Westlake
High School, a 2,400 student high school just west of
Austin, Texas has won the Texas State
Honor Band three times in its 30-year history. The Honors Band has consistently
earned University Interscholastic League Sweepstakes trophies for superior
performances in Marching, Concert, and Sight reading competitions and has
performed at the prestigious Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. It marched in the
Rose Parade in January, 2003. It performed in Carnegie Hall in March, 2005
and at the 2006 American Bandmasters Association Convention in Richardson,
Texas.
The music program in the Eanes School District begins in pre-K,
and the band program in the sixth grade. The district includes one senior high
school (grades 9-12), two middle schools (grades 6-8), and six elementary
schools (grades 1-5). Directors in the band program specialize not in age
levels, but in particular instruments.
Each fall, the Chaparral Band and Westlake Band Parents Association host the
Westlake Marching Festival on the second Saturday in October. This full day of
marching activities features back-to-back marching presentations by 30 of the
top high school bands in Texas. The Westlake Marching
Festival has become recognized as one of the major marching competitions held in
the state with awards presented for excellence in Musicianship and Program
Performance along with trophies for Best Color Guard and Drum Line Performances.
The Westlake Band was organized in 1969 by James Hejl, and developed under the
direction of Lee Boyd Montgomery, Jr., and Gerald Babbitt. Kerry Taylor has
served as Director of Bands since 1989.
The band has traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and
China to perform at various clinics and festivals and has received numerous
awards. The band currently numbers 200+ members strong which is the 2nd largest
in the school's history.
If you have questions about the Westlake High School Band or the Westlake Band Parents, please send them to wbp@westlakeband.com.