2010 UIL State

[NewMexicoBandsman]

On another note, I'd like to take a moment to point out how ridiculously great Texas marching band is. New Mexico has two "major" competitions, TOB and Zia. Zia is on the same day as BOA San Antonio, so Texas bands aren't prevelant there. At TOB, however, Coronado, from Texas, is a perennial champion, often getting first place overall, over the very best New Mexico has to offer. Coronado got 29th place at Texas State UIL...There's not much more I can say.

[takigan]

This is something I never knew until last year but Coronado typically places 6-8 band students in the All-State Bands/Orchestras each year. This past year it was 7 (6 band kids + 1 String Bass in Symphonic Band).

 

In that same year, some of the UIL State finalists posted these numbers:

 

L.D. Bell placed 5 students

Hebron placed 7

Austin Bowie placed 5

The Woodlands placed 7

Westlake placed 6 (5+1 Harp)

Duncanville placed 2

Spring placed 3

Berkner didn't place any

 

Marcus had 11 (10 + 1 Piano)

Coppell had 12 (11 + 1 String Bass)

 

If you take into consideration that there are roughly 245 5A High Schools in the state of Texas and only 398 "Band Spots" in the 5A All-State groups, if your school places 2 students in All-State then your school's Region/State tryout "program" is already ahead of the majority of schools in the State. To place 7 in the bands is pretty outrageous (not to mention 12 is just stellar).

[TxRaider13]

Those last 2 numbers are crazy!! I knew those kids could play, but I had no idea that they produced some many ALL State kids, I would be interested in the number that made their area/region. I mean when I was at Poteet the most we ever sent at once was 3 to state, and 5 the year after I graduated, but average 1 a year to state, so to send 6+ a year is crazy..Nice job by those programs

 

This is something I never knew until last year but Coronado typically places 6-8 band students in the All-State Bands/Orchestras each year. This past year it was 7 (6 band kids + 1 String Bass in Symphonic Band).

 

In that same year, some of the UIL State finalists posted these numbers:

 

L.D. Bell placed 5 students

Hebron placed 7

Austin Bowie placed 5

The Woodlands placed 7

Westlake placed 6 (5+1 Harp)

Duncanville placed 2

Spring placed 3

Berkner didn't place any

 

Marcus had 11 (10 + 1 Piano)

Coppell had 12 (11 + 1 String Bass)

 

If you take into consideration that there are roughly 245 5A High Schools in the state of Texas and only 398 "Band Spots" in the 5A All-State groups, if your school places 2 students in All-State then your school's Region/State tryout "program" is already ahead of the majority of schools in the State. To place 7 in the bands is pretty outrageous (not to mention 12 is just stellar).

[Xenon]

It should also be noted that TMEA All-State Areas are aligned differently from UIL Areas. For 5A, there is one TMEA area that covers Coppell, Duncanville, Leander ISD, Round Rock ISD, Conroe ISD (The Woodlands), Spring ISD, Klein ISD and more.

[mrwood69]

It should also be noted that TMEA All-State Areas are aligned differently from UIL Areas. For 5A, there is one TMEA area that covers Coppell, Duncanville, Leander ISD, Round Rock ISD, Conroe ISD (The Woodlands), Spring ISD, Klein ISD and more.

 

 

That's extremely competative.

[Prof. Chaos]

It should also be noted that TMEA All-State Areas are aligned differently from UIL Areas. For 5A, there is one TMEA area that covers Coppell, Duncanville, Leander ISD, Round Rock ISD, Conroe ISD (The Woodlands), Spring ISD, Klein ISD and more.

 

Ouch! That is brutal!

 

Any hope of redistricting soon? Do those areas apply to Honor Band (TMEA) as well?

[Xenon]

Ouch! That is brutal!

 

Any hope of redistricting soon? Do those areas apply to Honor Band (TMEA) as well?

 

Yeah, it's awful. And yes, it applies to Honor Band as well.

[Drummantx]

I'd say Clovis could have given them a running this year, considering they were 1.15 away from American Fork at BOA St. George last weekend. (15th last year and 14th the previous year at BOA grand nationals). If they keep improving on that level, I'd say we could be hearing more about NM bands. The day before they took a visual caption from American Fork as well.

 

On another note, I'd like to take a moment to point out how ridiculously great Texas marching band is. New Mexico has two "major" competitions, TOB and Zia. Zia is on the same day as BOA San Antonio, so Texas bands aren't prevelant there. At TOB, however, Coronado, from Texas, is a perennial champion, often getting first place overall, over the very best New Mexico has to offer. Coronado got 29th place at Texas State UIL...There's not much more I can say.

