WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield High School's Marching Blue Devils posted a strong finish at the Warwick Music for All Affiliate Regional Event held Oct. 3 at Warwick High School in Lititz, Pennsylvania.
Hosted by the Cavalcade of Bands and Music for All, the event featured 15 competing bands from across the region.
The Marching Blue Devils performed their 2026 production, "In Shape," and finished in first place overall in prelims.
The group also won the captions of Music, Visual, and Effect during the preliminary round.
Later that evening, the ensemble placed second overall in finals and finished second overall in the Music and Visual captions.
The band is under the direction of Chris Vitale and Gabe Batiz. Its drum majors are Senior Drum Majors Marisa Villere-Reidy and Benjamin Macry and Junior Drum Major Piper Moscowitz.
Vitale said the group's performance reflected the work students have been putting in.
"We're extremely proud of how the students performed this weekend. Winning prelims in a field of 15 bands and then finishing second in finals against some outstanding programs was a significant accomplishment for our group. More importantly, the students showed that the work they have been putting in is translating to the competition field. We still have a lot of growth ahead of us and more of the production to complete, but we are excited about where this group can go over the next several weeks," said Vitale.
According to the program description, "In Shape" focuses on shapes and colors.
Different parts of the performance represent a triangle, circle, or square, creating distinct visual styles throughout the show. Performers use formations, movement, staging, and colors to keep changing the look of the production.
The show also plays with the idea of what it means to be "in shape" and features music of the band ABBA and the Rockey movie series.
Westfield's next competition is the NJMBDA contest at East Brunswick High School on Oct. 17, where the Marching Blue Devils are scheduled to perform at 8:45 p.m.
Students interested in joining the Westfield High School Marching Band for the Fall 2027 season are encouraged to attend an interest meeting in the spring.
More information about the program is available at westfieldhsbands.org.
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