TXMarchingMadness87654

Got a nice list of Show Announcements from the program from yesterday's "Preview of Champions" in Mansfield. Maypearl High School: "Phobos" Featuring the movements of "Grisly Reminder," "Welcome," "Dark Discovery," "Family Secrets," and "Lights Out!" Grandview High School: "Los Cuervos Tango" Featuring the music of "El Gato" by Roland Barrett, "Dulcinea" Arr. Brown, and "Los Cuervos" by Jay Dawson DeSoto High School: "Original Gangster" Troy High School: "Angels" "Guardian Angel," "Angel of Hope," "Angel of War," and "Angel of Death" James Bowie High School: "Fast Ride Through New York City" "Asphalt Cocktail" and "Hymn to a Blue Hour" by John Mackey, arr. by Jason Nitsch Red Oak High School: "Night Sky" Original music of Key Poulan, including the following movements: 1)Constellations, 2)Aurora Borealis, 3)Meteor Shower, 4)Eclipse Melissa High School: "Mysterium" Mysterium is an original composition; movements are: Act 1: To Challenge, Act 2: To Amaze, and Act 3: To Celebrate Redwater High School: "Dragon Dynasty: The Way of the Warrior" The Path is Chosen, Training at Dawn, Contemplation, and A Warrior is Made Juan Seguin High School: "E2: Enigmatic Escape" "Enigma Variations" by Sir Edward Eigar Lake Dallas High School: "Dark Matter: A Journey Through Galactic Shadows" Featuring the music of Gustav Hoist, Bjork and Michael Giacchino Timberview High School: "Instinct" Musical Selections: "Scythian Suite," "Danse Macabre," "My Immortal," "Peter and the Wolf" Denton High School: "The Music of Scheherazade" Music inspired by the legend of the ruler Shahryar and his wife Scheherazade. Granbury High School: "We the Living" Musical selections: "Cantique de Jean Racine" by Faure, "Young Person's Gude to the Orchestra," by Britton, "Spectrum of the Sky," "The Farewell," "Break of Reality" arr. and composed by William Pitts, percussion arr. by Tahle Kirk Irving High School: "In the Air" Little Elm High School: "The Roundtable" by Richard Saucedo Robert E. Lee High School: "Ole!" Music of Maurice Ravel, Georges Bizet, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and James Horner South Grand Prairie High School: "It Takes Two" Mvt. 1 Vientos Y Tangos; Mvt. 2 Oblivion by Piazzolla; Mvt. 3 Libertango by Piazzolla Wakeland High School: "FreezeFrame" "Slalom" by Carter Pann, "Dance of the Tumblers" from The Snow Maiden by Nicolai Rimsky-Koraskov, "Through the Eyes of Love" from Ice Castles by Marvin Hamlisch, "Trepak" from The Nutcracker by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Princeton High School: "The Music of James Bond" "African Rundown" from Casino Royale(2006), "Skyfall" from Casino Royale(2012), and "James Bond Theme" Lake Ridge High School: "What in the World..." Mvt. 1 "Invasion" featuring music from Signs and Rite of Spring, Mvt. 2 "A Twisted Love" featuring "Love and Humility" from Creation, Mvt. 3 "Assimilation" featuring "Madness" by Muse, Mvt. 4 "Annihilation" featuring music from Signs and Rite of Spring James Martin High School: "Elegy For a Young American" Featuring the music of Lo Presti, Bartok, and Mackey, arr. by Daniel Montoya, Jr.; Visual Design by Jamey Thompson Haltom High School: "Endangered" Featuring music by David Gillingham Mansfield High School: "Earning Your Stripes..." Musical selections include "Lux Aeterna," "Carry On," and the "Orawa Orchestra Concerto"

Congrats to all the bands who participated in today's very rainy, lightning-delayed competition in Mansfield! More results to come soon, but top 3: 1) Haltom HS, Haltom City 2) Wakeland HS, Frisco 3) James Martin HS, Arlington I was going to write down the results as I heard them, but my program was wet. lol It was a long day, but I know the bands were so glad they could have finals! There's something so fun about being able to perform the show again. And for us parents, there's nothing better than getting to see the shows twice. Congrats again to the top three bands of the night!!! Great shows!!! Great start to the season!! As soon as I see the full results posted, I'll provide the link. Now, it's past my bedtime!

The link for BISD's Marching Festival is from last year. They do have the new schedule up this year now. Here's the link for this year: http://schools.birdvilleschools.net/Page/17096

September 28th - Mansfield Preview of Champions - http://mhsband.com/information/ October 12th - Tournament of Champions - http://www.nshsband.org/toc/

Prelim Schedule: http://schools.birdvilleschools.net/cms/lib2/TX01000797/Centricity/Domain/2921/2013_march_prelim_schedule.pdf Praying for NO rain this year!

