LKendrick

I really like what I’ve seen.

They’re now on the calendar. Excited to be here! Last year I ended up in the hospital unexpectedly that weekend so I didn’t get to go which sucked. Excited to see BOA in my neck of the woods, a lot of the programs up here have been improving pretty drastically so I’m hoping we will see quite a few of them in finals.

Leander's guard, wow. So much complexity and simultaneous stuff going on with them and they're SO well staged. They're taking that WGI win from April and just running with it.

I can’t speak to its future beyond 2018 but there have been regionals in the northeast and southeast with less than the 15 currently signed up here. I highly doubt they would cancel it. I’m hoping more will sign up in the coming weeks.

I'm so excited to see Clovis attending this, they're not a Texas band but they're barely over the border about an hour away from me and they always do REALLY well locally and had a great showing in Midland last year. If they keep improving they could be the first band from this area to my knowledge, that sees itself in a super regional finals. They'll be on the bubble.

Win over a quickly rising Timber Creek and a Coppell on the brink of a really great show? Probably not, but after that it's wide open.

I was really impressed with Grain Valley in St. Louis last fall, they've really had some great shows over the years. I think they're in great hands and I wish them the best this coming fall!

I might have to make it down to Austin. We shall see. If not however, definitely Midland, St. Louis, State, and Grand Nationals.

Interning.

I mean I’ll be there but for other reasons. See you there!

I’m such a terrible drummer and follow the guard stuff more frequently now than I do percussion. It’s just so fun...... And I loved that to. Texas is just one big happy family.

http://www.txbands.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7047-wgi-summary-texas-groups-and-my-thoughts/ Posted some thoughts about the weekend there, congrats to everyone and especially our Texas groups on an amazing weekend!

Firstly, congrats to our Texas groups this year, what an amazing representation for the state! There were three medalists in three classes with one champion, thirteen finalists across all six classes, and twenty one semifinalists across all six classes. Amazing representation! Texas groups placed as follows: Scholastic A: Leander – Champion, 99.4, record highest Scholastic A score and 3rd highest score ever recorded in WGI Guard History. Keller Varsity – 6th Place Finalist, 94.275 Westwood – 20th Place Finalist, 86.04 Westlake High School – 42nd Place Semifinalist, 84.82 Georgetown High School – 45th Place Semifinalist, 84.585 Cypress Falls High School - 62ndPlace Semifinalist – 82.63 Katy Varsity High School Clements High School Keller A High School Paris High School Robert E. Lee High School Independent A:Black Gold A – Silver Medalist and Fan Favorite, 95.445 Eagle Mountain Independent – 29th Place Semifinalist, 82.74 ATX Winterguard BriA Independent Scholastic Open:McNeil High School – 4th Place Finalist, 93.75 Eastlake High School – 5th Place Finalist, 93.6 Klein Oak High School – 18th Place Finalist, 82.8 Tompkins High School – 24th Place Semifinalist, 85.7 Cedar Park High School Aledo High School Independent Open:CGT Denton – Silver Medalist, 96.9 Origins – 5th Place Semifinalist, 92.85 Spirit Independent from the University of Houston – 18th Place Semifinalist, 84.4 Insignia Scholastic World:James Bowie High School – 13th Place Finalist, 82.35Independent World:CGT Dallas – 4th Place Finalist and Fan Favorite Award, 95.75 Cypress Independent – 13th Place Finalist, 82.15 Black Gold – 14th Place Finalist, 81.6 Invictus – 22nd Place Semifinalist, 80.1 Redemption Guard This is my second season following the winter guard activity, it was nonexistent up here where I am from until very recently (which is awesome to see it taking a hold up here) so my exposure was limited to say the least. I haven’t had a chance to see much live, but I’ve thankfully gotten the opportunity to watch a lot online. I’ve watched relatively a lot of indoor percussion over the years but as someone interested in visual design I thought given the presence it has in this realm of the marching and performing arts it is something I needed to be aware of. Well, it’s not just something I’m learning from, it’s something I’ve fallen in love with. I’ve always gravitated towards the visual side of things, there is something about music being expressed through visual mediums like color, equipment, dance, movement, and so much more that’s unlike anything else out there. I’m still learning what to look for in terms of technical and critical things but man, what an activity. Here are some of my favorites separated into some different categories. There were over 350 performances over the last few days and I couldn’t juggle all those with school but I’ll try to touch on as many of my favorites as I can! I loved Bluecoats Indoor and Juxtaposition in Independent World, FIU Winterguard in Independent Open, West Broward Tarpon Springs, Northview, and James Bowie in Scholastic World, and Eastlake in Scholastic Open for their incredible energy and insanely entertaining shows. Watching those kids and young adults having the time of their lives performing is one of my favorite things about anything under the umbrella of fine arts whether that’s marching band in the fall, DCI in the summer, or guard in the spring and man........ did these groups have FUN. Shows like these really remind me why I love this little world we’re all apart of and man I miss performing! Shows like UCF Pegasus in Independent World and Independent Open, Interplay in Independent World, Shenendehowa in Scholastic World, Park Vista, Oviedo, and Tompkins in Scholastic Open made me and I’m sure many others think and be impacted in ways that can be tricky to discuss and tackle but that they did masterfully. It’s a crazy world we live in right now and being able to express stances on some of those things through art so essential and important in a society that values freedom of expression so much. It’s encouraging to see groups, both scholastic and independent, be brave and have a voice on things that are paramount in our society right now. I have so much respect for that. Stories and narratives are such a tricky thing to portray in the scope of less than fifteen minutes within the marching arts let alone eight or so minutes in a gym and groups like CGT Dallas in Independent World and their counterparts CGT Denton in Independent Open, Klein Oak in Scholastic Open, and AA Stagg and Flushing in Scholastic A were enthralling in that regard. Their respective stories and characters portrayed in their various ways were so well presented and incredibly entertaining to watch. While I love shows that tell an amazing story, have an important message, or are just flat out entertaining sometimes shows that are stripped back down to the essence of what the activity is and just being beautiful are so refreshing. I certainly don’t mean simple though, they challenge in sheer simultaneous skills being demonstrated, stark exposure, and requiring absolute precision to really project. I’m thinking about shows like Blessed Sacrament, Onyx, Pride of Cincinnati, and Black Gold in Independent World, Trumbull, Flanagan, and Stoneman Douglas in Scholastic World, El Dorado, McNeil, and Bentonville in Scholastic Open, Pacificaires in Independent Open, and Leander, Newsome, Keller, and so many more in Scholastic A. Congratulations to all groups this year, one of my goals next year is to try and make it up to Dayton, and at least some Texas events to see this activity live.

