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Here are just a few of my brief thoughts from yesterday: Marcus - AMAZING! Well-deserved winner. Every single detail of this show is performed to perfection. The double-tonguing in the brass, the woodwind technique, the beautiful sonorous ensemble blend, the gorgeous body movement and interval spacing is just out of sight. All while entertaining the heck out of me and making me smile. This is my favorite Marcus show ever (until next year, when I'm sure they'll top this one). I want to be one of the shadow people. Really. Bell - Good luck to them at Indianapolis. As always, they will represent Texas well. I loved that they decided to use the entire warmup as a preshow so that we got to experience the full effect of the show. Yes, it's a different Bell than years past, but it's still amazing Bell. I am a sucker for brass playing backfield while the woodwinds noodle around up front and Bell did this sublimely (not to mention the WW's doing some very hard drill while they are noodling.) Also, the guard really has some beautiful flag work in this show that is 1st rate. I remember 10 years ago, while not bad at all, the guard might have been considered Bell's weakest link. Now, they are one of the bands strongest assets. Hebron - I saw this show at BOA and LOVED it, but seeing it again twice yesterday, I gained an even greater appreciation for it. Those kids are to be commended for pulling off some very technical/very hard music while performing some quite demanding drill. The dynamic contrast, the subtle articulations, the gorgeous woodwind technique are fantastic in Sensemaya and Scythian Suite. Also, major props to the bass line of Hebron. Y'all rock! Loved that the basses got to start the show. But, they truly have some of the best uniformity of individual fundamentals (and marched at quite high tempos, at that). I remember when Hebron was a 4A band, busting in on the finals action at BOA San Antonio several years ago and to see the progression of how far they have come in a short time is a joy to watch. Bowie - Again, fantastic show. They seem to carry of any forte-piano crescendo exceedingly well. That woodwind run in the second movement is just to die for. It goes and on and on and on and never loses intensity and is so beautifully balanced from the flutes to the saxophones. Additionally, hats off to the Bowie trumpets for some insane licks that left me speechless. Really like the set where the trumpet player looks like he's trying pull the giant wheel to move. The Woodlands - Thank you for making me fall in love with Petrushka and Pictures all over again. The easy breezy trumpet solo to start off the show while the band is in a square around the field is the perfect antonym to all of the crazy insane music and marching that follows. Berkner - I liked this show a lot when I saw it at BOA, but they blew me away during their prelims performance! They brought such a confidence and intensity to that run. I had such fun sitting in the upper deck during finals snapping photos of all the different spider/web sets which were marched and spaced meticulously well. Bravo on a fantastic season! Westlake - Their finals run was about 1000 times better than prelims or any performance of it I've seen this season. The block drill all hit so nicely. The solos seemed a bit firmer and I thought their playing of Symphonic Metamorphosis was nicely done. Brazoswood - Wow! Great playing. I know their previous director retired, but they haven't missed a beat! The singing of U2's Vertigo was a nice touch and I can also say that if the job for Marcus shadow is filled, then I will happily be one of the Brazoswood snare drummers that gets strapped to the vertigo wheels and spins around. What fun!!! That was completely unexpected and delightful! Reagan - A bit disappointed that I didn't get to see this again in finals. I just adore that crazy frenetic block move in the Firebird where the band almost starts of in a weird kind of X and then ends up in a rotated diamond. That is very nicely marched (as is everything else). I cannot get enough that amazing oboe sound and the very subtle brass during Vertebrae while the masked marchers entrap the soloist. Again, I am overjoyed that you guys are back! Johnson - I remember watching Churchill and Reagan during Area D 2008 and saying, "you know, North East ISD, just opened another school and I bet we'll see them here kicking butt in 2 years..." Well, sure enough Johnson band you are my new favorite! That prelims performance was crazy good! I swear the guard did not have a single drop of some very tough catches! I loved the band's interpretation of the Barber in the last movement and marching in the final movement, especially the 4-to-5 pass through was truly awesome. The intensity that the performers brought to the music and marching was something to see and their drumline also stuck out to me as being top notch. I cannot wait to see what you do next year! Rowlett - Gorgeous playing of all the requisite pieces of Carnival of the Animals. Each piece seemed to do a nice job of telling the story and the guard accompanied with the animal flags very nicely. Haltom - Yes, there might have been some timing issues, but overall they pulled off the finest rendition of Shostakovich No. 10 that I have ever heard on the marching field. Bravo! Round Rock - So nice to see them have a very good perfomance. Incredible drumline and gorgeous flutes! Anderson - Equally impressed with them. This band has come a LONG way in a just a few short years. All of the colors and drama brought by the color guard only enhanced this already wonderfully played show. Really great woodwind licks and some nice low brass playing throughout. Langham Creek - I loved how All Creatures of Our God and King kept popping up as a recurring them in their show. Beautiful woodwind clarity in this band. Pearland - Fun show. All of the jester props were neat and I was thrilled when the music turned dark that they turned them around and his face was a skull. I particularly enjoyed the flute and piccolo solos in this show. Also, Dance of the Jester's was great fun! Although the program said it was by Rimsky-Korsakov for some odd reason. No, Rimsky did Dance of the Tumblers. Jesters is Tchaikovsky. All in all, a great show! I have attended every 5A State Marching Contest since 1998 and I must say that yesterday's was the finest one that I have seen since the epic year that was 2000. If we have any splits and wide discrepancies in the judging - it's because every band is just that good. Seriously, all bands should be proud of what they achieved in just reaching the state marching contest, no matter the result. You each represented your Areas well. I am proud to be a citizen of the great state of Texas, where we absolutely have the finest marching bands in the nation. God Bless Texas!

