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http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=86133&addvid=16028
)
A long halftime show
10/10/2003 11:16 AM
By: News 8 Austin Staff
Q: Tell me about the competition.
A: There are about 31 bands that are competing in prelims and they fight for a
place in finals. Ten bands place in finals.
Q: How intense is this?
A: Well, it's in preparation for their UIL performance. This kind of helps them,
the judges' comments, they go back and practice . It's pretty intense. The
Westlake Marching Festival is one of the oldest in the state. It has a good
reputation for having high quality judges, high quality bands there and the
competition is pretty fierce.
Q: What do the students think about the competition?
A: We hear from the competing bands what fun it is for them, even those that
don't make the finals. Many stay to watch the finals that night.
Q: What do judges look for?
A: We have five judges in prelims. One judge focuses on music, a judge who
watches just the marching. Then there's a percussion judge and a color
guard judge and the last judge is a design and effect judge and he's kind of
just watching everything.
Q: Is this also a fundraiser?
A: It's our largest fundraiser for the Westlake Band Parent's Organization that
benefits all the band students in Westlake from sixth grade all the way through
12th grade.