Not only is that a Scholastic A record, that's the 3rd highest score ever recorded across any class in WGI history. Of course scores are not comparable across classes, but that gives you an idea of just how dominant they were for a Scholastic A guard.

Holy WOW! Leander won with a 99.4!!!

Beautiful performance by Klein Oak this morning, this years show reminds me a lot of last years in the best of ways. Incredibly pure and well performed.

IW Scores are in! Congrats to three Texas guards in Independent World Finals! CGT Dallas, Cypress Independent, and Black Gold. http://wgi.org/wp-content/uploads/wgi_events/static_scores/2018/scores_IW_Semi_Finals.html

Well I was bound to miss something, fixed! Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Amazing day for Team Texas! Here's a list I compiled of ALL scores, will edit in Independent World when that competition concludes. One note, there was a tie for the last spot in Scholastic A, not sure if there is a tie breaker or if both advance. Scholastic A Semifinals: 1. Leander – 95.72 2. Marian Catholic - 93.345 3. Decatur Central - 92.05 4. Green Hope - 91.93 5. Clovis - 91.605 6. Fleming Island - 91.39 7. Newsome - 91.065 8. Keller - 90.610 9. Lake Howell - 90.395 10. Billerica Memorial – 90.29 11. Colerain - 89.665 12. Cumberland Valley - 89.65 13. Rancho Cucamonga- 89.46 14. A.A. Stagg - 89.195 15. Southern Regional - 89.17 16. Father Ryan - 89.08 17. Middletown - 89.02 18. Northwest Cabarrus - 88.94 19. Cary – 88.885 20. Westwood 88.59 21. Fort Mill - 88.42 22. Damonte Ranch - 88.485 23. Lake Orion - 88.465 24. Flushing – 88.365 25. Lockport Township – 88.365 -----Above Advance to Finals 26. Pace - 88.275 27. Sebastian River - 88.265 28. El Camino Real - 87.505 29. Bartram Trail - 87.275 30. La Salle - 87.22 31. Lafayette - 86.97 32. Central Square - 86.935 33. Harrison - 86.865 34. Jennison - 86.97 35. Cary – 85.61 36. Kiski Area - 85.385 37. Floyd Central - 85.155 38. Palm Beach Central - 85.1 39. Bentonville A - 85.1 40. Grassfield - 85.065 41. West Bloomfield - 84.87 42. Westlake - 84.82 43. Station Camp - 84.8 44. Central Hardin - 84.76 45. Georgetown - 84.585 46. Mohonasen - 84.42 47. Hernando - 84.305 48. Milton – 84.065 49. Rockford - 83.96 50. Corinth Holders - 83.815 51. Terre Haute South - 83.695 52. Chippewa Valley - 83.675 53. Freedom – 83.66 54. Northwest Guilford - 83.535 55. Glencoe - 83.48 56. Somerset Academy - 83.36 57. River Bluff - 83.295 58. Alpharetta - 83.24 59. Choctaw Central - 83.12 60. Westerville North - 83.115 61. Fort Zumwalt North - 83.015 62. Cypress Falls - 82.63 63. Kings - 82.11 64. Springboro - 81.44 Independent A Semifinals: 1. Pacificaires - 95.37 2. JMU Nuance - 94.04 3. Black Gold A - 93.88 4. Smithfield Selma - 93.56 5. Artistry in Blue - 92.92 6. Georgia State - 92.54 7. Charles Towne - 92.31 8. Eklipse - 91.34 9. 