[NewMexicoBandsman]

I'd say Clovis could have given them a running this year, considering they were 1.15 away from American Fork at BOA St. George last weekend. (15th last year and 14th the previous year at BOA grand nationals). If they keep improving on that level, I'd say we could be hearing more about NM bands. The day before they took a visual caption from American Fork as well.

 

You make a good point, and Clovis is quite good for this area. But that still leaves a crazy difference between the stuff Texas puts out and what almost every other state in the country has to offer. Even American Fork would probably have to battle into the top 7 or so at SA.

[bchorn]

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious. For those in the know, how does Texas bands rank amongst the other states? I hear Indiana bands are pretty good with Avon leading the way.

On another note, I'd like to take a moment to point out how ridiculously great Texas marching band is. New Mexico has two "major" competitions, TOB and Zia. Zia is on the same day as BOA San Antonio, so Texas bands aren't prevelant there. At TOB, however, Coronado, from Texas, is a perennial champion, often getting first place overall, over the very best New Mexico has to offer. Coronado got 29th place at Texas State UIL...There's not much more I can say.

[NewMexicoBandsman]

Generally? Texas>Indiana>Everybody else. It's hard to get a good read though, as Indiana is overrepresented at GN due to proximity. They don't have to travel as far, so the top Indiana bands can attend every year, whereas only Bell attends every year from Texas, and other bands attend now and then.

[kdnblue142]

Generally? Texas>Indiana>Everybody else. It's hard to get a good read though, as Indiana is overrepresented at GN due to proximity. They don't have to travel as far, so the top Indiana bands can attend every year, whereas only Bell attends every year from Texas, and other bands attend now and then.

Churchill only attends GN once every 5-7yrs or so due to the travel and the high costs associated with it. As a band parent, the cost for this trip was expensive and was in addition the usual band fees that had more than doubled this year from the previous year. But, it is always very much worth it!!

 

And on top of that is they are taking three days off from school.

 

I am sure alot of Texas schools would love to attend GN if they could. But it's just like the Super Regional here in San Antonio. Only one out of state school attended this year from Skiatook, OK. The travel costs continually go up every year. The charter bus fees were crazy this year!!

[TxRaider13]

Students missing school isn't a big deal if it's less than a week. Students SHOULD go get there work for the week early, finish it, and turn it in early, or first thing when they return, and should make an appointment to take test they may be missing while on the trip

[Prof. Chaos]

Students missing school isn't a big deal if it's less than a week. Students SHOULD go get there work for the week early, finish it, and turn it in early, or first thing when they return, and should make an appointment to take test they may be missing while on the trip

 

True, but once you add in time (possibly) missed for UIL region contests, Super Regionals, and State Marching Contest, that adds up to a lot of time. >1 week of instructional time.

[TxRaider13]

Granted, but most teachers, just have the students write papers to make up for it..Not all but most, kind of hard to write a paper for math, and besides the parents knew that this would happen when they look at the schedule for the year.

[kdnblue142]

Students missing school isn't a big deal if it's less than a week. Students SHOULD go get there work for the week early, finish it, and turn it in early, or first thing when they return, and should make an appointment to take test they may be missing while on the trip

Actually, the three days off don't seem to be that big of deal, at this moment. The kids are making arrangements and MOST teachers are OK with it...most are taking work with them and there has been time set aside to do some study. And all the time off for these band competitions during school time are excused absences. Edited November 9, 2010 by kdnblue142

[TxRaider13]

True, but once you add in time (possibly) missed for UIL region contests, Super Regionals, and State Marching Contest, that adds up to a lot of time. >1 week of instructional time.

 

 

Thats not how it works....

[takigan]

Generally? Texas>Indiana>Everybody else. It's hard to get a good read though, as Indiana is overrepresented at GN due to proximity. They don't have to travel as far, so the top Indiana bands can attend every year, whereas only Bell attends every year from Texas, and other bands attend now and then.

 

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious. For those in the know, how does Texas bands rank amongst the other states? I hear Indiana bands are pretty good with Avon leading the way.

 

Don't forget the Cobb County school district nestled in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. The cities of Marietta and Kennesaw might ring a bell. Harrison HS, Kennesaw Mountain HS and Lassiter HS are all in Cobb County ISD and are all former BOA Grand National Finalists. There are other schools in Georgia that have great band programs as well, and they help make the BOA Atlanta Super Regional a very strong one.