Lol. Yes! Makes my ears bleed...

In years past, it's been the guy who is the UIL Theatre director. It is ironic because he is very monotone and brings pretty much zero drama or excitement to the announcements. It would be nice if they got someone else to do it this year, but I doubt it.

I just have to interject a minute about Haltom. I'd heard a few things on this board and elsewhere about this being possibly being an "off-year" for them. Well, I just watched the video of them from UIL Region and I was blown away. They are making an extremely difficult Shostakovich music book sound amazing. Berkner's 2000 show has always been my standard for Shostakovich No. 10, but I think Haltom just might replace that this year. I know Xenon mentioned the great brass sounds in his reviews yesterday and I concur. There's very nice bassoon and clarinet solos featured as well. Anyway, I just want to say to the Haltom kids, great job! I am looking forward to seeing this show in person at BOA SA and State.

Yes, that guy had some interesting choices. He had Cove, Seguin, Madison , and Judson in his top 10 and they weren't even close in the other music judges. I must also express my general shock at my HS alma mater (Georgetown) finishing 29th of 34 bands. No, I did not expect them to make finals, but to be that close to the bottom -OUCH! It's not like we were a powerhouse when I went there, but we usually were hanging around the top 10, if not in the top 10 at most events. I am sad for that program.

Region 18 website has the prelim full results: http://www.uilmusicregion18.com/pdfs/2010_...lim_Results.pdf

Another board is reporting this to be the prelims rankings in Area E: 1. Clements 2. Langham Creek 3. Cy Falls 4. Cy Woods 5. Cy Fair 6. Seven Lakes 7. Cinco Ranch 8. Katy Taylor 9. Jersey Village 10. Cy Creek 11. Morton Ranch 12. Dulles 13. Travis 14. Cy Ranch 15. Mayde Creek 16. Katy 17. Cy Springs 18. Cy Lakes 19. Kempner 20. Hastings 21. Westside 22. Elsik

Someone submitted the Area D predictions before the Region 18 schools were added to the schedule, so there is no Bowie, Westlake, etc. to select.

The Area F schedule is posted at the below link now (Click next to schedule for the Excel file): http://www.uilforms.com/regions/19/AreaMarchingENTRY.htm 6 bands to state from Area F. That's pretty dang exciting.

Agree with you on the data entry! Don't they know that inquiring minds want to know??

In Region 18, Austin High, Anderson, Akins, Bowie, Westlake, San Marcos, and Pflugerville all received 1st divisions. Final count is 34 bands to Area D. Final Area D schedule has now been posted at this link. Click where it says Final Contest Schedule (it's an Excel file): http://www.uilmusicregion18.com/aread.html

Thanks to king_leonides and his spies for the Reg. 23 reports! UIL Forms is currently reporting the following 1's in 5A for Region 9: Conroe Klein Forest Klein Oak The Woodlands College Park Westfield Dekaney, Klein Collins, Spring, Tomball, Oak Ridge, Klein are still to go...

Cedar Park 2004: Universal Expressions Included Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter. Absolutely stunning show. The woodwind run at the end of Mars is superb.