3rd Legend - 90.68 10. i-Squared - 90.59 11. Tampa Independent - 90.37 12. National Avenue - 90.35 13. Reverie A - 89.89 14. Anesidora - 89.88 15. SSJC - 88.75 16. Florida State - 88.07 17. Ovation - 87.71 18. Malachi A - 88.04 19. Pegasus A - 86.59 20. Carolina VP - 84.96 ——-Above Advance to Finals 21. Rhapsody - 84.82 22. Avant Garde - 84.15 23. Jacksonville University - 84.61 24. Icon - 83.47 25. Irondale - 83.43 26. Purdue University - 83.15 27. FeniX A - 83.15 28. RCR - 82.9 29. Eagle Mountain - 82.74 30. Odin - 82.32 31. Black Diamond - 81.59 32. Gentoo - 80.95 33. Co-Motion - 80.09 34. Southeast Visual Ensemble - 77.9 35. Unity - 77.49 36. Revolutionary - 77.3 Scholastic Open Semifinals: 1. Park Vista - 93.4 2. Plymouth Canton - 92.7 3. Eastlake - 91.7 4. El Dorado - 91.5 5. McNeil - 91.3 6. Oviedo - 90.8 7. Ben Davis - 90.7 8. Marvin Ridge - 90.5 9. West Shore School District - 90.4 10. Lowndes - 89.8 11. South Brunswick - 89.5 12. Bentonville - 89.2 13. Milford - 89.0 14. Fishers - 88.1 15. Dartmouth - 87.9 16. Timber Creek - 87.3 17. Cleveland - 87.1 18. William R. Boone - 86.9 19. Klein Oak - 86.3 20. Hamilton Southeastern - 86.3 ——-Above Advance to Finals 21. Diamond Bar - 85.9 22. Nease - 85.9 23. Saratoga - 85.7 24. Tompkins - 85.7 25. Walled Lake Central - 85.2 26. Mill Creek - 84.8 27. Elk River - 84.7 28. La Porte - 84.5 29. El Capitan - 83.7 30. Choctaw - 83.2 31. Victor - 83.1 32. Eden Prairie - 83.2 33. Mt. Carmel - 82.9 34. Naperville Central - 82.8 35. Kickapoo - 82.7 36. Phoenix - 82.6 Independent Open Semifinals: UCF Pegasus Open - 96.9 The Brigadiers - 94.4 CGT Denton - 93.9 Reverie - 93.3 George Mason University - 92.3 Origins - 91.9 FIU - 91.7 Paramount Open - 91.6 Vox Atrium - 91.0 Legacy - 89.1 The District - 88.2 Avidity - 87.7 Alta Marea - 86.8 The Pride of the Netherlands - 86.7 Legacy - 86.5 ——-Above Advance to Finals Pennsauken - 85.9 Allegiance - 84.5 Spirit (Houston) - 84.4 Emanon Open - 82.6 Wasatch - 82.6 Cascadia - 82.4 Salem Blue - 82.0 Independence - 80.4 Lancaster - 79.4 Scholastic World Semifinals: Avon - 96.0 Carmel - 95.1 Trumbull - 94.5 Flanagan - 92.4 West Broward - 91.7 Center Grove - 90.4 Shenendehowa - 89.3 Tarpon Springs - 89.2 Stoneman Douglas - 87.9 Ayala - 86.0 Northview - 86.0 Miamisburg - 85.6 James Bowie - 82.7 Warren Central - 82.6 Norwin - 82.5 ——-Above Advance to Finals Stockdale - 81.1 Somerville - 80.6 Arcadia - 79.5 Bellbrook - 78.1 Cape Fear - 77.3 North Syracuse Central - 75.9

Congrats to Leander, Keller, and Westwood on advancing to Scholastic A finals! Leander won by over two points!

Congrats to CGT Denton and Origins on advancing to Independent Open Finals!

Congratulations to Black Gold A on making Independent A finals!

It’s so so so entertaining.

Congratulations to Eastlake, McNeil, and Klein Oak on making Scholastic Open finals!

I’m going to try and start updating it. Do a little bit every night.