UIL 4A State Marching Contest 2025 (Nov 5)

[Tubalord11]

Congratulations to Celina and the rest of the bands! Really cool hearing Davenport got a new director and he huge success! I’m pretty sure Marcus is the only other band with so many 1st place back to back, could be wrong but 4 in a row is really impressive, especially with how close other bands were getting to 1st. 

[natertater21000]

34 minutes ago, Tubalord11 said:

Congratulations to Celina and the rest of the bands! Really cool hearing Davenport got a new director and he huge success! I’m pretty sure Marcus is the only other band with so many 1st place back to back, could be wrong but 4 in a row is really impressive, especially with how close other bands were getting to 1st. 

Cedar park has 6 consecutive currently. 7 if they win again this year. 

[Tubalord11]

2 hours ago, natertater21000 said:

Cedar park has 6 consecutive currently. 7 if they win again this year. 

omg duhhhhhhh 🤭

completely forget about them lol

[utee94]

2 hours ago, Tubalord11 said:

omg duhhhhhhh 🤭

completely forget about them lol

 

[Tubalord11]

18 minutes ago, utee94 said:

 

I’m sorry 😭

[Gpk1968]

9 hours ago, Tubalord11 said:

I’m pretty sure Marcus is the only other band with so many 1st place back to back

I’m pretty sure Argyle had four in a row. And back the in 80s, Georgetown (I think) had at least five in a row. There aren’t too many who have done it. 

[Gpk1968]

Also, major props to everyone for keeping the board civil yesterday. I think last year I had to report two dozen plus comments. 

[Tubalord11]

1 hour ago, GarbagePatchKid said:

I’m pretty sure Argyle had four in a row. And back the in 80s, Georgetown (I think) had at least five in a row. There aren’t too many who have done it. 

Wouldn’t be surprised about Argyle, good to know about Georgetown…I need to go back and refresh my band history apparently 

[utee94]

7 hours ago, Tubalord11 said:

Wouldn’t be surprised about Argyle, good to know about Georgetown…I need to go back and refresh my band history apparently 

Handy list on wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_UIL_State_Marching_Band_Competition_Winners

 

[Gpk1968]

1 hour ago, utee94 said:

Handy list on wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_UIL_State_Marching_Band_Competition_Winners

 

Oh interesting. So argyle didn’t actually get 4 in a row because they moved up and were beat by vandegrift in 2013. I saw that they won in 08, 10, 12, and 14 and assumed it was all in a row.  

 

 

UIL also has a leader board but it doesn’t break it down by division. https://smbc.uiltexas.org/leaderboard.htm

[wtxbd02]

A little selfish on my part.  Super proud of Area A having two finalists for the 4th year in a row.  I do work up here so I'm ecstatic that we've been able to keep up with the insane improvement of 4A over the last 5 years.  Canyon has placed 3rd, 2nd, 3rd in percussion in prelims the last three years and finally got into the top 5 in finals with 4th this year in that caption.  West Plains has made finals 75% of the time since the school opened, and Randall has advanced every year since moving down to 4A.  Lubbock-Cooper Liberty made it in their 3rd year and will only get better, Pecos continues to put out amazing shows, etc.  

Lots of amazing stuff going on in the panhandle.  Reigning 4A honor band, tons of all staters, and a consistent presence on the state marching contest stage makes my heart happy.  

And just blown away by what I'm seeing in the rest of the state.  Medalists were absurdly good this year, Sulphur Springs is close to that level and doing AMAZING things in the spring on a concert stage, China Spring continues to put out content monster shows that are so exciting.  North Lamar continues to improve back to their strongest levels again, Calallen show design and percussion always blow me away, and was SO excited that Fredericksburg made it in with their super fun show this year.  We have rising stars in Aubrey and Legacy Ranch that will make finals sooner than not, etc.  

4A is at its best ever.  I don't think you'd have to go back very far for that Celina show to compete in finals in 5A.  They're going to handle that transition very well next year.  Sure Panther Creek and whoever else moves up will as well.  

Kaufman will fill some shoes VERY quickly dropping back down as well.  The future is bright.  

[wgitxluv]

I know Fredericksburg appreciates all of the support. As an alum, it’s kind of amazing how much a solid set of directors and support can get you. That crowd was absolutely crazy, both in prelims and finals, and dang was it emotional to see. 