The official Area A 5A Schedule has now been posted. 26 bands - 5 to advance. I would not be surprised to see all 3 Keller ISD schools take 3 of those 5 spots. Anyway, here's the link: http://www.uilforms.com/regions/2/AREA%20M...nal%20Draft.pdf

I have 2 nuggets of info, y'all. 1) Region 16 South Zone actually had their contest tonight. This completes all regions for Area A. Abilene and Abilene Cooper both got 1st divisions, which makes 26 bands in that area with a 1. So, provided they all show up, we should have 5 bands advance from Area A. 2) The Area G 5A schedule is now posted. 38 bands in prelims. Last band in finals doesn't march until 11:15 PM. It's gonna be a long evening for them. Here's the link: http://uilforms.com/regions/14/AreaMarchin...205A%202010.pdf

This is indeed very interesting about Timberview. The Region 5 draw order from their website lists them as 5A, but UILForms does show them 4A... Hmmm.... Here's the link to the draw order document. http://uilforms.com/regions/5/BAND%20DRAW%...nce%20Order.pdf Is there anyone on here from Timberview that knows the real answer? Also, the UIL website lists their enrollment as 2304. The 5A cutoff is 2065. They are well above it.

Thanks! I enjoy the crunching of the numbers!

So, here's the breakdown of who has made a Division 1 so far by Area... Area A 1st Divisions: Amarillo Amarillo Tascosa Lubbock Lubbock Coronado Lubbock Monterey Denton Guyer Keller Keller Central Keller Fossil Ridge Northwest Saginaw EP Americas EP Bel Air EP Coronado EP Eastwood EP El Dorado EP Franklin EP Hanks EP Montwood EP Socorro Midland Midland Lee Odessa Odessa Permian There are 24 so far. Region 16 South Zone that includes Abilene High and Abilene Cooper happens on Tuesday. So, depending on their results, it could be 4 or 5 advancing from Area A. Area B 1st Divisions: Colleyville Heritage Grapevine Southlake Carroll Lewisville Flower Mound Hebron Marcus Allen Plano Plano East McKinney Boyd Ft. Worth Paschal North Crowley Weatherford That's 14 so far. We still have Region 5 to go which has their contest on Tuesday. There are 12 bands in that Region (Bell, Richland, Haltom, Arlington ISD, Mansfield ISD) , so this will also be close as to whether this Area advances 4 or 5 bands. Area C: Xenon has already mentioned that the schedule is up and there are 20 bands participating, so 4 advance to SMBC. No one is probably happier about that than Rowlett High. Area D 1st Divisions: Steele Judson New Braunfels SA Wagner Seguin SA Churchill SA Johnson SA Lee SA MacArthur SA Madison SA Reagan SA Roosevelt SA East Central SA Highlands Georgetown Leander Round Rock McNeil Stony Point Westwood Belton Bryan A&M Consol. Copperas Cove Killeen Ellison Killeen Harker Heights Temple That's 27 so far, so that's at least 5 advancing to State. Region 18 will have their contest on Tuesday. There are 8 bands in that Region including Bowie, Akins, Westlake, Pflugerville, Anderson, Austin High, Del Valle, and San Marcos. I could see a couple of those making a 2, so I think we'll end up with 33 or 34 bands at the contest, allowing 6 to advance to State. I guess there's an outside chance that 8 of the Region 18 schools get 1's and we get 35 bands at Area D, thereby advancing 7 to State. We shall see. Area E 1st Divisions: Cy Creek Cy Fair Cy Falls Cy Lakes Cy Ranch Cy Springs Cy Woods Jersey Village Langham Creek FB Austin FB Clements FB Dulles FB Kempner FB Travis That's 14 so far, however, I don't think that FB Austin bothers with going to Area anymore, do they? If not, then that's only 13. Region 23 will have their contest on Tuesday, which includes the 3 Alief ISD schools, 3 schools from Houston ISD, and the 6 Katy ISD schools. I think the Katy ISD schools are the only ones that have reasonably sure chances at 1st divisions, so it's quite likely that Area E may have less than 20 schools at Area and only advance 3 to State. However, again, I'm not sure about Austin's plans, so they could be the difference maker. Area F 1st Divisions: Baytown Sterling Beaumont West Brook Humble Atascocita Humble Kingwood Aldine MacArthur Aldine Nimitz Channelview GP North Shore Deer Park Pasadena Memorial That's 10 so far. But, Region 9 (includes The Woodlands, Spring ISD, Klein ISD, etc.) has their contest on Tuesday. Also, Region 17 has their contest on Tuesday (includes Brazoswood, Clear Creek ISD schools, Dickinson, Pearland, etc.) Between those 2 Regions there are 20 more potential bands that could get 1st Divisions and most of them are consistent sweepstakes bands, so I am going to predict that at least 15 of those 20 receive 1's, meaning that this Area will have 25 bands at their contest and send 5 bands to State. Area G 1st Divisions: SA Brandeis SA Clark SA Marshall SA O'Connor SA Stevens SA Taft SA Warren SA Southwest South San Antonio Del Rio Eagle Pass Eagle Pass Winn CC Carroll CC King Laredo Alexander Laredo Johnson Laredo Nixon Laredo United Laredo United South La Joya La Joya Palmview McAllen McAllen Memorial Mission Sharyland Edinburg Edinburg Economedes Edinburg North PSJA Memorial PSJA North Donna Harlingen Harlingen South Brownsville Hanna Browsville Lopez Brownsville Pace Brownsville Rivera Los Fresnos San Benito There are 38! That is the complete list for Area G as all Region contest are now complete for them. This means that they will advance 7 schools to State from this Area. Anyway, that is my Sunday morning analysis of the Region contests. As I mention above, Region 16 South Zone, Region 5, Region 18, Region 9, Region 17, and Region 23 all have their contests on Tuesday, so by Tuesday night we will have a definitive picture for all Areas.

