Anthony V

Finals Results 1. 84.95 - Richland 2. 83.95 - Stephen F. Austin 3. 82.75 - Dawson 4. 80.80 - Clear Brook 5. 80.55 - Clements 6. 80.05 - North Shore 7. 78.40 - Oak Ridge 8. 76.70 - Lafayette 9. 74.20 - Klein 10. 70.50 Klein Forest Outstanding Music - Richland Outstanding Visual - Stephen F. Austin Outstanding General Effect - Richland Outstanding Percussion - Clearbrook Outstanding Guard - Dawson ________ Update @ 11:49 PM -- Full Scores and Placements

Finals Performance Schedule: 8:00 - Klein Forest 8:15 - Oak Ridge 8:30 - Klein 8:45 - Clements 9:00 - Lafayette Break 9:30 - North Shore 9:45 - Richland 10:00 - Dawson 10:15 - Clear Brook 10:30 - Stephen F. Austin ... 11:00 - Retreat NB: Top-5, bottom-5 random draw. The following from the Lone Star Preview website:

From what I can remember someone at the event told me: 4A Results: 1. Stephen F. Austin 2. Dawson 3. Clear Brook Music: Stephen F. Austin Visual: Stephen F. Austin General Effect: Stephen F. Austin Percussion: Clear Brook Auxiliary: Stephen F. Austin 3A Results: 1. Richland 2. Willis 3. Dekaney Music: Richland Visual: Richland General Effect: Richland Percussion: Richland Auxiliary: Richland EDIT : 4A percussion caption updated.

Does anybody know whether finals performance order is determined by placement, or is it random? I can't remember how it was done last year.

It really does suck. In fact, it sucks most of the sound up into the dome, so it's difficult to hear across the ensemble, much less from the box (where the ensemble sound is commingled with every pin drop and napkin crumple from the stands). I don't even know how much a sound curtain in front of the away stands would actually help.

I think things are looking very good for Richland from an adjudication perspective. Their show is built to weather these kinds of storms, and they have been popping some very nice GE scores all season. Since this contest is 60% GE, that is pretty good news. And it will certainly help that the whole show will be out there, hopefully with a little bit of cleaning already done. On the other hand, we will see some on the field judges which could potentially cut down some of the execution scores if things aren't tidy. I don't think music individual scores will be a problem this season. Maybe there's a little bit of visual messiness individually though, unless that gets cleaned up this week. But like LKendrick said, the kind of scores we see from them at this contest will be a good indicator how how strong they will be going into StL. Other people are going to have to fill us in on how SFA is doing. (I don't feel qualified to speak for them since the last time I saw them live was before enrollment shifts -- all the way back in 2009 at BOA SA! (It's odd not to see them in those black uniforms anymore; and I'm still baffled as to why they didn't place higher in finals! But I digress...) And the same for Lafayette.

Will any staff members be there at the event? For some reason I had some vague memory of something remotely like that happening at some point in the past. But maybe I'm just fooling myself. Maybe I'll try and watch on FloMarching or something.

If I absolutely had to choose five, I would choose: L.D. Bell, Duncanville, Keller, Haltom, Martin. My second and third choice would be Coppell and Keller Central, respectively. I figured I'd also throw my brainstorming out there for fun: Plausible and not altogether unlikely scenarios: (1) Coppell places fifth or higher in finals. (2) Haltom places third or higher in finals. (3) Either Keller or Duncanville does not place in the top three in either finals or prelims. (4) Duncanville places over either Keller or L.D. Bell in either prelims or finals. (5) Either Trinity or Fossil Ridge makes finals. (6) Keller Central places fifth or higher in finals. Plausible but less likely scenarios: (1) Haltom does not place in the top five in finals but two of Martin, Coppell, and Keller Central do. (2) James Martin, Haltom, and Keller Central place in the top six in finals while Coppell does not. (3) Duncanville places over both L.D. Bell and Keller in either prelims or finals. (4) Keller places over both Duncanville and L.D. Bell in either prelims or finals. Possible, but very unlikely scenarios: (1) Two of L.D. Bell, Keller, or Duncanville tie either in prelims or in finals. (2) L.D. Bell places third or lower in finals. (3) Timber Creek places higher than either Coppell or Keller Central in either prelims or finals. (4) Both James Martin and Haltom place in the top three in finals while neither Duncanville nor Keller places below fifth. (5) None of Haltom, Martin, or Coppell takes third or fourth in finals, but two of L.D. Bell, Keller, Duncanville, and Keller Central do. (6) Haltom places first or second or ties for first or second in either prelims or finals. (7) Finals is rained out. Very improbable scenarios: (1) Only one of L.D. Bell, Duncanville, Keller, or Haltom places in the top three while both Coppell and James Martin do, in finals. (2) Either L.D. Bell or Duncanville does not advance. (3) A band placing lower than seventh in prelims advances to state in finals. (4) Coppell places fifth or lower in prelims, but then places third or higher in finals.

I agree; it was very clear after seeing the finals performances that it would be Richland and Duncanville competing for the top spot, although Centennial and Summit especially were both very good. And yes, it is good to see Richland climbing back up to about where they were in their heyday several years ago. The directors have really found a solid identity in terms of design and instruction. I think that when they go to the Lone Star Preview and to St. Louis, where GE is 60% of the score instead of 20%, they will be popping some very nice numbers relative to the competition. And even if they don't for some reason, it's clear this was a building year -- in the true sense of the word -- which solidly put them on an upward trajectory in all quarters of the program. I hope to hear more good news from them in the future.

