigned counselor groups. During this time, counselors polished the campers’ techniques, taught them new skills, and strived toward building confidence in each and every camper. Dancers also worked alongside other age groups for the final showcase. In addition to dancing, the SunDancers emphasized a light-hearted environment where they played team-bonding activities with campers to build camaraderie. Through this, campers not only built relationships with peers but also with counselors.

“I want the kids to walk out with a huge smile, running to their parents saying, ‘I had so much fun’,” newbie SunDancer Lina Saad ‘28 said. “If the kids have a fear of performing in front of other people, I want to help them get over that fear. I want them to walk out feeling very accomplished and happy with what they did.”

While teaching the kids dance, many counselors walked away with new memories every day. Each memory was unique, from telling stories about their toys to building brief but deep connections.

“I left a little early yesterday, and one of the campers came up to me this morning and said, ‘I missed you yesterday. Where were you?’,” Srireddy said. “It was really sweet, and it’s really special, getting to build bonds with the kids.”

Many SunDancers attended the Kiddie Camp when they were young, aspiring to be a part of the varsity dance team one day. Now, years later, many of the counselors see themselves in the kids.

“Becoming a SunDancer has been one of my biggest goals since I was in kindergarten,” Newbie SunDancer Magdelyne Hang ‘28 said. “It’s a big achievement for me, and so I want to try to be a role model for the campers.”

Upon reflecting on the program, many campers expressed joy at their experience and hopes of returning next year.

“I really like dancing, and hopefully one day I can also be a part of the SunDancers team,” one anonymous camper said.

The summer event ended with campers presenting their final routine to parents at the showcase on Wednesday, July 30, from 4:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the field house. Campers displayed the new techniques and dances they had learned throughout the three days.

“This camp is super fun,” Newbie SunDancer Molly Johnson ‘28 said. “I would recommend all young dancers to come.”

In addition to Kiddie Camp, the SunDancers have another upcoming annual tradition: Line Camp. As their next big feat, Line Camp consists of preparation for many of the big events coming up this new school year.

“Line Camp is definitely going to be challenging, but I’m excited to improve,” Johnson said. “It’s really an amazing experience, and I’m glad I get to do it with one big family.”

The band played notable pieces such as Synthetic Sunlight by Steven Bryant, and An American in Paris by George Gershwin. With a month to prepare the pieces, the band gave it their all to prepare for the concert. But unlike University Interscholastic League (UIL) season, pieces are lighthearted and laidback.

“The [Spring Concert] pieces were enjoyable to play,” Jonathan Chien ‘25 said. “The pieces were goofy, and it’s a time where we can just have fun with music that we usually don’t get to play during UIL, like movie soundtracks.”  

The light-hearted tone of the spring concert came with the addition of student conductor and Westwood alumni Mr. Cordell Foulk, who has been working with the program for five years.

“[Mr. Foulk] is kind and he’s been working with the program for so long [now],” Hannelore Sederholm ‘27 said. “He’s worked with us a lot over marching season, and when he became a student teacher it was nice because we all already knew him and he taught us very well.” 

The dimming lights and the band filing out of the PAC mark the end of the year, but members look forward to next semester for marching band to begin again.

“I’m really excited [for marching band],” Sederholm said. “Marching season was great last year, so I’m excited to see what this season brings.”

The Westwood Warrior Marching Band will bring their new show to life at the Bands of America (BOA) Austin Regional on Saturday, Sept. 20.

After receiving superior ranks at the Orchestra String UIL competition, the orchestra decided to take their skills to the stage at the Round Top Festival at Round Top, Texas, to record Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7, Respighi’s Pines of Rome, Mvt III, and Gustav Holst’s Jupiter, from The Planets for upcoming competition submissions for the Texas State Honor Orchestra award. The award allows the orchestra to perform at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention.

“It was both our first time and Mr. Thompson’s first time going to Round Top,” Violinist Jeemin Oh ‘27 said. “We were all incredibly excited. We heard the concert hall was beautiful, and it definitely lived up to the hype.”

Unlike their usual performance stage, the Raymond E. Hartfield Performing Arts Center (PAC), the hall at Round Top was smaller. It had excellent acoustics and beautiful decorations, and the interior was made of wood, giving it an “old-style” appeal. 

“It was such a wonderful experience to perform in that incredible hall,” Oh said. “It wasn’t a modern space like the PAC, but more of a classic, old-fashioned style [concert hall] which made it feel even more special. I got to spend  time with my friends, and our performance sounded amazing.”