Region 24 5A's: Southlake Carroll - 1 Colleyville Heritage - 1 Grapevine - 1 Marcus - 1 Flower Mound - 1 Lewisville - 1 Hebron - 1 Region 8 5A's: A&M Consolidated - 1 Belton - 1 Bryan - 1 Copperas Cove - 1 Killeen Ellison - 1 Killeen Harker Heights - 1 Killeen Shoemaker - 2 Temple - 1 Region 19 5A's: Aldine - 2 Atascocita - 1 Channelview - 1 Deer Park - 1 Dobie - 2 Eisenhower - 3 Kingwood - 1 LaPorte - 2 Aldine MacArthur - 1 Aldine Nimitz - 1 North Shore - 1 Pasadena - 2 Pasadena Memorial - 1 Pasadena Rayburn - 2 South Houston - 3 Region 25 5As: Allen - 1 McKinney Boyd - 1 Plano East - 1 Plano - 1 Plano West - 2

Region 27 - 5As: Cy Fair - 1 Cypress Creek - 1 Cypress Falls - 1 Cypress Lakes - 1 Cypress Ranch - 1 Cypress Ridge - 2 Cypress Springs - 1 Cypress Woods - 1 Jersey Village - 1 Langham Creek - 1 Houston Memorial - 2

From UIL Forms Region 26: 4A: Cedar Park - 1 Cedar Ridge - 1 Elgin - 2 Hutto - 1 Lake Travis - 1 Manor - 2 Marble Falls - 2 Rouse -1 Vandegrift - 1 Vista Ridge - 1 5A: Georgetown - 1 Leander - 1 Round Rock - 1 McNeil - 1 Westwood - 1 Stony Point - 1

Region 13 (the Fort Bend ISD schools) results now up on UILForms: Clements - 1 Austin - 1 Dulles - 1 Elkins - 2 Hightower - 2 Travis - 1 Kempner - 1

Region 3 ratings from tonight are now up on UILForms: 5A Berkner - 1 Garland - 1 Mesquite Horn - 1 Lake Highlands -1 Lakeview Centennial - 1 Mesquite - 1 Naaman Forest - 1 North Garland - 1 North Mesquite - 1 Richardson - 1 Rowlett -1 Sachse - 1 South Garland - 2 3A Canton - 1 Commerce - 1 Crandall - 1 Kaufman - 1 Kemp - 1 Mabank - 1 North Forney - 1 Quinlan-Ford - 2 Rains - 2 Wills Point - 1

Just watched the video of Mansfield and WOW! I agree with the above post from Xenon - lots of difficult, but well played stuff while on the move. That show demands attention from the start. The guard is also incredible! That guard work evokes some serious memories of vintage Churchill or The Woodlands. My hat is off to you Mansfield. I would dearly love for them to snag a spot to State from Area B, so I can see them in person.

With regard to Round Rock beating Bowie: Yes, Round Rock is very good this year. However, please note that in both competitions where they bested Bowie, were competitions whose format had separate captions for Guard and Percussion. Both times Bowie had higher scores in Marching and Music, while Round Rock was able to get some serious points out of their guard and especially, their incredible drumline. It may well be a different story at area where the captions are 3 Music and 2 Marching judges, in which, Guard is merely a small component of the overall Marching Score and Percussion is a component of the overall Music Score. All that said, I think that Bowie and Round Rock both have excellent shots of advancement to the SMBC. Certainly, McNeil, with their impressive showing at BOA Woodlands must also be considered.