BOA St. George Review Prelims and Finals

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Since there WAS one Texas band at this show...

 

Bands of America Regional Championships

St. George, UT

October 29, 2011

 

Pre-show Thoughts: Cold!!!

 

Prelims Review

 

Uintah H.S.

Vernal, UT

Director: Brian Gibson

Drum Major: Ashley Luck

Repertoire: "Lost"

My Comments: This very small band had solid timing at the start of their show. I sought a more "husky" theme, and what they gave me was just...fair. Guard handle on rifles was beginner, and the same could be said for the flags and drums.

My Score: 43.30

My Placement: 32nd

Actual Score: 45.00

Actual Placement: 32nd

 

Tooele H.S.

Tooele, UT

Director: Marilyn Syra

Drum Major: Braden Smart

Repertoire: "PICANTE," featuring 1. Estancia, 2. Late in the Evening, 3. Caliente (Percussion Feature) and 4. La Suerta De Los Tontos

My Comments: Yikes. Clarity in first horn snap was not what I had hoped for. Wow, this little band that could, could. I'm diggin' the music, and the fullness of it--GREAT! Go tubas, go! Ha ha! Dancing low brass and bari saxophonist for the win! Flagwork, as simple as it was, was mostly together. Uh oh, almost lost me there in the last tune.

My Score: 56.90

My Placement: 26th

Actual Score: 61.70

Actual Placement: 25th

 

Mountain View H.S.

Meridian, ID

Director: Vanessa Perala

Drum Majors: Katherine Roberts and Peter Taylor

Repertoire: "Stained Glass"

My Comments: Nice, aggressive line rotations to kick off the show, an sharp stabs of sound. Percussion = strength of this ensemble. Prop placement was mobile and made sense. Way to go with the pole angles during the solid drums feature, guard. (There's still work to be done, though.)

My Score: 64.00

My Placement: 23rd

Actual Score: 68.30

Actual Placement: 21st

 

Stansbury H.S.

Stansbury Park, UT

Director: David Blanchard

Drum Majors: Aren Mann and Jonathan Cunningham

Repertoire: "Music of Karl Jenkins," including: In Caelum Fero, Zarabanda/Palladio, Cantus song of Aelous and Adiemus

My Comments: Sneaky introduction. The only thing that comes to mind when I think of introductory G.E. is: mellow. I'm glad this band got better as time passed, though. Attention to detail was moderate. Tenor drum trumpet soloist--I like the multiple responsibilities. This show was very jagged.

My Score: 53.90

My Placement: 27th

Actual Score: 58.95

Actual Placement: 28th

 

West Valley H.S.

Hemet, CA

Director: T.J. Hepburn

Drum Majors: Chelsea Napier and Shawn Hockenberry

Repertoire: "Macabre," featuring 1. Bump in the Night, 2. Haunted Lullaby and 3. Death Danse

My Comments: Unfortunately, the amplified narrator was muffled. (I could barely hear what he was saying!) What an awkward beginning. It took a while for this thing to get on its feet. I think it is rather nonsensical to have one wind player on the field with a big white plume when everyone else has a black plume--drum major or not. Battery and pit percussion, you guys were just a saving grace.

My Score: 48.40

My Placement: 31st

Actual Score: 58.10

Actual Placement: 29th

 

Timpanogos H.S.

Orem, UT

Director: Jared Morris

Drum Major: Jared Larsen

Repertoire: "OperaTooney," featuring Looney Tunes Main Themes, Funiculi Funicula, Haanera from "Carmen," Flight of the Bumblebee, Ride of the Valkyries and Orpheus in the Underworld

My Comments: Drum major with bunny ears, haha! Nice touch. This band may not have been timid, but that is how I perceived them. Great presence, alto saxes! Solid control, all. The yellow rifles against the yellow guard costume is not smart if you want to make that rifle stand out and contrast well. Heeeey, impressive visual performance...and musically, though bite size, was PRECISE.

My Score: 50.00

My Placement: 29th

Actual Score: 56.85

Actual Placement: 31st

 

Monarch H.S.