As larger than life set pieces trundle across the c-wing hallway, and done-up actors flit around the tech classroom refurbished into a backstage green room, audience members file in and take their seats for the annual Senior-Directed Play Festival. Underclassmen actors and technicians took to the stage Wednesday, April 30 and Thursday, May 1, to perform the final mainstage productions of the year, Don Zolidis’ The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon and Christopher Sergel’s adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders.

The play festival offered the directors, all of whom were experienced Westwood Theatre actors and technicians, a chance to take on the new mantle of full creative control, leading every aspect of the production from play selection to auditions and casting to blocking and execution. For seniors, the festival also served as an opportunity to pay forward similar experiences from their earlier high school years.

“When I was an underclassman, I always looked forward to the senior directed plays because of the opportunities it provided me as an actor and the camaraderie [they] built,” director Vince Pham ‘25 said. “This year, after being granted the opportunity to direct my own senior-directed show, my main goal was to provide my actors with a memorable experience they’ll always hold onto.”

Another one of the chief goals of the process is to create a space for freshmen and sophomores who might otherwise find it difficult to establish footing in the program via the open auditions for other mainstage shows like the fall show or the University Interscholastic League (UIL) One-Act Play. For many performers, their Senior-Directed Play was their first performance outside the bounds of the Acting Production coursework. 

“Senior-Directed [Play Festival] was an amazing first high school theatre performance,” actor Maya Bassett ‘29 said. “I made many new friendships and unforgettable memories. I can’t wait to do it again next year.”

In addition to allowing younger technicians to experience the process of programming, fitting, and running cues for a show, technical senior directors Nathan Spector, Mason Jacob, and Conall Coats had the opportunity to take charge of designing the show, and push the envelope of scenic design choices typically traditional of Westwood Theatre shows.

“Set design has always been important to me,” said Jacob, who was a technical director. “It informs so much about the show, blocking, lighting and so much more. I came up with the general idea of the set one night, and worked with the other directors to create something that was appealing, functional and achievable to build in the time we had.”

Despite the fast pace of the rehearsal process and with only a little over a month separating auditions and opening night, the actors and directors were able to follow through on their ambitions for the shows and create a tight-knit company along the way.

“More than anything, the reason I do theatre is the community,” Jacob said. “Being a director, I have gotten to mentor and watch the growth of so many actors and technicians. That has always been the most gratifying part of theatre for me.”

The band played notable pieces such as Three Celtic Dances by Brian Balmages, O Waly, Waly, by Jay Bocook, The Trombone King by Karl King arranged by John Paytner, and Symphonic Metamorphosis by Paul Hindemith.

“I thought we sounded really good, and the music we played was really fun,” Brody Walker ‘28 said. “October by Eric Whitacre was my favorite piece. I had a really good part in [it] and it sounded good when we all put our parts together.”

After their holiday concert and winter break, it’s full swing into the UIL season for the band. Unlike marching band, concert season does not have weekly competitions, but just a singular performance to demonstrate months of preparation.

“It was a lot of rehearsal but [it] was fun because all my friends were there.” Walker said. “We had a lot to focus on [and there] were all these little details that we fixed that made it all the more better.”

On April 1, two weeks before the evaluation, the band held their annual Pre-UIL concert at the Cedar Ridge High School Auditorium. The concert was an opportunity to run their program for an encouraging audience of parents and peers and take note of what still needed to be improved on before the big day.

“At our Pre-UIL concert, there were missed entrances and in some sections there were tears, but we [improved a lot and] didn’t make a single mistake for UIL,” Adaline Boyd ‘26 said.

The UIL Evaluation was spread across two days, where each band within the program had their opportunity to perform their pieces and sight-read for the judges. 

“We did sound very good, and I think we learned how to sound better as an ensemble instead of just individual players,” Boyd said. “We were able to play relatively hard pieces well, and for the short amount of time that we had [to prepare at the same time as] UIL Orchestra, I think we did pretty good.”

In the Raymond E. Hartfield Performing Arts Center (PAC), the auditorium radiated with feelings of pride, excitement, and just a slight bit of nervousness. All five performing orchestras arrived on the evening of Tuesday, April 15th, to showcase what they’ve been working on for the UIL Evaluation.   