[utee94]

8 hours ago, wgitxluv said:

I know Fredericksburg appreciates all of the support. As an alum, it’s kind of amazing how much a solid set of directors and support can get you. That crowd was absolutely crazy, both in prelims and finals, and dang was it emotional to see. 

It was one of my favorite 4A shows at State.  The students, directors, boosters, and parents, have a lot to be proud of.

[Saxtastic45]

Finally got through all the shows from finals. All I have to say is Wow! As someone who follows the Area C bands mostly, it was amazing how high the level of achievement was for 4A. These students are playing and performing at a level that the top 5A bands were doing not too long ago. I have my favorites for sure but every band in finals just crushed it! Bravo! 
 

With at least 2-4 of the very top bands going up, it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out next year. Kaufman coming down also makes it a bit spicier!

[Gpk1968]

It’s clear a new standard has been set for 4a over the past several years and it’s really exciting to see. 
 

I’ve been slowly going back through and watching some of the state performances across all divisions that have happened so far and I’m seeing one thing that’s setting the very top apart from the rest: clarity. I’m hearing a clarity in musical phrases from top to bottom, no voices sticking out unless they are meant to and very well defined phrasing. It’s lovely. There’s also clarity of movement. Crisp visuals and clear formations without any muddiness. 

[Gpk1968]

It’s clear a new standard has been set for 4a over the past several years and it’s really exciting to see. 
 

I’ve been slowly going back through and watching some of the state performances across all divisions that have happened so far and I’m seeing one thing that’s setting the very top apart from the rest: clarity. I’m hearing a clarity in musical phrases from top to bottom, no voices sticking out unless they are meant to and very well defined phrasing. It’s lovely. There’s also clarity of movement. Crisp visuals and clear formations without any muddiness. 

[Saxtastic45]

5 hours ago, GarbagePatchKid said:

It’s clear a new standard has been set for 4a over the past several years and it’s really exciting to see. 
 

I’ve been slowly going back through and watching some of the state performances across all divisions that have happened so far and I’m seeing one thing that’s setting the very top apart from the rest: clarity. I’m hearing a clarity in musical phrases from top to bottom, no voices sticking out unless they are meant to and very well defined phrasing. It’s lovely. There’s also clarity of movement. Crisp visuals and clear formations without any muddiness. 

I would agree with that statement. I don’t 100% agree with the order of the final results other than Celina winning and Davenport in a close 2nd place. But with those 2 in a different classification next year, do any of these other groups have it in them to rise to those levels?  I think there was a bit of a gap between them and CS, SS, and NL. But the weird thing is, I think that it wasn’t necessarily like they were outclassed in every way. There was another gap between those 3 and Calallen/Canyon/WP/and Fredericksburg. 
My opinion is it comes down to design numbers and production. The achievement factor for the top 6 is so much higher than the medalists 4 or more years ago. But the productions are so much more advanced. 
 

can’t wait to see what the snapshot looks like in a couple weeks

[RaElk99]

Random question-- Are judges ever repeated from year to year? Or are they different each year? Is there anyway to find who the judges were each year for 4A state marching contest?

[Gpk1968]

2 hours ago, RaElk99 said:

Random question-- Are judges ever repeated from year to year? Or are they different each year? Is there anyway to find who the judges were each year for 4A state marching contest?

They don’t make old information easy to find that’s for sure. I was looking for old programs to compare how bands have grown or gotten smaller over the years and I struggled. Im Sharing the ones I found down below. 
 

You can search the old state threads here on Txbands and you will likely find old ordinals with the judges’ names at the top. 
 

I found the 2023 program online - https://indd.adobe.com/embed/bbd9b29e-8ca3-4fe7-b4cf-3b5ea337772b?startpage=1&allowFullscreen=false

 

And the 2022 program - https://indd.adobe.com/embed/bbd9b29e-8ca3-4fe7-b4cf-3b5ea337772b?startpage=1&allowFullscreen=false

 

I could not find the 2024 program. I know from My experience that the judges do tend to change from year to year. That’s not to say that some people are not invited back here and there, but for the most part it changes. 
 

I do remember that Gino cipriani judged brass last year in prelims, I believe. I know there was a lady doing content who is pretty high within dci but her name has completely slipped my mind.