Louisville, CO

Director: Clare Church

Drum Majors: Nathan Taylor, Alexa Burg and Charlie Davies

Repertoire: "H2O," featuring Rainstorm, Calm, Waters, Rushing River and Storm at Sea

My Comments: I like the pre-show sway by the field crew, and the wind/water sound effect. Way to bring the pic center focus, guard soloist with umbrella. Beautiful introduction, band. Yeah, they had some mis-steps, but body movement--secure! Great tension production. Ooh, nice work with that long, deep blue silk, and...percussion rocks! Well-tailored show.

My Score: 68.20

My Placement: 21st

Actual Score: 69.55

Actual Placement: 20th

 

Highland H.S.

Pocatello, ID

Director: Jay Ronk

Drum Majors: Matt Estes and Ashley Asper

Repertoire: Selections from Antonin Dvorak's "New World Symphony," including: Mvmt 1. Allegro Molto, Mvmt 2. Largo and Mvmt 3. Allegro con fuoco

My Comments: A percussion beat to start a show? That kind of show lacks confidence, or at the very least, finesse. And with New World Symphony, you gotta have finesse! GREAT toss of rifles, in sequence. Okay, this band held my attention moderately well.

My Score: 61.20

My Placement: 25th

Actual Score: 66.70

Actual Placement: 22nd

 

Orem H.S.,

Orem, UT

Director: Howard Summers

Drum Majors: Nicholas Pope, Meredith Bates, Kaitlin Rodgers and Amy Jamison

Repertoire: "Alexander Nevsky," including Mvt. 1 Battle on the Ice, Mvt. 2 Field of the Dead and Mvt. 3 Entry into Pskov; featuring music by Sergei Prokofiev

My Comments: Before the show starts it looks like the wind players are hammering invisible spikes in with their instruments. I really like the recorded narration, really adding flavor to this Russian-themed show. Musically and visually this band was pretty on top of their game. Great fighting choreography between wind players and one of the guard with a saber, of course.

My Score: 66.90

My Placement: 22nd

Actual Score: 72.80

Actual Placement: 15th

 

Covina H.S.

Covina, CA

Director: Daniel Franco

Drum Majors: Terence Cho and Nancy Zapien

Repertoire: "Solaris," by Frank Sullivan

My Comments: This group has, I would say, an "intermediate" visual repertoire. I'm feeling the groove when the electric guitar intensifies. As for an ensemble sound--messy, muddled. At times this group plays demanding stuff, but you can tell it is too hard for them. (I give props to them for trying, though!) I love the push up from the ground move by the winds as a means of highlighting the battery drums. Ugh! Much of this show is too sloppy for my taste. Hmmm. Well, a mighty, mighty effort.

My Score: 52.00

My Placement: 28th

Actual Score: 60.00

Actual Placement: 27th

 

Arbor View H.S.

Las Vegas, NV

Director: Justin Klarer

Drum Majors: Boyden Bulloch, Tanner Horn and Jean Valenzuela

Repertoire: "The Raven"

My Comments: The narrator, beginning with, "Once upon a midnight dreary," draws me in. Who is that guy seated, facing away from the audience? Great creation of MYSTERY. Pretty solid run thus far! Those descending triplets, trumpets...they can use some work. (Double-tonguing technique might work here.) Wow, the director made a pretty dangerous decision placing his guard high up there on those door props!

My Score: 71.70

My Placement: 18th

Actual Score: 73.55

Actual Placement: 14th

 

Sky View H.S.

Smithfield, UT

Director: Randall Beach

Drum Majors: Sarah wood, Becky DeFriez, and McKenna Partridge

Repertoire: "Rock Me Blue!" including: Your Attention, Blue Rondo a la Turk, Up to the Roof and Blue Shades

My Comments: I like the winds/battery/guard integration in the pod form that sways back and forth before the show starts, and then some thundering electronics. Way to rock the key-tar, dude, but I wish it were louder. The running man and hand vis moves were fine, but just too JAGGED, and predictable! Oooooh yeah trumpets. (Nice work!) Love that plumber's nightmare of an instrument down in front, and what a unique sound! Is this a Blue Man Group thing? Entertaining!