 

As for your bchorn bringing up Indiana, I will post here the ISSMA Class A Indiana State Finals Results. For the sake of relevance, we'll call this the UIL Indiana Class 5A State Finals results. I will post some Texas-based contextual factors to give you an idea of their level.

 

1. Avon (they beat LD Bell and Marcus @ Grand Nats last year)

2. Lawrence Central (They beat the Woodlands & Bowie @ Grand Nats last year, but lost to LD Bell and Marcus. If they had gone to BOA Houston this year it would have been either them or SFA that would have won it)

3. Homestead (Some call them the "Duncanville of Indiana". They don't compete in BOA but they're really good and have more conservative show design. They're comparable to bands like Duncanville, Coppell and Rowlett)

4. Center Grove (Roughly as good as Bowie, Cedar Park or Berkner, they're a wee bit better than Spring, Reagan or Churchill)

5. Lake Central (Probably as good as Spring, Reagan or Churchill, maybe not QUITE as good)

6. Warren Central (Don't know a whole lot about them)

7. Lafayette Jefferson (them either)

8. Ben Davis (Maybe a little bit better than Keller, Round Rock or Claudia Taylor Johnson)

9. Penn (Keller or CTJ. Though this is a bit of an off-year for them)

10. Castle (I can't really think of a good example....I'm thinking Vista Ridge, Hendrickson or Sherman but those aren't good examples. Castle would be a really large 4A by Texas standards, and they would likely make 4A State Finals, though they'd be a ways off from winning it. They'd be just outside of finals at BOA Arlington or Houston and would probably place in the 20s at BOA San Antonio)

[NewMexicoBandsman]

true, but note that for each of these Indiana bands you named, you listed three or four comparable Texas bands. I will however amend my statement to account for your first point. Texas>Indiana>Georgia>everybody else

Don't forget the Cobb County school district nestled in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. The cities of Marietta and Kennesaw might ring a bell. Harrison HS, Kennesaw Mountain HS and Lassiter HS are all in Cobb County ISD and are all former BOA Grand National Finalists. There are other schools in Georgia that have great band programs as well, and they help make the BOA Atlanta Super Regional a very strong one.

 

As for your bchorn bringing up Indiana, I will post here the ISSMA Class A Indiana State Finals Results. For the sake of relevance, we'll call this the UIL Indiana Class 5A State Finals results. I will post some Texas-based contextual factors to give you an idea of their level.

 

1. Avon (they beat LD Bell and Marcus @ Grand Nats last year)

2. Lawrence Central (They beat the Woodlands & Bowie @ Grand Nats last year, but lost to LD Bell and Marcus. If they had gone to BOA Houston this year it would have been either them or SFA that would have won it)

3. Homestead (Some call them the "Duncanville of Indiana". They don't compete in BOA but they're really good and have more conservative show design. They're comparable to bands like Duncanville, Coppell and Rowlett)

4. Center Grove (Roughly as good as Bowie, Cedar Park or Berkner, they're a wee bit better than Spring, Reagan or Churchill)

5. Lake Central (Probably as good as Spring, Reagan or Churchill, maybe not QUITE as good)

6. Warren Central (Don't know a whole lot about them)

7. Lafayette Jefferson (them either)

8. Ben Davis (Maybe a little bit better than Keller, Round Rock or Claudia Taylor Johnson)

9. Penn (Keller or CTJ. Though this is a bit of an off-year for them)

10. Castle (I can't really think of a good example....I'm thinking Vista Ridge, Hendrickson or Sherman but those aren't good examples. Castle would be a really large 4A by Texas standards, and they would likely make 4A State Finals, though they'd be a ways off from winning it. They'd be just outside of finals at BOA Arlington or Houston and would probably place in the 20s at BOA San Antonio)

[NewMexicoBandsman]

Not to mention the fact that Texas manages this incredible density of great programs despite the 8-hour rule.

[mellopwn1]

Two things:

 

Lawrence Central placed 8^th last year, The Woodlands placed 7^th.

 

In my opinion, all those bands you compared to Bowie, Cedar Park, CTJ, Keller, etc. are on par score wise (I would tend to say a tad lower) and maybe better visually. However, I think the Texas bands win music every time.

