FoobYen Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) ! Edited November 1, 2011 by dsmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donezo Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) UIL judges have always been the most inconsistent. Here's a list of the judges from Area D contest. Richard Herrera, Brandeis HS Kathy Johnson, Argyle HS Andy Sealy, Hebron HS Keith Bearden, Lubbock Rob Toups, Canton HS This is an incredibly qualified and diverse panel. It really ticks me off when people on this board and elsewhere talk about these judges like they're morons (not talking about you, drummerjoe.) The results are "inconsistent" (whatever that means) because these groups at the top of Area D are all pretty great. Four former state finalists are staying home, three of which would have made it with the prelims results at the expense of a former state champion and 5A state finalist. This was an intense competition. I always scratch my head when people cry foul over the point spread at state marching contest. Is the 7th place band really that much better than the 18th place band? Usually not. When there are this many great bands in Texas, it gets hard to rank them after a while. Thank God people aren't paying me to do it, because I'm sure I would be way out of line all the time. I know I always am when I attempt to score 5A state prelims. Edited November 1, 2011 by Donezo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longhornsax Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Finally get a chance to jot down my thoughts from this thing! I'm sure no one reads them but I'll put them out there anyway. First, about the crazy rankings in prelims. We can speculate all we want, but in the end, the UIL system worked out exactly like it should. The right bands (in most's opinion) got into finals, and the right bands advanced. We can analyze the numbers all we want, but after all the chaos of prelims, the announcements of advancing bands saturday night did little to shake the marching band world. Some thoughts - Cedar Ridge is gonna be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years. I knew they were a rising young program, but did not expect a really well designed and really confident sound from them. The show was a little over there heads (for now) but in a few years, they're gonna make a lot of noise. Cedar Park's show is well...Classic Cedar Park. Definitely the most exciting show of the night, and not just in the loud moments! Some beautiful playing in the ballad (that release on the last note of the ballad...wow) and great dynamic contrast throughout. This band can flat out play (but we all know that). I'm curious to see if they'll be able to clean enough to catch DS (yes, catch). Gotta feel for Connally and Hendrickson. These were 2 state finals worthy performances that just got stuck in the wrong area. This was my 3rd time seeing Hendrickson this season and man have they come a long way! I honestly thought they might snag the 4th spot. Connally's show was exactly what you expect from Connally. Great playing through with some amazingly balanced sounds. Really unfortunate for these bands, but they'll be back. Lake Travis just put all the cards on the table this year. Stunning visual and musical package combined with a highly matured band made me believe in all the hype of this band. I wouldn't have had them 2nd, but they definitely earned their spot. Vista, after seeing a few of their other shows, had what I think was a little bit of a shaky performance in finals. But that might be because I know the show that well at this point Dripping Springs - I'll be honest, I've always been hesitant with them. I've always had that doubt that they're gonna top out early. But wow. I seriously couldn't point out a flaw in this show. I have no idea how this band does it, but this show in unbelievably clean. White uniforms expose any flaw, and I honestly couldn't find one. This was DCI finals clean! It's not as flashy as some, but this show will be REALLY hard to beat. Vandegrift - I'll take the heat for this, but this is almost a Cedar Park clone. And I am totally okay with that! And they are definitely establishing their own identity. Probably one of the most challenging shows of the night played really well by such a new band. I don't think this is their year to take it all. But that year's coming. Overall, an amazing contest that I truly think might be as competitive as the state finals. I think the advancing bands have already gotten through the hardest part and should be about as close to state finals locks as possible. It's a question of which of these bands, and how many of them will medal. Area B can state it's case as much as it wants, but I think it'll have a hard time competing with D (bias, maybe?). I think Dripping Springs is the band to beat right now. Cedar Park took a risk by marching a more challenging show, but that's what Cedar Park does. They've got some visual cleaning to do before they top Drip though. I wouldn't count out Vandy or LT either. It's a good week to be a fan of Area D! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Weaver Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 This is an incredibly qualified and diverse panel. It really ticks me off when people on this board and elsewhere talk about these judges like they're morons (not talking about you, drummerjoe.) The results are "inconsistent" (whatever that means) because these groups at the top of Area D are all pretty great. Four former state finalists are staying home, three of which would have made it with the prelims results at the expense of a former state champion and 5A state finalist. This was an intense competition. I always scratch my head when people cry foul over the point spread at state marching contest. Is the 7th place band really that much better than the 18th place band? Usually not. When there are this many great bands in Texas, it gets hard to rank them after a while. Thank God people aren't paying me to do it, because I'm sure I would be way out of line all the time. I know I always am when I attempt to score 5A state prelims. This. In competitions as wildly tough as Area D, the difference between 1st and 20th is quite minimal. People also need to remember that at UIL competitions, the focus is much more heavily skewed toward the educational component and process, meaning technique (and contrary to popular belief, execution of difficult drill/music) and precision are taken into account over show design. Given the educational nature of the UIL, this is as it should be. Make no mistake, though, I love the pomp of BOA and the artistic design/component inherent in the competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Longhornsax said just about everything that I was thinking about this contest. Thank you! I would just like to add major props to the clarinet section of Vista Ridge. The soloist on Flight of the Bumblebee was incredible, but also the clarinet section as a whole really had a nice, rich and robust sound on many of those technical runs that I thought was absolutely gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slw13 Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Finally get a chance to jot down my thoughts from this thing! I'm sure no one reads them but I'll put them out there anyway. First, about the crazy rankings in prelims. We can speculate all we want, but in the end, the UIL system worked out exactly like it should. The right bands (in most's opinion) got into finals, and the right bands advanced. We can analyze the numbers all we want, but after all the chaos of prelims, the announcements of advancing bands saturday night did little to shake the marching band world. Some thoughts - Cedar Ridge is gonna be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years. I knew they were a rising young program, but did not expect a really well designed and really confident sound from them. The show was a little over there heads (for now) but in a few years, they're gonna make a lot of noise. Cedar Park's show is well...Classic Cedar Park. Definitely the most exciting show of the night, and not just in the loud moments! Some beautiful playing in the ballad (that release on the last note of the ballad...wow) and great dynamic contrast throughout. This band can flat out play (but we all know that). I'm curious to see if they'll be able to clean enough to catch DS (yes, catch). Gotta feel for Connally and Hendrickson. These were 2 state finals worthy performances that just got stuck in the wrong area. This was my 3rd time seeing Hendrickson this season and man have they come a long way! I honestly thought they might snag the 4th spot. Connally's show was exactly what you expect from Connally. Great playing through with some amazingly balanced sounds. Really unfortunate for these bands, but they'll be back. Lake Travis just put all the cards on the table this year. Stunning visual and musical package combined with a highly matured band made me believe in all the hype of this band. I wouldn't have had them 2nd, but they definitely earned their spot. Vista, after seeing a few of their other shows, had what I think was a little bit of a shaky performance in finals. But that might be because I know the show that well at this point Dripping Springs - I'll be honest, I've always been hesitant with them. I've always had that doubt that they're gonna top out early. But wow. I seriously couldn't point out a flaw in this show. I have no idea how this band does it, but this show in unbelievably clean. White uniforms expose any flaw, and I honestly couldn't find one. This was DCI finals clean! It's not as flashy as some, but this show will be REALLY hard to beat. Vandegrift - I'll take the heat for this, but this is almost a Cedar Park clone. And I am totally okay with that! And they are definitely establishing their own identity. Probably one of the most challenging shows of the night played really well by such a new band. I don't think this is their year to take it all. But that year's coming. Overall, an amazing contest that I