My Score: 77.30

My Placement: 11th

Actual Score: 80.30

Actual Placement: 7th

 

La Cueva H.S.

Albuquerque, NM

Director: John Converse

Drum Majors: Hailey Buster, Erica Bogenschild and Paul Christodoulou

Repertoire: "From the Top," featuring the music of Benjamin Britten and Edward Elgar

My Comments: This group comes onto the field in a "high school-ish", disorderly fashion, which fits the theme they're bringing us. Some of the mechanics--disjointed. This group does challenge themselves. Well done head tilt and triangle hit to close out that movement. Okay, lots of shining star moments for this band! Haaa! Love the guy in the stands who yells at the top of his lungs, "Finish it!" before their show ends. Calm down, dude!

My Score: 72.00

My Placement: 17th

Actual Score: 74.95

Actual Placement: 13th

 

J.M. Hanks H.S.

El Paso, TX

Director: Horacio Gomez

Drum Majors: Brittany Prater, Caitlyn Collette and Joseph Johnson

Repertoire: "The Fallen," featuring music by Silvestre Revueltas, Ludwig van Beethoven, Philip Glass and Samuel Barber

My Comments: The backfield music and drill pre-show was superb. Great, the music was right "in the zone." Excellent interpretation of the Philip Glass music, woodwinds. Way to cap things off, rifles! Typical Texas musicianship...strong! Spacing, wind player to wind player, was above average, too.

My Score: 80.90

My Placement: 6th

Actual Score: 80.05

Actual Placement: 8th

 

Clovis H.S.

Clovis, NM

Director: Bill Allred

Drum Majors: Aaron Phillips and Jacob Mendoza

Repertoire: "The Flutter Effect," featuring Fetes and Nuages from "Images for Orchestra," by Debussy, Flight from Cirque du Soliel's "Ka," and an original composition by Will Pitts

My Comments: Even though this is the pre-show, side-profile of marching folks looked off, person-to-person. I appreciate the oboeist work--nice job! The music is solid, the marching is decent. I wasn't as thoroughly engaged with this band as I was Hanks, and this may have had something to do with transitions. Ooh, cover down on those vertical lines during the majestic part. Sweet--butterfly form to match the butterfly flag flying through.

My Score: 79.80

My Placement: 8th

Actual Score: 81.15

Actual Placement: 5th

 

Mayfield H.S.

Las Cruces, NM

Director: Neil Swapp

Drum Majors: Richard Chavez and Kendra Hernandez

Repertoire: "Veil," including selections from: Samuel Barbar's Medea's Dance of Vengeance and Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto

My Comments: Right when this band went on my brother called me for some assistance with the FVHS band, so I had to leave the stadium. Sad face. Oh well. I knew they had a strong show as I saw it last night at the Red Rocks competition...so I am going to guesstimate they scored an 82.80.

My Score: 82.80

My Placement: 5th

Actual Score: 81.00

Actual Placement: 6th

 

Davis H.S.

Kaysville, UT

Director: Steven Hendricks

Drum Majors: Samuel Ward, Jessica Allen and Jacob Christensen

Repertoire: "Boo! In the Hall of the Mountain King," by Key Poulan, featuring: 1. In a Darkened Hall, 2. Masked By Shadows and 3. Mountain King

My Comments: The show before the show has the band appearing frightened and acting out in various visuals. Well done! This big band makes an IMPACT! And yet the "control" is conveyed. Great brass toss back and forth to keep your attention scattered. The guard are saber masters, one-handing those catches and rolling those things around the back with finesse. Wow, the drumline just leaves you in awe. Fantastic show.

My Score: 86.90

My Placement: 4th

Actual Score: 82.90

Actual Placement: 4th

 

Corona Del Sol H.S.