Well, I'm a flute player band mom with two woodwind playing kids and one brass playing kid. With two kids needing reeds, I feel I should invest in a reed-making company! It seems especially bad during marching season. Flute was not easy, but it really wasn't bad, as far as being able to pick it up and play...and it's woodwind. So you could've picked flute! My brass-playing child played French horn. It is NOT an easy, pick-up-and-play instrument. Guiness lists it and the oboe as the most difficult instruments to learn and play. I believe they are correct, at least for FH. Said child played the mellophone during marching season and seemed to play it easily, though. There is quite a bit of maintenance with the FH, as well. You have to keep all those valves greased or they WILL get stuck! I think it simply depends on the instrument. Others will have to speak for trombones, trumpets, etc. I'm sure that, just like the FH, all of the brass have to keep their horns well-maintained. Nothing is more beautiful than a shined up sousaphone during contests. As a band mom, though, I have to say I'm thankful for ALL the instruments! If everyone chose brass OR woodwinds, we wouldn't have a band!

So anything with "bands" and "Dairy Queen" in it is great in my book! Anyway, here are the bands participating as of 7/31/13: Birdville H.S., TX Clements H.S., TX Coppell H.S., TX Haltom H.S., TX Hebron H.S., TX J. J. Pearce H.S., TX James Martin H.S., TX John H. Guyer H.S., TX Keller Central H.S., TX Keller Fossil Ridge H.S., TX Keller H.S., TX L.D. Bell H.S., TX L.V. Berkner H.S., TX Lake Ridge H.S., TX Legacy H.S., TX Lewisville H.S., TX Mansfield H.S., TX Marcus H.S., TX Pflugerville H.S., TX Pleasant Grove H.S., TX Redwater H.S., TX Richland H.S., TX The Colony H.S., TX Wakeland H.S., TX Wills Point H.S., TX Looks like a fabulous line-up!

Not to be a nit picking person, but...as an alum, I must point out that it's MacArthur HS in Irving, not McArthur. It's actually Douglas MacArthur HS, so no "Mc." Anyway, great list of great bands. Looking forward to seeing it! My middle child will be there!

Okay. I don't have kids in the Pit or the battery. However, my kids' band has phys ed testing at the end of every marching season for every member of the band. You have to pass this test all four years in order to earn the required two PE credits. It involves running, push ups, pull ups, and sit ups, I believe. For me, this ends any debate on whether one group "works harder" than any other. Everyone is held to the same standard and must pass the same test. ta-da!

Just watched Broken Arrow's show. Normally, I'm not a big fan of the whole "giant girl on the field" thing, but Broken Arrow actually uses the girls BIG TIME. The color guard is insanely good. Many, many jaw-dropping moments. It's a fantastic show. When it was over, I had just one word: Wicked! Definitely one of my favorite shows this year.

I'm going out on a limb here and declaring San Antonio the "grand nats" of Texas. I do so not to put down or degrade the one in Indy, but only because SA brings out the best in Texas and not very many bands can make the trip to Indy. I think if more Texas bands could go, it would change the lineups for semis and finals a lot. There would still be fantastic bands that normally go to Indy at the top, too, but you would see "Texas" many times as well. I'm not biased or anything.......

I want to add that at BOA SA, Marcus cheered for the bands that were announced from their school district, much like Haltom and Richland and Birdville HS's support and cheer for each other. I think it's wonderful. It's true that they live in the same community and often go to church together or work together, etc. Birdville ISD also has a college training center for all three schools. The kids end up in classes together as well. Going to the Tournament of Roses Parade two years ago as one, gigantic band also built a lot of friendships. It should be more common for the bands from the same district to cheer one another on. It's a heart-warming sight to see! At the Haltom v Richland game, the bands even did the wave together, starting from the tubas from Haltom and going down and then back up the Richland side. They did it several times. It was very entertaining! lol

Thank you for that detailed insight into, basically, what the judges are thinking. I've often wondered what's going on in their minds at times. lol To be honest, I am a tad baffled that pant length would be such a viable topic in judging marching, but, I guess, they will find whatever they want in order to find a place for each band when the competition is so thick. You're right on the mark when you point out that judges can SEE or HEAR the exact same thing and have the same conclusion but score differently. That's definitely the human element that's involved here. Anyway, congratulations for making it to State. It's the toughest competition, imo, in the country. Kudos to you!

