Rubisco

Congratulations to our TMEA Honor Band State Finalists! I'm just going down the list of entries on the TMEA website. No idea how the top 5 were ranked in each semifinals room. The final listening session is tomorrow. Coppell (Area B, Region 31) Flower Mound (Area C, Region 2) Marcus (Area C, Region 2) Waxahachie (Area D, Region 20) Claudia Taylor Johnson (Area E, Region 12) Lake Travis (Area E, Region 32) College Park (Area F, Region 9) The Woodlands (Area F, Region 9) Shadow Creek (Area H, Region 17) Dawson (Area H, Region 19) (Edited to reflect tie-breaker between Haltom and Shadow Creek)

I don't think we'll see much of a challenge for gold in August, but there are exciting fights playing out down the list. 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 12th all have 2+ corps duking it out right now. Exciting!

The Blue Devils didn't win a single judge tonight. 😶 I'm absolutely thrilled for the Boston Crusaders. True, it will be hard to catch the Bluecoats this season, but even just beating the Blue Devils in Indy would be a huge achievement. 2nd place in general effect tonight, which may bode well for them. We'll have to see what happens in San Antonio with the full judging panel. It's also cool to see Phantom take a commanding 5th place position in the overall rankings. There are parts of their show that I think are done just as effectively as a medalist corps. The production just needs to be more consistently at that level from start to finish, with a little more musical and especially visual complexity. Maybe they'll achieve that by next year? Exciting times for them.

Darn, I missed it. The Blue Devils organization is very quick about getting these videos removed, isn't it? Fewest performance videos on YouTube, it seems. What?! Hopefully this is just a Rorschach blot moment. I'll have to be on the lookout for that one next time. 😬😂

The scores were so close! Regarding gold medalist contenders, I don't think anyone has been booted off of the island yet.

Coincidentally, my personal favorite Blue Devils show, Cabaret Voltaire, is the one that allowed them to be random and disjointed without it bugging me. 😅 Besides the coherence stuff, I wish they would turn away from doing shows about artists or art movements and give us something truly left-field. Regarding this year's production, I think the show ends really strongly, but I'm not as sold on the rest of it. (It should be noted that I hate capes with a passion, so pretty much the entire first part makes me scream on the inside. 😃) Of course, since they're the Blue Devils, I might be holding them to a higher standard overall. The performers are marvelous, as always. And it still has its moments. Is there a high cam of Bluecoats on YouTube yet? I'm playing catch-up. They're outstanding on multicam, but that's not an ideal view for predictions. Boston and Crown were great, about what you'd expect. Boston's crayola costuming is making my eyes a little 🤪 but I like it. I think this is a stronger overall visual program compared to last year. Crown's brass section is amazing, per usual. A little bit of a slow burn at the start, but it gets there. I really like the Beethoven parts in Phantom as well. It gives you something to latch onto, which is a bit rarer these days.

Updated the original post. Thanks!

Yeah, Cypress Woods and Tompkins were the two state finalists from last cycle that missed the cut this time. The competition is tough. While I'm sure they're disappointed, they've both already had some pretty spectacular concert achievements this year. Cypress Woods' Wind Ensemble was invited to perform at Midwest this December. Tompkins' full Symphony Orchestra was also invited to Midwest and was named TMEA Honor Orchestra. Thrilled for Seven Lakes! Can't wait to see them (or, rather, hear them) build on this success!

I didn't see a thread for this. TXBands has posted a list of the state advancers on their Facebook page. Congrats to all of these fine ensembles! I've posted the area rankings I've been able to find through Facebook/Instagram -- also via some deductions. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong! 😄 The finalists from last cycle returning to state this year are Flower Mound, Claudia Taylor Johnson, Dawson, College Park, Coppell, and J.J. Pearce. Hebron won it last time and is not eligible. Vista Ridge, Ronald Reagan, and Vandegrift didn't submit either, perhaps because they're going through director changes. Will Flower Mound finally win this thing, after placing 2nd so many times? We'll find out in late July! Area A Permian (1st) Area B Coppell (1st) McKinney (2nd) Haltom Rock Hill Area C Flower Mound (1st) Wylie (2nd) Marcus (3rd) Area D Waxahachie (1st) J.J. Pearce (2nd) Cedar Ridge (3rd) Area E Claudia Taylor Johnson (1st) Lake Travis (2nd) Area F Tomball Memorial (1st) College Park (2nd) The Woodlands (3rd) Area G Steele (1st) Alexander (2nd) Area H Dawson (1st) Shadow Creek (2nd) James E. Taylor (3rd) Seven Lakes (4th)

And before I forget, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE GUARDS THIS SEASON! It has been an absolute pleasure getting to watch all of you grow the past few months. I'm bummed we have to wait another year, but I look forward to seeing everyone out there on the marching field this summer and/or fall. ❤️

Technically, for scores at the top, never. But in 1985, back when the highest class was Independent Open, Erte and State Street won with 95.05s. But scores are all very much relative to the eras in which they were produced. Skills are fast-evolving in this activity. And, as you are certainly aware, with the addition of "standard setting" Box 6 on the sheets, there's gonna be a bit of downward pressure at the top each new season. This year's 100 is next year's 98. That's just a logical outcome of the way the sheets are written.

I just watched it on high-cam again after watching it on multi. They seemed nearly perfect on multi, so I wanted to confirm. They were also nearly perfect on high cam. A truly stellar run!

They were SO good! And Origins had an absolutely amazing performance! I feel like they may find themselves in medalist contention in a couple years, or less.

Darn near perfection from Avon! A couple of drops, but nothing too big. The overall effect is so outstanding. And it's easily the cleanest show of the night! I think many guards could learn a thing or two about movement from them. So clean and expressive!

Oh my gosh, these Arcadia performers are fierce! Also, the makeup and costuming are very creepy and I love it. 😂 So full of character, this entire show.

The Woodlands was spectacular. Just out of this world talent. The difficulty is through the roof and the hands were mostly very clean, too. The show is pure poetry.

Tarpon doing Tarpon! It's very literal, very maximalist, and very entertaining! The performers are rockstars!

"It can't be done, and that is salvation." Full body goosebumps from that moment in Carmel's show. Obviously this is a team that understands poetry. Very rare in this activity.

Fishers will always be one of my favorites this season. Just a really lovely production. Oh my gosh, these Carmel costumes are so gorgeous! 🤩 And the hands are so clean on these catches so far!

Yeah, El Dorado is another one like Kiski. They're coming for the top dogs. Very expressive, very impressive breadth of talent. When I look at this show from upstairs, at the overall aesthetic, I see "blood in the water." These kids perform like they smell blood in the water.

Kiski, Kiski, Kiski. Watch out, future SW medalist contenders, this guard is coming for you! I love the wobbling topsy-turvy stairs, how the performer's penché atop them becomes an upside down split. 😂

Warren Central's approach to design doesn't typically connect with me, and I don't think this year is an exception, but the performers totally slayed!

I had to go back and check as well. I think because I'm watching on multi the lights being out for Miamisburg wasn't as obvious. Overall, it didn't seem like their best run. Lots of individual errors in this performance, but they still communicate that wonderful, ethereal quality through the choreo, all those smoothly connected phrases. Very challenging skills, also.

I like how Miamisburg's helpers have lights in their shoes. Appropriate. 😂 Watching them set up now. Bellbrook was pure elegance. Obviously very reminiscent of Avon's 2021 production.

Northview is probably the main reason I'm watching on multi. 😂 So much attention to character. It's just delightful! Performers slayed the skills, too. The size of the floor sometimes swallows up the staging, a little unbalanced, but the performers very nearly fill it all up with their personality!