Tempe, AZ

Director: David DuPlessis

Drum Majors: Hannah Pfotenhauer, Jessica Bowman and Nicky Redmond

Repertoire: "Joy!" original music by Michael Pote and Michael McIntosh

My Comments: Line rotations at the beginning of the show are OK. Watch the cover-downs, vertical folks. Ooh! Again. Cover...down. The band leaves itself way too exposed and suffer because of it. The trumpets are streeeeetching themselves! Nice moment there with the circle form in the middle of the vertical lines.

My Score: 70.90

My Placement: 20th

Actual Score: 71.60

Actual Placement: 17th

 

Lehi H.S.

Lehi, UT

Director: Nate Seamons

Drum Majors: Garrett Guymon, Rachel Struthers and Dallin Johnson

Repertoire: "Time," featuring Perpetuo Moto from "Equus" by Eric Whitacre, Persistence of Memory from "Sunset" by Wataru Hokoyama and Stopwatch by Key Poulan

My Comments: Wind players meander around the field, looking confused, asking each other what time it is, and in the rear of the field is a big clock that is going haywire. Yay! This band makes great use of its resources. Way to play to your strengths! Aaaaaaand, they're engaging, too. Yeah, this is a GOOD show. Bravo!

My Score: 73.80

My Placement: 14th

Actual Score: 65.10

Actual Placement: 23rd

 

American Fork H.S.

American Fork, UT

Director: John Miller

Drum Majors: Lauren Hafen, Cameron Thomas, Logan McAllister and Andrea Cox

Repertoire: "Shades of Conflict," including selections from: Medea's Dance of Vengeance, Harrison's Dream and Serenada Schizophrana

My Comments: In the pre-show the guard is the center of attention until one side of the field does melancholy drill and music, and then the other side. Ha ha! I love the horns up fake-out. There are few flaws with this band and everything they do is WAY good.

My Score: 89.40

My Placement: 1st

Actual Score: 85.10

Actual Placement: 2nd

 

Grantsville H.S.

Grantsville, UT

Director: Eric Nix

Drum Major: Aubrey Wilcox

Repertoire: "Africa," featuring Ceremony, Song and Ritual

My Comments: The wind players are in a circle, bowing on the knees, and the drumline in the rear part of the field sway side to side (as does the pit) with some weird, bug-like sound effects coming from the synth. Every musician does his/her part in this tiny group. For the most part the guard is in time. Ooh, spinning bass drums, haha! Excellent showmanship!

My Score: 49.90

My Placement: 30th

Actual Score: 57.00

Actual Placement: 30th

 

Vista Murrieta H.S.

Murrieta, CA

Director: Donald Wade

Drum Majors: Brandon Bird, Kira Golombek, Joel Martin del Campo and Megan McDonald

Repertoire: "Ascension," featuring Mvmt I. Death, Mvmt II. Into the Fire, Mvmt III. Purgatory and Mvmt. IV Ascending to Paradise

My Comments: The wind players take the field in a somber sort of way, and soon they place themselves in circle-inside-circle forms--three of them to be exact. The backfield music thing goes on way too long, and then when they face front fie,ld I am not hugely impressed. Not a great start, but not a bad one. Weird...they sound like they are not in time with the DM before the drum feature, yeah? Hmmm. A trombone player gets lost in the mix, it seems. Despite all the "darns," still...a decent show, better than many groups here today.

My Score: 75.10

My Placement: 12th

Actual Score: 75.75

Actual Placement: 12th

 

Westlake H.S.

Saratoga Springs, UT

Director: Brek Mangelson

Drum Majors: Mary Funk, Kylie Lincoln and Janelle Morgan

Repertoire: "Paradox," featuring music by Anthony Melillo, Jay Bocook and Richard Saucedo

My Comments: Lots of snap crackle pop in the speakers of the mid-field pit. I love the soloist work, but the pit distracted. I hate to see a group unplug things, but in this case that is what I would definitely do...ad I'm not sure if this is what they did or not but it stopped...oh and then it came back to haunt us. Other than distractions, this show was spot on. Way to fight past it all, all. Where is the director to help with this nonsense? They are allowed to run out onto the field to assist in emergency situations without getting a penalty, right???

