jstein1

Normally it is. They changed it this year, at least for this area.

Finals was not random draw. It was reverse order of prelims placement.

To be fair...there are a LOT of band directors, many of whom teach in the Houston area, who misinterpret Eddie Green's philosophies. Many of these bands do not allow their brass musicians to play with any color in the sound and insist on a maximum dynamic of mezzo forte. There is a reason some Houston area bands have a reputation for being boring...because some of them ARE boring. TWHS is not one of these bands, but they do exist. To deny that truth is to just plain not use your ears. Eddie believed the approach should be that we hear all of the instruments and that the full range of color for these instruments should be explored. When trumpets, trombones, and horns play above a forte, there is edge in the sound, plain and simple. You won't find many bands in the Houston area, at least, that allow their students to approach this quality. However, drive 2.5 hours to Austin or 4 hours to DFW, and you will find many groups that explore the full range of dynamic and color. Listen to that UH recording of Mars and tell me Eddie didn't believe in brass dynamic color. That bass trombone player plays with some STANK.

No, you are not. They were LIGHTS OUT tonight.

Yep, I just meant for making finals. Who knows what will happen at the top, but Summit is dangerous this year. I could see them winning the contest…Or Legacy…or Aledo, or, or, or…

I wouldn’t sleep on Azle, they beat Birdville at BOA Midland last weekend and are way, way better than the last several years