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BOA San Antonio Finals Results


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Congratulations at everyone in the competition, it really was a great one!

 

I'll do a quick review on all the bands I saw...

 

Winston Churchill - So awesome. So emotional. I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, my view wasn't the best so I can't really say much more than that.

 

Brazoswood - You guys were great! After seeing that show I was even more surprised that you guys didn't make finals in Houston. I loved the beginning and the small brass ensemble. Those trombones were breaking it down up there! I was really surprised to see you guys get 12th. I was expecting top 10 at least.

 

Cedar Park - I really liked it! I was sad going into finals for personal reasons but this show was like an anti-depressant without taking a drug or anything. I was expecting a trombone feature with that many trombones. I counted 20. Wow.

 

Marcus - WOW. I hadn't seen either Marcus of Bell's shows until now, and no offense to Bell or anything but I can see why Marcus won this regional. They sounded absolutely beautiful and executed their drill well. It's a shame they aren't going to nats, I think they could definitely pull off a win! I loved the ladybug :-)

 

L.D. Bell - It could be my personal preference for happy shows, but I just didn't like it as much as Marcus' show. I also didn't think you guys played enough, but what you did play sounded awesome. Still, I can't say it didn't give me chills in a good way. Congratulations on a job well done!

 

EDIT: Oh yeah, while we're on the whole whole subject of only students getting to participate, did anybody see the guy by Marcus' pit that was conducting during their performance? I'm guessing it was their director, but are they allowed to do that?

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EDIT: Oh yeah, while we're on the whole whole subject of only students getting to participate, did anybody see the guy by Marcus' pit that was conducting during their performance? I'm guessing it was their director, but are they allowed to do that?

 

Directors can conduct as long as they have the correct badge, which I think has to be a "director badge", not just a "field badge".

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Directors can conduct as long as they have the correct badge, which I think has to be a "director badge", not just a "field badge".

 

i've got a badge tat allows me to not wear pants, it's pretty sweet

 

 

but on a different note, just wanted to say congrats to everybody i'm sure they were awesome shows. I am however disappointed with my uncanny ability to be distracted by absolutely anything and not getting back to my dorm until 7:25 and missing B'wood's performance (i wanted to get back by 6:45 so i could pay and watch and then have a good time watching the rest of the shows) but i was so crushed about missing my Alma Mater that i didn't want to watch any other shows (obviously this was a bad decision but i was sad at the time)

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What's happen to the "march" in marching band????? Last nights finals were great but sometimes I feel that the bands that are great traditional marchers as well great musicians get over looked for the bands with the big theatrical productions. Am I the only one that feels this way?

 

The top bands with big productions are also scoring highest in visual. Visual execution and GE are two seperate things.

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I've got to agree with Bittybear on that, I think that most of the bands in finals were well executed sure, but many of them had scatter drill for example, where they'd just run to their sets. While its funny, to a point, it's nothing marching at all. And then there's Marcus... To me props are not needed, at least not in excess, and they rely on their props so much for their show. To me BOA seems more like they judge based upon how many huge, fairly useless props you have, or whether you have a name or not. I'm of course not saying that bands such as the Woodlands, Reagan, and Bell should not have made finals, but there were certainly some bands overlooked because of the larger bands with props, or reputations and names. To be positive, I think Brazoswood sounded amazing, and I really enjoyed Reagan and Bells shows. While I didn't really care for the theme of the Woodlands show, it was very well performed... Can't think of much else right now, anyone know when we get full results?

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Some awesome things that happened last night. About 65 kids from my band went last night because our director wanted us to see how the top bands in the state perform. And they performed! The general consensus of the group was that LD Bell should have won, just because they had a better show design. I agree with the show design, but I do realize Marcus was the better band that night. There sound was just so pure.

 

Very fun night!

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What's happen to the "march" in marching band????? Last nights finals were great but sometimes I feel that the bands that are great traditional marchers as well great musicians get over looked for the bands with the big theatrical productions. Am I the only one that feels this way?

 

Ahhh, the great old debate.

 

Honestly, I think programs are getting better with incoporating marching with art. What has happened in the past few years is that the programs with the "theatrical" productions are now utilizing the talent they have and are converting it into some fantastic musical and visual performances.

 

Marching, in every sense of the word, is still very much a part of the activity. However, marching can be artistic and graceful, especially when you implement movement of the body.

