UIL 5A Area B 2024

[Beanbag52]

8 hours ago, tennertrumbow said:

there was one thing that really bugged me and some spectators nearby. mckinney north erupting in cheers and applause when LT was announced as 5th place. 

while i understand that it obviously meant that they had advanced to state, not one other program cheered- not even argyle, who'd been snuffed of a state spot just one year ago and had finally made it back. 

it is my understanding, as was taught by my directors and taught at many other schools, that you do NOT cheer when another band is announced below you. LT placed 5th in this insanely competitive area, so let their accomplishment be recognized, or let their placement one out of state be mourned, either way. you simply cannot burst into cheers and make the celebration of another program about yourself. i think ultimately that lack of maturity and restraint falls upon the directors.

win humbly.

100% agree. This is caused by terrible leadership, stemming from the directors. If any MN kids are in these forums, I would hope you see the comments about this and reevaluate, because that is extremely rude and disrespectful. I know people at LT and how hard they worked this season. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, you do NOT cheer at another band’s misfortune. And props to Argyle and the others who made it to showing some class. 

[clarinetistkai05]

7 minutes ago, Beanbag52 said:

100% agree. This is caused by terrible leadership, stemming from the directors. If any MN kids are in these forums, I would hope you see the comments about this and reevaluate, because that is extremely rude and disrespectful. I know people at LT and how hard they worked this season. It doesn’t matter what the situation is, you do NOT cheer at another band’s misfortune. And props to Argyle and the others who made it to showing some class. 

I would argue the directors dont really know what goes on the band program itsself. They could instill these policies and leave the student leaders to do carry out the rules. The students are at fault, specifically upperclassmen and leadership team cause they are responsible for their own actions. I know directors do check these forums in the event their kids are on here (I know mine were my senior year), so chances are they’ll come across this forum.

[Tubalord11]

Good morning, everyone. Congratulations to Wakeland, LS, MN, and Argyle on advancing to state! Ofc, we all knew that someone was going to get left out, just how competitions work, and this year was no different. I hope everyone at LT is doing okay, Ik it's probably a little hard after making it these past few area comps but do keep in mind now that area is every year, so freshmen, you've still got 3 more chances at state now rather than 1, and this goes for everyone!! Super happy to see Reedy in 6th (Congratulations Mr. Heuer!!!), I'd say I'm a little surprised Walnut Grove wasn't a little higher, but other than that not much to say as I can't really judge since I wasn't there lol. Looking at prelims, not shocked to see TC and Emerson be the first two out, but yeah, congrats to everyone who's season is now over, go get some well-deserved rest, and let's go represent well at state!! 

[Beanbag52]

13 minutes ago, clarinetistkai05 said:

I would argue the directors dont really know what goes on the band program itsself. They could instill these policies and leave the student leaders to do carry out the rules. The students are at fault, specifically upperclassmen and leadership team cause they are responsible for their own actions. I know directors do check these forums in the event their kids are on here (I know mine were my senior year), so chances are they’ll come across this forum.

From my experiences, if the directors do not want their kids to cheer until their band is called, they will tell them not to. Yes, upperclassmen and leadership should know better, but this falls on the directors as well for doing a poor job of maintaining integrity of the program.

[WanderingTraveler]

Congratulations to Wakeland, Lone Star, Mckinney North, and Argyle!!! Excited to see y’all represent Area B next week at state! All of the bands in finals sounded amazing, and was a super fun area to watch

[clarinetistkai05]

1 hour ago, Beanbag52 said:

From my experiences, if the directors do not want their kids to cheer until their band is called, they will tell them not to. Yes, upperclassmen and leadership should know better, but this falls on the directors as well for doing a poor job of maintaining integrity of the program.

I forgor about this, my bad 😭

[DrumLine]

Early call times for LS and Wakeland in San Antonio.

[mahic]

anyone got prelims score breakdowns???

 

[OGFISD99]

52 minutes ago, DrumLine said:

Early call times for LS and Wakeland in San Antonio.

Cedar Park also...

[DrumLine]

18 minutes ago, mahic said:

anyone got prelims score breakdowns???

 

 

area-24_5A Area B 2024.pdf

[poirek]

11 hours ago, tennertrumbow said:

there was one thing that really bugged me and some spectators nearby. mckinney north erupting in cheers and applause when LT was announced as 5th place. 

while i understand that it obviously meant that they had advanced to state, not one other program cheered- not even argyle, who'd been snuffed of a state spot just one year ago and had finally made it back. 

it is my understanding, as was taught by my directors and taught at many other schools, that you do NOT cheer when another band is announced below you. LT placed 5th in this insanely competitive area, so let their accomplishment be recognized, or let their placement one out of state be mourned, either way. you simply cannot burst into cheers and make the celebration of another program about yourself. i think ultimately that lack of maturity and restraint falls upon the directors.

win humbly.

I saw disrespect with a bunch of other bands too. I heard people play their region etudes near the stadium while other bands are performing/warming up, people blatantly insulting other bands AFTER pre-elims, crazy to see ngl.