As a Haltom band mom, with two kids(senior and freshman) in the band, let me just say I feel your pain. Haltom consistently made State since 2000, missing it this year by one point. I think it's almost harder on us parents than it is the students. They have each other and their band directors working them through their disappointment and on to the next part of their lives. And they're young. That helps! lol We only really have other band parents who are just as baffled as we are about the results. After all, no band performs better to us than the one our kids are in! It's part of being a parent. We cheer for our kids' victories and are sad when things don't come out the way we believe they should. I completely understand where you're coming from in your post. All that being said, I've learned there's simply no way to really understand the scoring. That is, why one judge sees Rowlett as 7th and another 24th. What I've been able to come away with over the four years I've been a band mom, my only resolution, is(and you may not like this): The judges are human beings. They are not perfect. They will make mistakes sometimes. Other times, they are on the money. (For example, the judge who put Rowlett in 24th in music--and in your viewpoint an error--, also ranked Marcus 1st. He was completely right about Marcus). And, despite what some people on this board think, there is some pre-determined expectation for certain bands who have been successful in the past. It would be un-human-like to NOT have some expectation that those bands are about to do very well. In the end, though, the judges must make up their own minds, based on their expertise & experience. While there may be some rogue judge who ranks bands based solely on bias and/or some weird vidication, I have a hard time believing such a judge exists. It's simply humanity at work. To each his own, so to speak. I don't believe they judge willy-nilly. As parents, we want everyone to see what we see when our kids' band plays. We know personally how hard our kids work to succeed, and we are dismayed when their hard work seems to go "unrecognized" or unrewarded. In the big world that is Texas Marching Bands, you have to take the good with the bad sometimes. Texas public schools highly value the fine arts. The support our school boards provide to the fine art depts is pretty nearly unmatched. What does that make? A whole lot of really, really good bands in the State of Texas. So while our kids reap the benefits of living in a state where they get to participate in an excellent music program, that also means their competition is top-notch. Not everyone gets the gold medal. (and I'm actually thankful for that bcse life isn't about winning all the time) Anyway, my post is entirely too long at this point. I just wanted to say that I understand your frustration, but looking for "answers" as to why one band makes finals while another does not, my only answer is: humanity, subjective human minds. Don't dwell on the disappointments too much. Just enjoy making those good memories with your kids/siblings. Your being there, cheering them on at every competition is what they will remember when they're older and parents themselves.

Back when I first saw Marcus' show, and mind you, they only had 6 minutes on the field, I knew it would be "the" show to beat...aka no one would beat it. lol After finishing 3rd at BOA SA last year, their show this year was their statement that they would not be finishing 3rd again this year...anywhere! While I'm not a "giant" props fan, I love their gates. I love the way they're used in the show. Mostly, though, it's the music. They capture your attention from the first note and captivate you with their sound for the rest. Their class-act behavior at competitions only adds to my admiration for them. Congrats to them for finishing first & for putting it all on the field every single time they performed. A-mazing!

Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe a lot of the 5A bands that attend BOA SA do so (in part) to give the band kids the opportunity to play in the same dome where State UIL is held. It gives the kids a separate contest to see how different their show sounds in the Alamodome vs a regular stadium. Moving it or trying to have another regional to get the numbers down at SA probably won't work out very well, if part of the purpose of attending SA is to give the kids an additional experience at "the dome."

Well, just to clarify, never meant that y'all never get to have fun just because I thought y'all weren't "allowed" to participate in the wave. Never intended it to mean that you were required to be stiff-lipped during your entire band life. Just that it really stood out from the other side of the dome that y'all weren't participating in the wave with the rest of the bands. There are directives for certain things, like not cheering for yourself when your band is announced. That's the only reason anyone would think that's what was going on with the wave. Did not intend to say that y'all's director is a fuddy-duddy all the time or something. I think it was a fair assumption, based on the information we had at the time, that your lack of participation was a directive, though. Thanks for the clarification! & congrats to you!

Yes. Marcus parents are always gracious, and btw LOVE FloMo's circus show! I also noticed the band that didn't participate in the wave. Didn't know who it was, though. Haltom was on the other side of the dome. I also thought it was most likely a directive and that it was too bad. The wave has become quite a tradition at BOA SA. It's part of the fun of the whole thing. I dislike seeing any band having to "sit it out." The slow wave was fun!

Not a real surprise for me, but I was behind some Marcus kids, waiting in a breezeway. You could tell who the upperclassmen were(and most likely part of the leadership), because they were making sure the other kids remained quiet and respectful. Truly a class act. I also didn't see any rude kids or parents yesterday or Friday. Everyone was very gracious and sportsman-like.

And I agree with everything you wrote. lol I have always liked Marcus, but did find the ferris wheels a bit silly. I love the gates this year, though. I like the way they use them on the field and the matching uniforms to the color of the gates is a neat addition. They're such a classy group of people, it's would be hard to feel any real "ill will" towards them or what they do(so well).