 

For example, last year’s music avg. for GN Finals:

 

1^st – 19.55 - Marcus

 

3^rd -18.80 - The Woodlands

 

4^th- 18.50 - LD Bell

 

8^th- 18.10 -James Bowie

 

Indiana:

 

2^nd – 19.15 - Avon

 

5^th/6^th (tie) – 18.40 - Carmel

 

9^th – 17.65 -Lawrence Central

 

11^th - 17.55 - Center Grove

 

Texas Music Avg. Avg. = 18.74 (Interestingly enough, even if you remove Marcus, it averages out to be 18.5, still the highest!)

 

Indiana Music Avg. Avg. = 18.18

 

Just for comparison’s sake (All of these states only had one band representing them, so it really isn’t indicative of much for them)

 

Oklahoma Music Avg. = 17.6

 

South Carolina Music Avg. = 18.2

 

Illinois Music Avg. = 18.40

 

Ohio Music Avg. = 17.35

 

I greatly enjoyed your post, I just wanted to point out the musical superiority of Texas Bands.

 

Don't forget the Cobb County school district nestled in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. The cities of Marietta and Kennesaw might ring a bell. Harrison HS, Kennesaw Mountain HS and Lassiter HS are all in Cobb County ISD and are all former BOA Grand National Finalists. There are other schools in Georgia that have great band programs as well, and they help make the BOA Atlanta Super Regional a very strong one.

 

As for your bchorn bringing up Indiana, I will post here the ISSMA Class A Indiana State Finals Results. For the sake of relevance, we'll call this the UIL Indiana Class 5A State Finals results. I will post some Texas-based contextual factors to give you an idea of their level.

 

1. Avon (they beat LD Bell and Marcus @ Grand Nats last year)

2. Lawrence Central (They beat the Woodlands & Bowie @ Grand Nats last year, but lost to LD Bell and Marcus. If they had gone to BOA Houston this year it would have been either them or SFA that would have won it)

3. Homestead (Some call them the "Duncanville of Indiana". They don't compete in BOA but they're really good and have more conservative show design. They're comparable to bands like Duncanville, Coppell and Rowlett)

4. Center Grove (Roughly as good as Bowie, Cedar Park or Berkner, they're a wee bit better than Spring, Reagan or Churchill)

5. Lake Central (Probably as good as Spring, Reagan or Churchill, maybe not QUITE as good)

6. Warren Central (Don't know a whole lot about them)

7. Lafayette Jefferson (them either)

8. Ben Davis (Maybe a little bit better than Keller, Round Rock or Claudia Taylor Johnson)

9. Penn (Keller or CTJ. Though this is a bit of an off-year for them)

10. Castle (I can't really think of a good example....I'm thinking Vista Ridge, Hendrickson or Sherman but those aren't good examples. Castle would be a really large 4A by Texas standards, and they would likely make 4A State Finals, though they'd be a ways off from winning it. They'd be just outside of finals at BOA Arlington or Houston and would probably place in the 20s at BOA San Antonio)

Edited November 10, 2010 by mellopwn1

[takigan]

Lawrence Central placed 8^th last year, The Woodlands placed 7^th.

 

Y'know, I spend a lot of time memorizing scores and placements like this. But it seems that the more years pass and the more data goes into my head, the less sure I am of exact placements at a particular contest during a particular year....so I'm bound to mix up bands that were really close, as in this case. I thought I remembered the Woodlands placing 8th or 9th and I knew Bowie and Center Grove were beneath them, and since I couldn't remember exactly what place LC got, I just left it at that and figured they'd placed higher (I figured they'd placed 5th or 6th, since Marcus was 4th).

 

I really enjoy how simple Skramp's BOA History site makes pulling up scores, and I should really use it more often :/.

[TxRaider13]

Busting out the stats and ranks....In your face Indiana bands

[bchorn]

Two things:

 

Lawrence Central placed 8^th last year, The Woodlands placed 7^th.

 

In my opinion, all those bands you compared to Bowie, Cedar Park, CTJ, Keller, etc. are on par score wise (I would tend to say a tad lower) and maybe better visually. However, I think the Texas bands win music every time.

 

For example, last year

[sh32735]

Churchill only attends GN once every 5-7yrs or so due to the travel and the high costs associated with it. As a band parent, the cost for this trip was expensive and was in addition the usual band fees that had more than doubled this year from the previous year. But, it is always very much worth it!!

 

And on top of that is they are taking three days off from school.

 

I am sure alot of Texas schools would love to attend GN if they could. But it's just like the Super Regional here in San Antonio. Only one out of state school attended this year from Skiatook, OK. The travel costs continually go up every year. The charter bus fees were crazy this year!!

 

Yeah but Churchill flys there, everyone else drives.