[clarinetistkai05]

10 minutes ago, poirek said:

I saw disrespect with a bunch of other bands too. I heard people play their region etudes near the stadium while other bands are performing/warming up, people blatantly insulting other bands AFTER pre-elims, crazy to see ngl.

ive seen this happen so many times and it makes me so mad that people will do this.

[notenthused1]

i’m not quite surprised that 1-5 was close as we kinda all knew the big 5 but i was really surprised by reedy, liberty and memorial! 

reedy had an amazing show and they have an amazing brass! i knew they were good at wmi but they continued getting better. 

liberty was probably the school no one expected. i definitely didn’t. really cool show idea and performed very nicely. 

memorial was insanely clean visually. for such a small band program (maybe one of the smallest in this area) they’ve been good making finals 3 years in a row. excited to see what they have in store for the future as their program grows! 

*also super surprised about emerson and the colony with no finals, however judging is subjective and nothing they can do now. but amazing shows for emerson and the colony, as well as every band in this area putting in strong work this season, everyone is getting so good! 

[northtexasshawty]

38 minutes ago, riddles said:

waah waah cry me a river they probably cheered because they know they're good and they're still ABLE TO CHEER FOR OTHER BANDS STUPID stop babbling on the internet because you're sad and whiny 

you must be new here- we don’t talk like that to other bands. we’re all in this together at the end of the day. keep the negativity to yourself.

[Bbas]

This year was the most competitive it's ever been. There was a one-point difference between Wakeland and LS, a one-point difference between Argyle and LT, the "newcomers" to the scene such as Liberty and Reedy, and so many cool things happening here. My heart goes out to those LT kids. Liberty and Reedy, both under new direction seem to be state contenders next year. GL to those who qualified for state!

[ClarinetFreak]

just curious, realistically, how close is LS to Wakeland? Looks like LS is a lot closer than some make it out to be? Coming from a Reedy parent, they both sounded phenomenal and looked amazing. Hoping they do well representing Area B at state!

[Beanbag52]

On 10/23/2024 at 6:42 PM, Beanbag52 said:

Reminder that BOA and UIL judging are very very different, and a lot can happen in 2 weeks. I agree Wakeland is having an amazing year and will most likely come out on top, but it could be closer than many are thinking for 1 and 2.

 

3 minutes ago, ClarinetFreak said:

just curious, realistically, how close is LS to Wakeland? Looks like LS is a lot closer than some make it out to be? Coming from a Reedy parent, they both sounded phenomenal and looked amazing. Hoping they do well representing Area B at state!

By UIL standards, I think Lone Star and Wakeland are very very close. This is the closest I've ever seen an area competition, with Lone Star losing by 1 point. Not only that but in both of the music captions they lost, it was by 4 and 2 points out of 1000. Both of of those judges were extremely close to giving Lone Star the upper hand. And Lone Star won raw score, also by a very small margin. Out of 5,000 possible points, Lone Star only got 14 more than Wakeland.

I think it is common for people to just assume history will repeat itself again and again without doing any research first, and although it does happen a lot, the gap between these 2 schools is getting smaller and smaller every year. They are both incredible programs with amazing staff, and it's always exciting to see them compete.

In my opinion, the placements at state with these 2 will be solely based on how they spend the next 5 days. It's anyone's game, and and props to Lone Star for starting to give Wakeland a real run for their money, both in Prelims and Finals. I know this is a tense rivalry, and both schools are going to do all they can this week to get the upper hand, so best of luck to both!

[RhythmicTuba]

7 hours ago, Joeking said:

Totally agree LT was heartbreaking to see after they were named as 5th because those top 5 were all amazing next time maybe they should just wait to party on the bus or when they actually get called

I second this, as I was leaving the DM retreat after finals I walked by the McKinney North band near their truck. They were being very loud and celebrating all the while Lebanon Trail band members were crying and packing up their truck to go home right next to them. As someone whos band was not called to be in that top 4, it feels real bad and I can only imagine what it was like for a band that regularly makes it. I wish the MN Band Leadership could have shown some humility in that moment and consoled the Lebanon Trail members instead of celebrating in front of everyone else whos seasons just ended.

[TubaMama]

3 hours ago, northtexasshawty said:

you must be new here- we don’t talk like that to other bands. we’re all in this together at the end of the day. keep the negativity to yourself.

Thank you @northtexasshawty- but you should have added “way to stay classy!”  The OP appears to have been deleted. 
A great band program along will instill humility, discipline and respect. 
Job well done to all the students- you all work so hard and good luck to those who advanced to state. 
 

[WanderingTraveler]

1 hour ago, ClarinetFreak said:

just curious, realistically, how close is LS to Wakeland? Looks like LS is a lot closer than some make it out to be? Coming from a Reedy parent, they both sounded phenomenal and looked amazing. Hoping they do well representing Area B at state!

Realistically very close… In prelims I would’ve taken Lone Star over Wakeland, but in finals the opposite. It seems to be a battle of runs. Interested to see how this pans out at state.

