Leaderboard

money does play a factor and likely always will, but its definitely not through props or uniforms or whatever people like to argue. more affluent programs have access to more expensive lesson teachers and clinicians, an easier time getting instruments repaired, reliable electronics (these don’t actually exist haha), and more time can be spent rehearsing because salaried parents can take more time off to help out and whatever. adding a spending cap effectively does nothing at all to boost programs without these inherent benefits.

I thought CTJ might overtake Marcus in effect and launch back into the top half of finals, but it wasn't in the cards. Marcus, the band I slept on the most this season, always produces such a warm, calm ensemble sound. It's very hard to compete with that and their amazing horn soloists. A fairly elegant visual program as well. Comparing the two groups, CTJ was the real risk-taker and excited me more -- I think the show was a blast -- but at Nationals I think there tends to be an increased emphasis on rewarding clarity and continuity, which I think is where CTJ struggled a bit. When judging, you really want to make sure that the National Champion has an all-around sort of polish. There shouldn't be any major weaknesses. Reagan was underscored by about a point. I thought they gave their best performance of the season. Lower than Dobyns-Bennett? I don't agree with that. As nice as DB was visually, music performance and effect should have elevated Reagan into 8th. Reagan still had some issues with brass stick-outs during the more technical musical passages, but not enough to put them in 9th. I would say that the familiarity of this production to 2019's Secret World didn't help, but I don't think Dobyns-Bennett's show was much better in that regard. Both DB's and William Mason's shows were rife with Cartwright cliches, although I do appreciate the Danger Zone jam-out added to the end of Mason's Top Gun show. (That was what the entire show was supposed to be like! Corny and fun!) Vista Ridge is Texas' newest National Finalist, beating out multiple other groups in semis, including Wando, which is exciting. Vista has come very, very far in just a few short years. Musically, they outperformed most of the other groups in the bottom half of finals, in my opinion. Powerful and clean. But compared to the 2018 and 2019 shows, this one, Vorca Rhe, seemed a little bit more confused from a design standpoint. The Katy Perry and Samuel Barber music never really gelled, and the set pieces with the blue exercise balls looked a bit amateurish. There was a moment on the multicam where the guard girls sandwiched the balls between themselves and spun around. I was laughing pretty hard, because it was just so random! Why?! (And that poor girl who lost her black wig!) Like I said before, shows don't need to make sense thematically, but if they don't, you need to make sure that what's performed is clean, entertaining, and aesthetically pleasing. I also think there's a bit of a bias against science fiction-y and science-y shows in general. I watched an interview with Michael Cesario where he discussed Carolina Crown's Einstein on the Beach show. He said something along the lines of, "At first, it was just a show about numbers," and he made a disgusted face. "But then they added the love story and it was so much better." Honestly, I find the requirement of a heartfelt narrative a bit reductive, but it's important to acknowledge that the preference exists. Overall, I think Texas had yet another amazing showing. I'm hopeful that groups like Coppell and Pearland attend soon, because I think they'd both make finals, especially without another onslaught of Texas bands attending.

If the Mandarins prop makes a return, I hope it is turned into a record player!

I think it would be pretty cool if Vandegrift returned to the Shostakovich music, I think they played a piece of his back in 2017 or 2018. Basically just do their own rendition of Phantom’s Defiant Heart. Also, what if The Woodlands stuck with musicals, but chose one from way out in left field like Sweeney Todd? They could pull it off!

Props are not required and how much did the props that Broken Arrow have add to their show? was that a deciding factor? they sure looked expensive to build and even more to haul from OK. there is much to be said about what a program spends on drill designers and other expense, so what do you propose to make this fair for everyone. do we limit the amount that a program can spend? do we ban props? do we require that every program write their own drill and arrange their own music? do we restrict the private lessons of their students? do we limit who they can bring in to consult? Avon and Carmel spend next to nothing to go to Grand Nats and get to go every year. they sleep in their own beds every night for their super regional and grand nats. They do not have to deal with a 8 hour rule as it appears to be unique to Texas. That is my bigger concern. Every program has the ability to fundraise to support their programs. I am not talking about just selling coupon books and/or mulch. I have been doing fundraising outside of the student families for a number of years. the programs that claim that they struggle actually have the advantage as they can quickly qualify for grants. the schools that are in affluent areas do not, as every school and district is rated in a system that grant supporters want to see. Your program may a high income demographic and fail to qualify for support, but have a huge transient population in the means of apartments/rentals that need support - especially if you are in an area that supports a military base - moving every 3 years. Our program is considered by far too many to be an affluent program - but our cluster foundation provided more than $50K in support this season for marching scholarships for Grand Nats, for one of our middle schools to do Midwest clinic, for instruments at other schools. This funding was to support kids that would not otherwise be able to participate based on their financial situation. If you think that the "affluent" schools do not have a free lunch program - you are mistaken. I would welcome and be more interested in any thoughts on how we can ensure that every kid has the ability to perform in the marching arts - and I would support anything that is reasonable, but let's not assume that the only means it to provide for some is to take away from others.

will they finally improve the internet at the alamo dome??

You can’t change a users original point when it becomes inconvenient for you

Props don’t mean higher score I’m tired of this stupid idiotic argument. See Ronald Reagan 2019, see Broken Arrow 2006