Dallas Hobbs

I think they were going for a jukebox format of popular music we’ve heard on the radio + classical, orchestral style music. Hence the stereo props, CD props. And the boat props, I think refers to the “Odyssey” part of the show title “Odyssey FM”, while the other props refer to the “FM” part. Musically I think the bergersen and Vivaldi music refer to the Odyssey part cuz I can imagine being a Viking in boat with this music playing in the background(lol) while the other selections refer to the FM part since those are more mainstream, popular music selections we’ve heard on the radio.

Regarding flower mound, and i don’t really see this as a negative since they were 2nd at TMEA state honor band and have numerous all-staters, I’ve noticed their placements over the years at state have gotten lower. From state years in 2016-2022 the trend went 1st->2nd->3rd->4th ->7th. Anybody have an idea why that is?

So I was looking at the recaps and Vandegrift won the tiebreaker via a 5-2 judges favoritism. I guess with 7 judges it doesn’t need to be as close as a 4-3 split.

Hebron Marcus Flower Mound Waxahachie Keller Round Rock Coppell Woodlands Vandegrift Cedar Ridge Pearland Vista Ridge Ronald Reagan CTJ

Bottom Half Analysis Coppell- Accurately predicted this placement. Those woodwind triplet parts in the opener are harder than they sound imo. It’s challenging to maintain rhythmic integrity while playing those for that long and they knocked it out of the park. I loved that big opening hit in the beginning with the guard embellishing the moment. Great performance! I think the bands above them were stronger marchers which helped their visual scores but they were great nonetheless. Marcus- Accurately predicted this one- They’re my 2nd favorites after Hebron because of how well they maintain a sense of blend and balance in the quietest music ever, how perfectly they shape every phrase, and were super clean technically. I think the groups above them were just more intense with their ensemble sound. Round Rock- Accurately predicted this one. Omg I love their brass! Especially in the ballad with how well they handle that exposed content. And they move so well for such a large group. I think the people above them were just cleaner but man can they perform. Keller- Always love watching them live because of how they blast my face off😭😩. Maybe not as much dynamic contrast as the groups above them imo but what I love about them is how well the play on the move particularly at faster tempos. They switched with CTJ for my prediction. CTJ- Daniel Valdez was right, it was like watching a track meet when I saw them live at BOA SA! Boy can they move! And I love how LOUD they are! Pearland- Accurately predicted this one. Will always love how well the woodwinds handle that delicate Pegasus music. Great performers all around, love their guard too. Waxahachie- Yay region 20! Accurately predicted this placement too. I’ll always admire that concert band style they play with. There’s Something sophisticated and professional about the way they sound imo. I think the people above them were just more intense performers and had more active visual demands. I love the way they handle their music with the choreography in the beginning. Great control of sounds. And my goodness do they play well in extended phrases😩

Top Half Analysis Vandegrift- A 4A state champ and now a 6A state champ! This is their 5th state medal (2 🥇 , 2 🥈, 1 🥉) Their cleanliness is otherworldly! Well deserved first place. Hebron- This is their 5th silver🥈 and 6th overall including their 🥇 last year. They’re my favorite group to listen to and their competitive season was amazing this year! Cedar Ridge- First state medal for them! 🥉 Their percussion must’ve been sublime to be 1st in prelims and finals! I wouldn’t know cuz I played bassoon and clarinet and can’t tell you what a flam or paradiddle is 🤷🏾‍♂️ The Woodlands- I accurately picked this placement(the upper three were all wrong 🙈). I rewarded them for their proficiency in playing that exposed, jazz stuff. Man was it fun to listen to! And although their drill formations may not have been the most complex, it was super exposed and they performed it very well. Vista Ridge- I accurately picked this placement for them. I just wasn’t sure if I should put them above or below Reagan. I knew Reagan would place higher in more captions than Vista but I underestimated how high Vista would place in the captions they placed higher than Reagan in. 1st in Music Ensemble and Brass!🤯 I loved that French horn feature in the beginning and how well it blends with the rest of the brass, and how well they handle those SUPER exposed parts big hits! I think they got 5th because of their drill formations weren’t as complex or as exposed as the other groups. Ronald Reagan- They were 2 lower than I predicted. Their body control throughout all of those complex choreography and drill formations was super impressive. And they sounded great in every section. I liked the moment when they were in pairs and would alternate between the brass and woodwinds Flower Mound- . Accurately predicted this one. Loved their theme like everyone else. I think the bands above them just had a stronger integrity of sound in their brass. everyone performed their parts sublimely nonetheless. I loved the ignition music where the high brass alternate those 16th notes and how well they do it with dynamic contrast

Cedar ridge in percussion and Hebron in woodwinds were the only consistent caption winners in prelims and finals. This contest was sooo competitive

Well it looks like whoever said Vandegrift for first didn’t jinx them after all

They progressively got higher and higher 😱

I was watching you post the results and when I saw woodlands in 4th I thought “ok so vandy, Hebron, wait who’s left?” And then it hit me!🤯

I just realized THE cedar ridge is a state medalist. Congrats!🎉

Hebron ❌ (-1) Vandegrfit ❌ (+1) The Woodlands ❌ (-1) Ronald Reagan ❌ (-2) Vista Ridge✅ Cedar Ridge ❌ (+3) Flower Mound✅ Coppell✅ Marcus✅ Round Rock✅ CTJ ❌ (-1) Keller❌ (+1) Pearland ✅ Waxahachie✅ results of my predictions. Ok so maybe I shouldn’t have switched Reagan and vista cuz I had vista in the right placement lol

🤯🤯🤯🤯

I knew I should’ve switched vista and Reagan in my predictions when I had the chance!

Wow yours are almost exactly like mine!😮

Alright here are my finals predictions: Hebron Vandegrfit The Woodlands Ronald Reagan Vista Ridge Cedar Ridge Flower Mound Coppell Marcus Round Rock CTJ Keller Pearland Waxahachie

No Pearland?

Prelims performance

I’m watching round rock’s BOA SA performance and wow I love watching big bands sound good while playing exposed, big band moments! And they maintain the cleanliness of their forms so well for such a large group.

Referring to the tech/internet lingo, I have no idea what you just said 😩

The woodlands are pretty good but I don’t think they’re playing yet 😩

What do you all mean by “call it like it is”?

I don’t even know what a paradiddle is😩 sounds like someone sneezed, so I’m lost on percussion too

Keller has placed above Waxahachie in 7-judge UIL style contests(DMI and so far state prelims) however Waxahachie placed above Keller in both prelims and finals at Area, a 5-judge system. Interesting. No idea why this happened lol

I had decided to make finals placement predictions for my finalist locks. It seems 1, 2, 6, 9, and 12 were accurate for prelims. also my prediction of Marcus in 8th and coppell in 9th at BOA SA finals was inaccurate there but accurate here. *sigh* I’ll get this down someday