[Color Guardian]

On 8/31/2024 at 9:35 PM, bow_nerd said:

Predictions 

*=State MBC Qualifier

1st-2nd Bubble

🥇Frisco Wakeland HS*: This is one of the most consistently good programs in the state. I've seen snippets of their show and the brass sounds great. Woodwinds sound like they could take their respective caption at state again. However, I don't think their show is something any more innovative than years past, and they may experience a slight plateau or even dip in their competition season results compared to last year. Other than that there's not much else to say. They're Wakeland.

🥈Frisco Lone Star HS*: Drove to their community preview in Frisco. Certainly a noticeable step forward in design. They sound PHENOMENAL for this early in the year, brass section is cranking more than ever before, and it's already cleaner than most, with a tougher book. I think they will once again be a crowd favorite, just from their opener alone. That said I think these top 2 are pretty locked. Lone Star's had nothing but an upward trajectory since 2020. They won here in 2022, though Wakeland was famously not there because of a UIL disqualification. There is also questions on how valid their win in Area Prelims last year was, what with spread-out performance times. However, I think the fact that Lone Star's had their foot in the door for a while there says that Wakeland is no longer untouchable in Area B. I see Wakeland still a little ahead, but I think they could definitely swap some ordinals with each other this year in finals. Lone Star could maybe even be a poor finals performance by Wakeland away from a more "undisputed" Area Championship.

 

3rd-5th Bubble

 

🥉Frisco Lebanon Trail HS*: I haven't seen LT yet, but they are a great program with some 5A state experience under their belt. Their show "Fascinating People" appears to be a step in the right direction this year, with a more "outside the box" show concept. I feel like that has been a consistent hold-back for this program, and it took them several years to escape their trend of safe, classical, albeit clean shows. I see some Chick Corea in their repertoire and that makes me excited. What the band staff does in terms of design with the show they've got, is what will make or break them against bands like Argyle, who are pretty heated up after last year's 4th to 5th place movement in finals.

4 McKinney North*: Not seen them yet. A lot of people talk about how this program gets "underscored" in UIL competitions because of their more BOA-oriented show designs. And while I see why people see it that way, I think North has gotten some pretty justifiable UIL scorings over the last few years, maybe even higher than expected. They've been a pretty consistent program since 2022, placing 3rd the last two years at Area, and making the SMBC last year for the first time in a while. I think they've found a neat identity with their jazzy shows and they remind me a lot of the Mandarins in terms of recent show design. I think they could be anywhere in the 3-5 bubble, but we'll see as the year plays out. 

5 Argyle HS: I put this program in 5th because I don't think I'm quite sold on them being fully on par yet with the big 5A bands. What they do have going for them, is lots of historically great state runs and I'm guessing some fired-up students after 2023's Area Finals. While this band IS similar in size to McKinney North, I feel like they still have a bit of 4A blood left in terms of show design, and North uses what they have far more effectively in my opinion. However, I would love for Argyle to prove me dead wrong, because I think they have found the top 5 bubble nice and comfortable these last two years, and are ready to make a swing for a possible top 4 or 3.

I think this top 5 is pretty set and will not be disrupted. 

 

6-10 Bubble

 

6 Frisco Independence HS: I think last year was a fluke. They have a great big sound for a smaller band, and they remind me a lot of Argyle, but a little louder.

7 The Colony HS: To be honest I don't really know where this program's headed. They never seem to attract a lot of attention in competition season leading up to this event (but I think they should get more credit), but always seem to end up in the middle-upper finals bubble. I think they'll stay there for now. I see them literally anywhere 6-10, or they could just randomly give Top 5 a small run for its money. 

8 Frisco Emerson HS: They really surprised me last year. I thought early on they'd be a dark horse for finals and ended up right. Lots of talent for a medium-size 5A band, especially being so new. I see them in the 8-12 range.

9 Anna HS: Another 4A band moving up, another with some good state experience. I think they will hover in the 8-14 range.

10 Lucas Lovejoy HS: This band is a lot like The Colony in terms of placement history, but has definitely been more volatile, with some historical 5th, 6ths, then 9ths and non-finals finishes. They consistently do very well in the prior competition season then get snubbed come Area, but I don't think they will break that Top 5 bubble. Anywhere from 6-12 for me.

Finals Bubble (In Descending Order): Frisco Memorial HS, Frisco Centennial HS, Frisco Reedy HS, Frisco Liberty HS, Prosper Walnut Grove HS

HUGE GRAIN OF SALT FOR THIS POST:  It's August. 95% of these are going to be wrong.

Your predictions have been spot-on! Great job!!

[Bbas]

Does anyone have a vid of reedy or McKinney?

[Bbas]

1 minute ago, tennertrumbow said:

i caught a vid of reedy's opening hit from the 50 in finals, but that's about it.

I would love to hear it!

[mahic]

5 hours ago, DrumLine said:

 

area-24_5A Area B 2024.pdf 129.8 kB · 45 downloads

thanks!!

[mahic]

24 minutes ago, Bbas said:

Does anyone have a vid of reedy or McKinney?

I have mckinney!!