Larry Wells has been the Director of Bands at Northwestern High School for the past 18 years. Prior to Northwestern, he was the Director of Bands at Olympic High School in Charlotte, NC, for 24 years. The bands of Northwestern have a strong tradition of excellence and have been awarded the South Carolina Outstanding Performance Award for the past 21 years. The Symphonic Band is a consistent grade VI superior band and was the featured performer at the 2000 and 2006 SC Music Educators Conference. Other major performances include a concert at the famed Westminster Hall in London in 1999 and the Arizona Memorial and USS Missouri in Hawaii in 2003 and 2009. The Symphonic Band is one of six bands at Northwestern, including; three concert bands, two jazz bands, a marching band, and various woodwind, percussion, and brass ensembles. The Purple Regiment marching band is a Bands of America finalist, most recently at the St. Petersburg Regional in 2004, 2005, and 2006. In addition, the Purple Regiment is a consistent finalist in the South Carolina State 5A Marching Championships finishing in 2nd place as the silver medalist in 2004 and winning the 5A Upper State Championship in 2004 and 2005. The Purple Regiment was the State 4A Marching Band Champion in 2008, Silver Medalist in 2009, Bronze Medalist in 2010, and Silver Medalist in 2011. In addition, the Northwestern Band was the 4A Upper State Champion in 2008, 2010, and 2011. Mr. Wells is a member of the SC Music Educators Association, Music Educators National Conference, American School Band Directors Association, and Phi Beta Mu. He has served as President of the North Carolina South Central District Band Association and Secretary of the North Carolina Band Masters Association. Mr. Wells has received the North Carolina Band Masters Award of Excellence, Citation of Excellence, and Citation of Honor. In addition, Mr. Wells received the Phi Beta Mu Outstanding Bandmaster Award in 2011. He is an active clinician and adjudicator for both concert and marching bands throughout the Southeastern US and has served on adjudication panels in Montreal, Canada, Maastricht, the Netherlands, and Brussels, Belgium. He lives with his wife, Ember, in Rock Hill, SC. His son Eric is the Director of Bands at Clover High School.