The evening was divided into two concerts according to level, with the Camerata Orchestra opening the first concert and the Symphony Orchestra ending the evening. Each orchestra presented three pieces. Although some confusing moments in Dag Wiren’s Serenade for Strings, Op 11, mvt I threw the performers off during the Philharmonic Orchestra’s s performance, the musicians quickly adjusted back on the beat.

“[Many] components didn’t meet [our] expectations during the concert,” Philharmonic Orchestra violinist Diane Kim ‘28 said. “It definitely left us unsatisfied afterwards. [We need to] listen out for other sections, know our counts, and [remember] the corrections we made during class at the concert.”  

Despite a rough opening, the musicians found their footing with their final piece, Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite, mvt II and mvt VI, by showcasing their transition skills. The second movement, Pavane, featured mysterious tones, all while keeping the rhythm in line with a waltz-like dance. The sixth movement, Sword Dance, was the complete opposite of Pavane, opening with a stable, bold tone from the cellos. 

“My favorite piece was [the Capriol Suite] because of the two contrasting styles of music in the piece,” Kim said. “I especially liked Sword Dance because of how exciting it felt to play and how different it was from most other pieces we’ve gotten to play.”

Closing the evening, the Symphony Orchestra delivered breathtaking music for parents and students to enjoy. Their first piece, Starburst, by Jessie Montgomery, showcased tough, agile notes paired with a fast and complicated rhythm. The talented musicians were able to bring out the various musical colors that were meant to shine. 

“A tempo or rhythm fluctuation is the last thing you want when dealing with this piece,” Symphony cellist Jonathan Chow ‘27 said. “Starburst is more rhythmically inclined, so [we couldn’t lose] our focus or else [we’d] lose our pace. Given that we only had a few weeks to learn these pieces, I thought we did pretty amazing.” 

Because of the short amount of time, the three full orchestras, Philharmonic 2nd and 8th blocks, and Symphony Orchestra recycled their middle piece from the collaboration with the band. Despite reusing a piece, the Symphony Orchestra still delivered an astounding performance of Thomas Canning’s Fantasy on a Hymn by Justin Morgan. 

“The Canning is incredibly musical, so the attention to detail [is more centered] on intonation and tone but also dynamic contrast,” Chow said. “There were a few intonation issues in the Canning and Montgomery, but it wasn’t that noticeable.” 

Next week, all five orchestras will take their skills to the stage at the PAC on April 23rd and 24th for the real UIL Evaluation. Until then, the orchestras will continue to rehearse and polish every part of their music. 

“I hope we can reflect on our Pre-UIL concert and use it as an opportunity to make necessary corrections,” Kim said. “I’m glad [we can] find our weak spots in our playing so we can work on them before the real evaluation.”

Bright lights and excited chatter fill the auditorium as dancers prepare backstage for their Escapade dance performances. The annual spring dance show occurred at the Raymond E. Performing Arts Center (PAC) on Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12. This year’s theme was “Eternal” to honor the legacy of Ms. Marla Valk, former SunDancer Director, dance teacher, and Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD) Dance Coordinator. 

Warrior Pride members prepared for this show for months in advance, putting hard work in all year in order to prepare for the stage. The time spent as an ensemble preparing for the show brought the team closer together before they took the stage. 

“Backstage me and one of my friends like to do silly dances to the music of the performance before us,” Smith said. “We’ll be very silly trying to shake nerves off.”

The thrill of being on stage is no new feeling for many members, who look forward to Escapade all year. The energy is high, and adrenaline carries Pride members throughout their performances.

“I love the feeling of performing,” Allison said. “There’s a certain rush you get, I love [that] feeling.”

Pride performed multiple pieces, including their lyrical routine. To elevate their dance moves and allow each member to shine onstage, lots of time is put into curating costumes, hair, and makeup. 

“My favorite costume [is] the lyrical costume,” Smith said. “It’s very flowy, [and] very pretty.”

As Escapade marks the end of the years’ performances, Senior Pride members savor their final moments of being on the team. The team’s tradition of circling up before shows helps bring the members together.

“This is our last year [with] our seniors,” Pride member Joan Amalraj ‘27 said. “There [was] a lot of tears, especially on the second day. It was a very special moment with the team.”

As the team’s work over the year comes to fruition, seniors are able to treasure their final performance with the team and take pride in the work they’ve put in over the years.  

“As a whole, Warrior Pride did amazing,” Vaishu Dhurjati ’25 said. “We did the best we could, all the seniors did amazing. I think we all performed very well.”