My Score: 71.00

My Placement: 19th

Actual Score: 63.65

Actual Placement: 24th

 

Mountain Crest H.S.

Hyrum, UT

Director: Jason Petrovich

Drum Majors: Chris Duvall and Angela Cheney

Repertoire: "Corner Pocket," featuring I. Rack 'em up, II. The Break, III. Inside the Corner Pocket, IV. Eight-Ball Tango and V. The Celebration

My Comments: I like how the field is transformed into a big pool table before the winds come to the center, in focus. Okay, show me what you got, people! Great use of field space in the ballad, and elegant work with the 8-ball flag by the guard dude that got many cheers.

My Score: 72.30

My Placement: 16th

Actual Score: 72.70

Actual Placement: 16th

 

Montezuma Cortez H.S.

Cortez, CO

Director: Rodney Ritthaler

Drum Majors: Hayden Cook and David Burch

Repertoire: Selection from Antonin Dvorak's "New World Symphony"

My Comments: The pre-show for this group was fine, except they gave away a lot of their big moments. At times it seems like they were negotiating the musicality by skipping a note (or reducing a note) here and there. Not bad. I liked that the guard was together, but I wanted to give them more compliments.

My Score: 63.50

My Placement: 24th

Actual Score: 61.70

Actual Placement: 26th

 

Coronado H.S.

Henderson, NV

Director: Danielle McCracken

Drum Majors: Lanie Cohen, Josh Arendt, Barry MacNeill and Andrew Bennett

Repertoire: "An American Passage," featuring I. Silverado, II. With Each Sunset and III. Chorale and Shaker Dance

My Comments: I like the slow, old west, good ol' days start to this show, but it is safe, safe, safe. The show does kick it into high gear once the drums throw down some beats...and then the wind players do a little dance and, yeah, "Yee-haw," indeed! Man, this group can indeed play, especially when motionless. Okay, not bad. Nothing spectacular despite all the right notes and moves.

My Score: 74.20

My Placement: 13th

Actual Score: 70.85

Actual Placement: 18th

 

Fountain Valley H.S.

Fountain Valley, CA

Director: Gary Wampler

Drum Majors: Zach Siegman, Zach Jones and Anthony Ho

Repertoire: "Monolithic," an original composition by Scott Director

My Comments: Since I have ties to this group (my brother is the associate director), I will not "review" this band in the strictest sense...but I will say that they have a unique show based on a structure that appears to have mirror-coils within and could quite simply be referred to as a "monolith." There is a pre-show with pre-recorded music that sets the mood, a storyline of sorts that pertains to the members of the field being "influenced" by this monolith in ways you have to see (pulling you in like a big tractor beam, making you insane?). The show has lots of dynamic contrasts, and LOTS of percussive shades and AGRESSIVE moments. The end of the show is a sort of book-end to the beginning. It is quite fascinating, and it has been a pleasure working with these hard working kids! I assist with the visual program, and visually thee kids are doing all we have asked them to do and more...and they STILL want to be fed, haha! Their run this afternoon was ROUGH, I thought, and--no excuses--they simply failed, and I think they knew it, too. The pit was too loud, the last movement--a very challenging movement, btw--did not quite "get there." Despite their faults I'd say they will make finals. It would take much more for them to NOT make finals.

My Score: 79.50 (I'm being generous!)

My Placement: 9th

Actual Score: 77.45

Actual Placement: 9th

 

Foothill H.S.

Henderson, NV

Director: Travis Pardee

Drum Majors: Olyvia Johns, Keoni Sailer and Brittany Stradling

Repertoire: "Angels in the Architecture"

My Comments: The band gets eerie quickly, with these tube things you swing around your head that makes a whirring sound. Initial attacks from this group were quite solid. Well done! The singing portion of their show brought chills. Fantastic work!

My Score: 79.40

My Placement: 10th

Actual Score: 77.10

Actual Placement: 10th

 

Upland H.S.

