Westminster Owls Marching Band Rocks Competition Despite Rain

Rain forced the band competition at Westminster High School inside Saturday night, but the Owls still came out on top.

The show, sponsored by the United States Scholastic Band Associationfeatured 23 bands. But while the show started in the stadium steady rain forced the contest to move indoors. Once inside the school gym, band members played their shows while standing in place with color guards in tow.

However the change of scenery didn’t stop the Westminster Owls from soaring high as the group took first place in the competition with a score of 84.90. The Owls also captured best music, best overall effect, and best color guard.

The Westminster High School's band show this fall is titled "Fear," a spiraling journey through doubts, fears and phobias. Maximilian McManus is the drum major and Katie Luce the assistant drum major. Jen Brodie-Jones and Brian Drake are the band directors.

Competitors included the Thomas Jefferson High School band, which ended with a score of 77.80, and the claimed best percussion title. Other competitors included Atholton High School, West Springfield High School, and Reservoir High School.

The Owls have a tradition of competing well at marching band competitions.

The Owls were the first band from Maryland to win the Tournament of Bands (TOB) and the Atlantic Coast Championships (ACC's) in 2002. In 2003 they were the first band from the state to win the Bands of America (BOA) regional championships. The Owls have now won three BOA regional champions (2003, 2009, 2010).

In addition, the Owls have been finalists at the BOA Regionals 11 times. Westminster is the first band to make semi-finals in the BOA Grand National Championships in 2004. The band came in 21^st overall out of over 90 bands.

This year’s BOA regional championships are set for Oct. 22 at Towson University.

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of drum major Maximilian McManus.