I'm really diggin' the speed with which BOA puts up these recaps. Major props to the tabulator or whomever behind the scenes that sticks around to do so!

Finals 1. Duncanville. Music, Visual. 2. Richland. Percussion, GE. 3. Centennial. 4. Summit. Placements 3-5 were fairly tight score-wise, then a 3 or 4 point jump up to Duncanville and Richland, who were I think 0.6 apart.

Prelims results were announced really fast, so I didn't catch much at all. No captions announced. Duncanville - 1st overall, 1st in class. Richland - 2nd overall. Centennial - 3rd overall.

There's something about Flower Mound's design, characteristic of the past few years, that is just very unique and very impressive. You're not overwhelmed with detail. But it's not "plain" at all. There's just a remarkable amount of design clarity. Like looking through a really, really big, clean window at a massive and beautiful landscape. Somehow, it reminds me of Hudson River School transcendentalism.

Just watched Haltom's show. They are quite good. Wes Cartwright has some sort of hand in their show design, which I think is a change -- someone correct me if I'm wrong. They have a show with lots of exposed technicality and they do a fine job with it. However, the ensemble isn't quite balanced yet, with many stick - outs in the brass. Yet again on the other hand, their directors are quite competent in fixing that kind of issue. I'm curious to see where they go with this.

Were you able to see both prelims and finals? Was there much a difference in finals? I watched from near the box for prelims, and had a super quick chat with Mr. Bird, but after that I had to dash for the rest of the day (sister's wedding; can't miss that!!), so I missed finals. But the prelims performance looked and sounded pretty solid, which is why I was amazed at the score jump above Haltom in finals.

I think Keller Central will grow quite a bit this season. They have a tremendous design package, and the program just seems very bought into the idea of moving up a tier. Although I'm not sure where they'll place, I think we'll see them do very well on Saturday.

A general finals inflation of about two points. Despite that, I think judges' comments would be necessary to explain Richland's jump from being 0.2 points behind Haltom in prelims to being 3 points ahead of them in finals -- a 4.9 point jump overall (!). Was it a difference of performance quality? Did the judges simply have a more direct comparison? Was it a difference of opinion between the prelims and finals judging panels? Or a combination of any of those factors? It's hard to say, but it was across the board improvement. Actually, it was straight 2nd's from each judge. And, although it's true that in specific captions it's the judge's ranking that tends to adjust the score rather than the score pushing around the ranking, some of Richland's music caption scores in finals were really biting at the heels of Marcus' own. So, that needs interpretation by judges' comments to say if we'll continue to see music scores pushing up towards tier 1 for them. Both Haltom and Richland are setting themselves up well for storming St. Louis finals on behalf of Texas.

Are recaps usually released for this event?

I was able to watch most, but not all, of prelims. A few general highlights from the afternoon (in performance order): Richland (exhibition) -- Very glad to see them stepping up from years past. Lots of music ensemble clarity and maturity. Felt like a mid-October show. Great projection and consistency from the brass. Relatively clean drill, and fantastic visual design package. If they were ranked, I would have expected to see them a few points above Keller Central, and a few points below Flower Mound. Prosper -- Nice! I think John Alstrin will continue to take this band upwards in the 5A world. The musical and visual design elements are well integrated, reminiscent of L.D. Bell in the late 2000's and early 2010's. Notable visual execution. Great guard. Nice projection from the brass. Keep an eye on these guys. Waxahachie -- What a beautiful ensemble sound! Definitely a highlight of the day. Once early-season timing issues clear up, this will be a top shelf production in terms of music ensemble. Perhaps with the exception of Flower Mound, they definitely had the most balanced ensemble sound of the competing bands. Flower Mound -- A wall of sound and clean visual execution. Great presence and confidence. They will do just fine this season. They performed up to halfway through their closer, and stood and played to what I think was the end. Keller -- In general, pretty clean drill. Fairly consistent musically. This performance was lacking just a bit in energy, and I think they could have pulled into second had there been a finals. Keller Central -- Contras! And sweet new uniforms with designer bibs! And a nice visual design package! When they're a bit cleaner in a couple weeks and the repertoire shines through more, I think they will be getting some nice GE scores. Good brass projection which will mature into a very confident ensemble presentation come end-season. Birdville (exhibition) -- As always, a nice, balanced and respectable ensemble sound. They don't overextend themselves. A couple mature moments where they turned up the power a bit without sacrificing any of that balance. I hope to hear more of that in the future! Good, clean marching. Good job to all the performing bands! Recap: http://www.birdvilleschools.net/cms/lib2/TX01000797/Centricity/Domain/2921/2016_FINALS_TABULATION.pdf

I most definitely agree with you on both points. There's a lack of impact from the brass at big moments, even if there is some good technique in moments which aren't meant to be impact-ful. I didn't get to watch Arlington, but I still wouldn't have guessed that two weeks ago the production was worthy of 21st place. Were they just visually dirty along with the lack of MGE then? I also thought that in this performance just now they had good VE moments of just being quite clean while marching less than easy drill (even if at other less important areas it was fuzzy compared to that; but it was still decent to my eye in those areas if we're considering it independent of the cleaner bits).

Wow, since 2007? That's really exciting! Texas was well represented indeed.

That must be very exciting for James Martin to have placed so high. Very indicative of the recent growth of their program.

Looking at this schedule again, this may be one of the stacked and hardest--if not the hardest--regional in the history of the universe. This might as well be another grand nationals. That really says something about the quality of bands in Texas.

Fixed.