truly think might be as competitive as the state finals. I think the advancing bands have already gotten through the hardest part and should be about as close to state finals locks as possible. It's a question of which of these bands, and how many of them will medal. Area B can state it's case as much as it wants, but I think it'll have a hard time competing with D (bias, maybe?). I think Dripping Springs is the band to beat right now. Cedar Park took a risk by marching a more challenging show, but that's what Cedar Park does. They've got some visual cleaning to do before they top Drip though. I wouldn't count out Vandy or LT either. It's a good week to be a fan of Area D! Very nice job, longhornsax. I wasn't able to be there, but I did follow the live blogcast. As I said earlier, this was an absolutely brutal area competition. I also agree with Donezo...I'm glad I don't have to judge these contests. So many bands in this state are so good and so gifted. It is great to be able to enjoy the many shows that we get to see every year. Thanks to longhornsax for a good perspective on Saturday evening's contest, and to my buddy Danpod for helping to keep some people's feelings in perspective. Hopefully everyone will be able to enjoy the big events of this coming weekend and next week. There are still some great shows to see before the season is over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borchnork Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Area B can state it's case as much as it wants, but I think it'll have a hard time competing with D (bias, maybe?). I think Dripping Springs is the band to beat right now. Being an Area B advocate, I think I'll just say that what I always tell people I work with is that the bands from Area B aren't necessarily the strongest overall in the state, it's just the most consistent area within itself. There's never really a BIG stand out band from Area B on the state level (in 4A at least), BUT the competition within the Area to get to the State level is just brutal. For example: Creekview and The Colony both beat Wakeland at the Carrollton TOC 3 weeks ago, yet Wakeland placed 2nd in Area, where Creekview and the The Colony didn't even make it into finals. Also, if you look at the spread of Area B scores, Wakeland (2nd), Birdville (3rd) and Newman Smith (4th) were within 6 points of each other. In fact, Birdville AND Newman Smith beat Wakeland in music, but lost in the marching scores. And the difference between the last band to make state (Aledo) and the first alternate (McKinney) was literally ONE point (Again, McKinney placed higher than Aledo in music, but Aledo's marching squeaked out the narrow 6th place finish). But I do have to say, the fact that Centennial placed 1st by NINE points I think should cause some Area D bands to worry. =] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danpod Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Area D Prelims: http://www.uilmusicregion18.com/pdfs/2011_..._4A_Prelims.pdf Area D Finals: http://www.uilmusicregion18.com/pdfs/2011_...D_4A_Finals.pdf Three out of the top four programs going in to Finals did not advance to State. Talk about a wild day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenon Posted November 1, 2011 Report Share Posted November 1, 2011 Area D Prelims:http://www.uilmusicregion18.com/pdfs/2011_..._4A_Prelims.pdf Area D Finals: http://www.uilmusicregion18.com/pdfs/2011_...D_4A_Finals.pdf Three out of the top four programs going in to Finals did not advance to State. Talk about a wild day! So, in Prelims, Cedar Park got Music=9,10,2 Marching=7,8 Total=36 That means that the 10th place in Music was not out of line with the other judges, it was the 2nd in Music that was disagreeing. And only 1 out of the 5 Prelims judges had CP advancing to State based on Prelims results alone. Going 1st on the day can be hard. But they really must have done great during Finals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinrbr Posted November 2, 2011 Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 Area D Prelims:http://www.uilmusicregion18.com/pdfs/2011_..._4A_Prelims.pdf Area D Finals: http://www.uilmusicregion18.com/pdfs/2011_...D_4A_Finals.pdf Three out of the top four programs going in to Finals did not advance to State. Talk about a wild day! Also interesting that those three bands that didn't advance performed one after the other in Prelims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWood Posted November 2, 2011 Report Share Posted November 2, 2011 So, in Prelims, Cedar Park got Music=9,10,2 Marching=7,8 Total=36 That means that the 10th place in Music was not out of line with the other judges, it was the 2nd in Music that was disagreeing. And only 1 out of the 5 Prelims judges had CP advancing to State based on Prelims results alone. Going 1st on the day can be hard. But they really must have done great during Finals! Judge for yourself: Prelims: Finals: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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