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What's happen to the "march" in marching band????? Last nights finals were great but sometimes I feel that the bands that are great traditional marchers as well great musicians get over looked for the bands with the big theatrical productions. Am I the only one that feels this way?

 

 

 

I agree. I had a discussion about that with my band director. You have to admit that LD Bell and Marcus had really good shows but where is the line between marching and not? I guess I am just a traditionalist. Also I think that not all bands can afford props and such at the level Bell and Marcus have. but I'm not going to penalize them for that because when it comes down their shows were pretty BA.

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I've got to agree with Bittybear on that, I think that most of the bands in finals were well executed sure, but many of them had scatter drill for example, where they'd just run to their sets. While its funny, to a point, it's nothing marching at all. And then there's Marcus... To me props are not needed, at least not in excess, and they rely on their props so much for their show. To me BOA seems more like they judge based upon how many huge, fairly useless props you have, or whether you have a name or not.

 

Marcus didn't win Visual or GE because of their big props. I can promise you that.

 

The scatter drill is used to create effect. For example, after Churchill made their peace sign, they scattered around the field while sirens and gunfire sounded. It's not like anyone is using scattered drill just to keep from having to clean a few more sets.

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I'm of course not saying that bands such as the Woodlands, Reagan, and Bell should not have made finals, but there were certainly some bands overlooked because of the larger bands with props, or reputations and names.

 

This is a poor argument. Anyone who saw finals can clearly see that the caliber of the groups speak for themselves.

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Marching band is considered a fine art elective if I'm not mistaken. Bands like Bell and Marcus are taking their immense marching and musical skill and using them to bring out the fine art aspect. You could take away the theatrical part of their shows and they would still be able to throw down an amazing performance.

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Edit: Nevermind, this argument isnt worth it.

 

What you had up was kind of what I was thinking.

 

Everyone who used props in Finals used them with a purpose. Does that mean that all of them were turned, operated, or touched by another student during the show? No, but they can still create effect. I can probably take you down all of the Finalist shows and tell you how they used props.

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Many bands have props at the back of the field, or around the field for many things.

A few years back my high school had big purple backdrops around the outside of the field as a means of space fillers. We did a lot of our stuff in the middle and towards the front, so the back was really bare. This way, there'd be less "green" space to distract someone from the actual band.

 

Other bands also put props at the back or something to bring out their theme a little more.

If you were doing a show about space, you could place each of the planets at the back of the field. While they aren't used, it goes along with the theme and helps give the viewer a better feel of what the band is trying to portray.

 

There's no rule that you HAVE to use any prop that is on the field.

 

Sache high school had big backdrops that have pictures of an airport(I think) on them that aren't touched the whole show. Does this mean they shouldn't have them?

 

Lake Highlands has big backdrops of a baseball stadium. Does this mean they shouldn't have them?

 

 

Lmao. Did that make sense?

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Marching band is considered a fine art elective if I'm not mistaken. Bands like Bell and Marcus are taking their immense marching and musical skill and using them to bring out the fine art aspect. You could take away the theatrical part of their shows and they would still be able to throw down an amazing performance.

 

I agree.

Some bands are more theatrical than others.

I think it works really well for some bands. Others have their own interpretation of a marching show, whether it be more traditional, more electronic, or more metaphorical.

 

Every band has its own unique way of performing a show, which is why it is so hard to really know who is "the best" ya know?

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Great job by all last night. I was entertained by EVERY BAND! Makes me proud to be from the Lone Star State.

 

2 questions regarding repertoire:

 

1. Can someone tell us each of the pieces/composers that comprise the Marcus show, please?

 

2. I thought that Bells show was also going to feature Debussy's The Engulfed Cathedral. I kept waiting for it, but I never heard it. Was it there and I just missed it?

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Every band has their preference. If they want to use props then let them. If they want to use dancers and no color guard then let them. It's all about what the band members brought to the field and last night all 14 bands gave it there all. You can't sit there and penalize one decision of a band to another. Just look at Bell and Marcus.. Marcus had a lot of really cool props and a happy kind of show. Bell had a creepy guy walking around and a eery kind of show. They both performed it really well and entertained the entire alamo dome. I'll be the first to admit that there were some bands there that I was really jealous of but it was more of a "wow there show concept was really cool. I wish we had thought of that" or whatever. I'm really not afraid to say that about another band.

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