Set15

Maybe it’s a little late, but WOW. Every single one of those finalist bands was amazing! Congratulations to every participant in the SMBC and congratulations to Vista Ridge on their win! I will never forget the smile on the trombone soloist’s face after he played in finals. It perfectly captured just how much joy this activity brings to us all! One final note: to every band that made finals, very well deserved. You proved that you are the best of the best! But to those who didn’t make finals: scores are not everything. Participating in a competition as competitive as this one is an accomplishment all in itself- every band that made it this far should be very proud! Thank you all and congratulations once again. What an ending!

I’m not sure if this is the place to ask and I apologize if it’s a stupid question, but I’ve always wondered- how are performance times determined for the State contest? I recall Hebron getting a rough performance time two years ago (I believe Cy-Fair’s was even worse) and I was wondering if anything factors into that. I know the smaller BOA contests have the winner of the previous year go last- does UIL do anything similar? Or is it just random?

Agreed. The only show of those four that I’ve seen is Bowie, but I’ve heard good things about Vista Ridge and Cedar Ridge. I’m surprised that I haven’t heard much about Hendrickson this year other than that they got a new director (?) and they’re adjusting to that change, but I’m expecting them to be back on track by the time State rolls around (if that’s true).

Now that BOA shows have taken place, I wonder if anyone has any new predictions? I would honestly love to see more variety in state finals this year, but with how competitive it is, who knows...

I saw a couple posts about the importance of the top 5 bands at BOA competitions, and I thought it was strange because I’ve never heard that before (I always assumed people really just paid attention to the top 3). Does placing in the top 5 at these earlier BOA shows impact future competitions? Also, I want to give a huge shoutout to SFA and Bridgeland. Even though they didn’t get to compete in finals, I’m glad both bands had the chance to perform a second time.

I have a friend from SFA who told me they got a new director this year. A lot of students quit band as well, which I’m sure set them back even more since their band is already small. From what I have heard, Cy Falls competes more out-of-state because they know they can place higher at those competitions (the St. Louis and Atlanta regionals are not nearly as competitive throughout as the San Antonio regional). They know they can make finals at those competitions, which is a good experience for the performers, and you can’t blame them for wanting to do well. Not sure if this is 100% accurate though- like I said, it’s just what I have heard. On any other year I believe Cy Falls would have made it into St. Louis finals, but Hurricane Harvey and their director change (who moved to Bridgeland HS) set them back a bit.

Way to go Seven Lakes! They were one of two bands edged out of State last year at Area finals. Super proud of how far they’ve come in a year!

I haven’t heard many people talking about Reagan. I didn’t get to see their show yesterday. Did they have a bad run or are people just too excited about today’s bands?

I gotta see that show now!

Update: Cy-Fair actually is not going. Our directors have planned something else that day instead. I'm not sure why we pulled out of the competition, but I assume we may have just been on the wait list.

As a member of the Cy-Fair band I can confirm that we are going to this contest, though I am unsure as to why we are not on the list of attending bands yet.