by Matthew McAnally
Have you ever heard the music at football games and enjoyed how it hyped up the most important plays of the game? For that, you have the Palisades Marching band to thank, especially the man behind it all: Mr. Westenberger, the new band director, and newest teacher at Palisades High School.
Over four years, PHS has experienced four different band teachers; however, the job has now landed on Mr. Westenberger to revitalize the PHS band and lead it into success after this shift in directors. During this time, the band had dwindled in size. However, since Mr. Westenberger has begun directing, the concert band has grown from 28 students to 40. He is very passionate and very hopeful for this upcoming season this year. Over the summer, he began his first full year of being with PHS (after starting halfway through the year in 2024) by directing the Palisades Marching and summer bands, as well as lessons over the summer to help students pick up a new instrument or to work towards mastering one they already play.
Mr. Westenberger first began playing in band with his mother’s alto saxophone (which he still owns) after a lot of convincing from his parents, who were both band directors, and from his friends who were also involved. He also credits his own band teachers for getting him interested, as they were very helpful to him while he was still learning. Today, he plays and teaches upwards of 20 instruments to Palisades students, along with preparing the Marching band for their season and directing the Concert and Jazz bands for their Winter and Spring concerts.
Away from PHS, Mr. Westenberger enjoys relaxing with woodworking and learning more about history. He also plays in ensembles such as the Pennsbury community band, where he used to teach elementary and middle school classes. He has also played in the Pennridge High School band, where he went on to teach, and the West Chester College bands, where he enjoyed many memories, such as sleeping on a high school gym floor at championships, where he played in the same stadium the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL play in.
When asked about the future of the bands, Mr. Westenberger was very enthusiastic. He mentioned the excited middle school students already eager to get started in high school, and gave credit to the bands in the past few years that have “[paved] the way” for them to have a better, more challenging experience in high school. His goals over the next few years are to simply improve from the previous year, each year taking a step up in difficulty from the last one at a time. He is looking forward to seeing how the marching band performs in championships on Nov. 1, as well as the rehearsals which also start in November, where he gets to conduct for the Concert and Jazz bands.
When asked if he had anything else to say to students, Mr. Westenberger recommended that students join band, even without any instrumental experience, as he could easily teach them and get them up to speed with the rest of the band. Even if students with experience are looking to join band, talk to Mr. Westenberger in his classroom in B01 for details. It is encouraged and welcome for any student to come and meet PHS’s newest teacher, Mr. Westenberger, and join the band, regardless of prior experience.
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