While I completely agree that those bands don't rest on their laurels at ALL, there is some expectation per se, when those who are always on top take the field. You can feel it in the air. The judges wouldn't be human if they didn't sense it, too. When you have an expectation of greatness, there's something inexplicable that goes along with it. In no way do I think that a band's reputation is the sole reason they continue to be on top, though. If that were true, then the torch would never be passed. We are living in the Marcus, The Woodlands, & LD Bell age. Could it last forever? Sure. But it mostly likely will not. There will be other bands who rise to the challenge and overtake those in long-standing at the top. Look at Plano East & Hebron. Hebron earned 2nd place two years ago at area over LD Bell and did again this year, too. Plano East earned 3rd this year. It's the way things go. However, to say that the judges have absolutely no pre-determined ideas when they're judging can't be true.(and I'm not saying you are saying that, just making a point) They're human. You simply hope that the large majority of them don't let their pre-determined feelings for certain bands overtake their sensibilities in what's good or not so good. Again, let's use LD Bell as an example. They came in fourth in area this year. Obviously, even though they've maintained a standard of excellence and reputation, it didn't mean they automatically got 1st, 2nd or even 3rd. In fact, they were 5th after prelims. One could even argue that those who are always on top are graded on a more difficult scale than some others, but I choose to believe that, when it comes down to it, while there may be some expectation from those top bands, the judges are able to judge accordingly. Still, they are human and should be viewed as such, neither putting them on a pedestal nor expecting them to judge perfectly all the time.

100% agree. I'm pretty sure every band that was at Denton has since improved. Now, it's only left to see how much each band has improved, and that's what makes contests like UIL State and BOA SA so exciting and so incredibly impossible to predict.

Same thing happens at BOA. I've seen scores where a band will receive as high as a 1 from one judge and, for the same performance, receive a 30 or lower from another judge, for the same exact category(ie marching or music). It happens. Is it fair? No. Is there anything that can be done about it? No. When I was talking to my mom, updating her about Area because she was gone on vacation, she said, "There's no reason to cry over spilled milk." She's right, too, btw. Hey, Haltom missed State this year, after making it six times in a row, by one point. 3/5 judges had them in the top five. Had either one of the other judges who ranked them at 7 and 6 given them one point, there would've been a tie for fifth. Had both judges upped it by a point, they would've been tied for fourth. Is it frustrating? Sure! But every single band student at Haltom is now focused on BOA, not because they've had some great success there(as they have with UIL) but because their marching season is not over. They will work and train and practice to put on the best performance on the field that they can on Friday night. The past is the past. Life is unfair. Not everyone gets a trophy. It's a very difficult but great life lesson. Haltom kids have moved on, as have the parents(who probably get more frustrated about it than the kids do bcse we want our "babies" to win). There's not a thing that can be done. Judging is done by human beings. As long as we have humans judging competitions, there will be weird things that happen, and yes, some will be intentional. That's humanity. So please, for the sake of the ones who have "suffered" under the crazy scoring at BOA, don't put BOA on some judging pedestal. They may "grade" things differently, but the scores are still just as whack-a-doodle as UIL can be. Why? Because they're human beings who are not perfect. I could go into some stories about BOA, but it's pointless. It's in the past. It doesn't matter one single bit this year. Continuing to lament the scoring "issues" will do nothing but keep people from moving on with life.......and life does go on. Good luck to all bands this weekend and next week!

I'm sorry. I didn't see the scores from prelims. My understanding is that there was a wide margin from 1st & 2nd to 3rd on and that Haltom and LD Bell were close, which I think Daniel also said on his live blog from there. I don't know if Marcus and Hebron were close or not after prelims. If I do get a hold of the scores, I'll post them. I can't tell you how exciting it was to be able to sit and watch all 10 bands in finals. The crowd was so great, too! Best of luck to all bands who advanced. What a tough/crazy competition!

We were stunned by Flower Mound not advancing, as well. I have a very good friend whose child is in the band there. I really enjoyed the show! I also believe that y'all will do great at BOA. Very talented group of kids. Hopefully, both Flower Mound and Haltom will be able to put knockout shows on the field this weekend. We wish y'all the very best! Am also very saddened to hear that there was trash talk going on. We actually heard trash talk coming from students of one band to students of another(neither band advanced). Unfortunately, there are people who have zero compassion for others. I have heard comments from parents wishing certain bands would mess up even. My philosophy has always been that I want to see every band put their best show on the field every time. Who wants to "win" because a band that is possibly better came up short? Who wishes such things? Sad. Haltom had a "bad day" Saturday. It was rough, but they held their heads high and I'm very proud of them all. My daughter came away with the memory of a standing ovation after their performance(which is one reason why I stand for EVERY band). While she was heartbroken(it being her senior year), she was able to take a keepsake of that moment. That's what it's all about after all, making memories. Again, wishing Flower Mound the very best at BOA SA! And I want to wish all bands who advanced to State & those competing in competitions this weekend the very best! Safe travel for all, as well! Blessings!