LHSbandDad

I understand the two judges panel system for San Antonio for prelims. What about for finals? Is it a 3rd panel or a combination of parts of both prelims panels?

I saw them at TMC with Vandy and Leander side by side. They were the clear winner. To me it was the "WOW effect" with that massive guard feature where they circle the whole field with flags while running in a circle with the band playing. They followed that up with another massive feature with the guard during the closer. Having said that, they are vulnerable and I think they could be beat on any given day. As has been documented other bands are putting the finishing touches and adding things but there is quite a bit of gap to make up and Reagan would have to not make any improvements (doubtful) for the pack to catch them. There are several bands who could catch them so I think the earlier prediction of Reagan no lower than top 5 is a good one and most likely top 3.

Is there anyone from Hebron on this site? Seems like we get the least amount of updates on them compared to the rest of "Team Texas". There are many (my son included) who think they have a great chance of bringing home the Eagle. Just curious what's going on up there in LISD North?

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. Very interesting and satisfying to see the correlation!!

I would say the costs are much more than $400K to go to Indy. For our band, the GN fee is $1,500 x 335 = $500K+ and that is just for the band/guard. Throw in the costs of the chaperones, volunteers, parents, etc. and the costs start piling up. Plus the cost of the rig(s) to transport the instruments and props. Hotel and airfare for parents to attend. Oh, and don't forget missing three days of school and work for the parents. It all adds up and makes this trip much more challenging than the local Indiana bands that go to GN every year!! As has been stated many times, I will always respect Avon for making the trip down to SA. I hope more do the same!!

I am really impressed you were able to do this!!! Were you able to determine with this formula if the TMC to BOA gaps between 1-2-3 place would have been the same (2 points)?

I guess I have been putting too much weight on my own "eyeball test". I have always thought if it looked good (marching), sounded good (music), and made me feel good (emotion/GE) then it was a great show. Back when my older two were in band Leander was a "bubble band" and when we did not make SA finals, my wife and I would watch the finals show and both agree that they all looked and sounded better than us and were ok with it. Even now with my younger son having made finals consistently, I can still see a little separation from (XYZ) bands and know deep down we aren't going to beat them. I thought I was sharpening my BOA knowledge and getting the hang of it until reading these explanations of why Carmel and Avon do so well. I want to understand it and am trying, but when I watch it and listen to it, I just don't see the same separation from the rest of the pack. I guess I still have a lot to learn or perhaps my "eyeball test" is flawed. After all, I am not a BOA judge.....just trying to understand the process a little better. Thanks to all for helping me and hopefully others learn!!

Here are my predictions for SA Finals: 1. Average score of all finalists to break a BOA SA finals record for cumulative finalists average 2. Top half scores to rival GN on any given year 3. Bottom half scores to be comparable to any other BOA Regional or Super Regional top half in the country 4. The "next 10" bands not in finals (15-24) scores will be good enough to have made finals at any other BOA Regional or Super Regional

Please explain some more why the Carmel style is so important to BOA judges. Why was '17 a masterpiece? Seems like to me it would be more about the marching and the music. After all, the MFA website refers to these as "Marching" Championships. Why is the "artsy" part of it so important? I am sorta like LeanderMomma in that 2016 was my first exposure to Carmel and Avon and they do have different styles compared to Texas bands but as I study it more I get more confused. Please elaborate. Thanks!!

Any video links of Avon?

I am fairly confident the 5A UIL State title will remain in LISD....but which school??? Rouse looked great yesterday. So did Cedar Park. Should be an exciting finish!!

I am happy for our LISD south placements 2-3-4-5!!! What a great show by everyone!! Can I just say Reagan was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!??!! WOW!! They definitely were the better show tonight and I think we can put to rest all all that talk last week about their Houston score being inflated. I have Reagan written in black ink in my top half of BOA SA finals predictions!! :-)

I agree. Going back to what I saw at BOA Austin on the same date as this performance, I am not sure this run would have made the podium in Austin. There were at least 3-4 that I saw that were better than this. Seeing this makes me think Team Texas has a good chance to dethrone Carmel !!!

I would not be surprised to see noticeable changes (for the better) to the CTJ show from what we saw in Austin.

How about all six LISD bands on Friday evening!!??!! Talk about some quiet half-times at football games in LISD!! :- ) 5:00 Vandegrift H.S., TX 5:15 Leander H.S., TX 5:30 Vista Ridge H.S., TX 6:00 Cedar Park H.S., TX 8:45 Rouse H.S., TX 9:30 Tom Glenn H.S., TX

Leander got bumped into 6A by less than 10 students in 2016. Not sure where our enrollment is now or what the cut off is. For football, it has been bad. We have only won about three football games the last 3+ years. There should be some sort of mercy rule that automatically drops us back down. HA!!

Can someone say Friday night band hall sleepover!!??!!

A couple thoughts... UT Austin exhibition!! Awesome!! Leander plays Vandegrift in football that night. Guess there will be no bands at the game!!

That is correct....Leander literally sprinted to the bus after UIL State announcements and skipped the "mingling" portion of retreat to head straight to the airport and got to Indy after midnight. Speaking of the crazy schedule, this is what I recall about those crazy 8 days... Friday - drive to SA for BOA prelims, drive back to Leander Saturday - drive back to SA for BOA finals, drive back, arrive well past midnight Monday - somewhat normal school day -send off performance gets rained out :- ( Tuesday - drive to SA for UIL prelims (thankfully LISD pays for hotel in SA) Wednesday - UIL finals - sprint to airport for two charter flights to Indy - arrived past midnight Thursday - practice in Indy, watched some prelims Friday - prelims performance Saturday - semis and finals / red-eye flight back to Austin Sunday - arrived Austin / Leander around 7am

Out of curiosity.....how many Team Texas T-shirts were ordered total from all six bands both within the programs and the local orders?

I would like to add that Leander, CTJ and Reagan also had to squeeze in 6A State between BOA SA and Indy that year. Cedar Park did not. To clarify, that is not Cedar Parks fault and does not take away from their amazing performance in Indy. I am just pointing out that three competitions and seven performances in eight days was exhausting and I am glad we don't have that scenario again. Not only do we not have UIL State to deal this year with but we also have the extra week. Everyone should be rested and ready to dethrone Carmel !!!!

Just curious....what would be the strategy from a Directors standpoint to pull out of a competition this late?

Oops!! I thought I heard the drum major say in the interview tonight this was the first year.

What an amazing exhibition performance by all LISD bands tonight!! Here is my two cents worth (in performance order) GLENN - first year with four classes and they seem to be improving so much year over year. I think they are definitely headed in the right direction and in a few years will be a force to be reckoned with!! ROUSE - another band on the rise and their sound gets better each year. I am so happy with what I heard tonight, especially the brass section!! LEANDER - I think our band is in as good of place as we have ever been at this point. We have some cleaning to do and need to finish our closer but we are right on track and will be ready for San Antonio and Indy!! CEDAR PARK - I have always like the crisp and clean lines of this band and they are putting together another great show. Will be nice to see how this one ends with the closer. VANDY - I am glad they are part of #TeamTexas because I think they have as good a chance as anyone to de-throne Carmel. They have the whole package and were amazing to watch and listen to!! VISTA - if they are having a "sophomore slump" I sure don't see it or hear it!! They looked and sounded amazing!! At times it did seem like a soprano sax concert but at least she sounds incredible!! Of course the highlight was the Grand Finale with all the six HS bands on the field at the same time with the eight middle school bands playing a stand tune.

So refreshing to read this quote. I thought our band was the only one scrambling to get all the props done (or not) in time for competitions!! HA!!