Upland, CA

Director: Ernie Miranda

Drum Majors: Jarrett Catlin, Brandon Thomsen and Helen Schulz

Repertoire: "The Gates"

My Comments: Hey! They stole Fountain Valley's 2005 show (entitled "Threshold")! Well, not really, though FV used the famous "gate" props, too! The big orange gate props were based off the original ones in Central Park (NY) some time ago. Upland has an awesome show...just magnificent brute force, yeah? The booming synths shake you! Man, the brass sound big even far back in the corner, there. Ooh, don't lose it, woodwind players. Ha! Great one-two-feet kick-up after that saber toss near the baritone soloist, and caught great! Marvelous show!

My Score: 87.50

My Placement: 3rd

Actual Score: 86.40

Actual Placement: 1st

 

Lone Peak H.S.

Highland, UT

Director: Curtis McKendrick

Drum Majors: Julia Isom, Chris Running and Adam Prusse

Repertoire: "Hold Your Breath," featuring music from Joseph Organisciak, Dmitri Shostakovich, Maurice Jarre and James Barnes

My Comments: The sounds of seagulls and ocean waves permeate. This group has a bunch of solid performers. I love the balanced sound. The forms gelled, the technique was strong in the feet, and these kids carried themselves well!

My Score: 73.00

My Placement: 15th

Actual Score: 70.05

Actual Placement: 19th

 

Mead H.S.

Spokane, WA

Directors: Bob Lewis and Terry Lack

Drum Majors: Ashley Hall, Lexi Johnson and Jacob Sok

Repertoire: "Electric"

My Comments: Whoa! Big sound, excellent craftsmanship. There were some rough patches in the show, but...they overcame. Why go for the half-hearted toss for your downstair's neighbor, guard girls on the towers? Too risky?

My Score: 80.00

My Placement: 7th

Actual Score: 76.50

Actual Placement: 11th

 

Clovis West H.S.

Fresno, CA

Director: John Lack

Drum Majors: Caroline Weaver and Emma Guerrero

Repertoire: "The Immovable Do-Re-Mi"

My Comments: Sound of Music mixed with Star '93? Heck yeah!

My Score: 89.10

My Placement: 2nd

Actual Score: 84.50

Actual Placement: 3rd

 

My Overall Placement

1. 89.40 American Fork H.S., UT

2. 89.10 Clovis West H.S., CA

3. 87.50 Upland H.S., CA

4. 86.90 Davis H.S., UT

5. 82.80 Mayfield H.S., NM (guessed score because I had had to leave)

6. 80.90 J.M. Hanks H.S., TX

7. 80.00 Mead H.S., WA

8. 79.80 Clovis H.S., NM

9. 79.50 Fountain Valley H.S., CA

10. 79.40 Foothill H.S., NV

11. 77.30 Sky View H.S., UT

12. 75.10 Vista Murrieta H.S., CA

13. 74.20 Coronado H.S., NV

14. 73.80 Lehi H.S., UT

15. 73.00 Lone Peak H.S., UT

16. 72.30 Mountain Crest H.S., UT

17. 72.00 La Cueva H.S., NM

18. 71.70 Arbor View H.S., NV

19. 71.00 Westlake H.S., UT

20. 70.90 Corona del Sol H.S., AZ

21. 68.20 Monarch H.S., CO

22. 66.90 Orem H.S., UT

23. 64.00 Mountain View H.S., ID

24. 63.50 Montezuma-Cortez H.S., CO

25. 61.20 Highland H.S., ID

26. 56.90 Tooele H.S., UT

27. 53.90 Stansbury H.S., UT

28. 52.00 Covina H.S., CA

29. 50.00 Timpanagos H.S., UT

30. 49.90 Grantsvile H.S., UT

31. 48.40 West Valley H.S., CA

32. 43.30 Uintah H.S., UT

 

Actuals

1. 86.40 Upland H.S., CA

2. 85.10 American Fork H.S., UT

3. 84.50 Clovis West H.S., CA

4. 82.90 Davis H.S., UT

5. 81.15 Clovis H.S., NM

6. 81.00 Mayfield H.S., NM

7. 80.30 Sky View H.S., UT

8. 80.05 J.M. Hanks H.S., TX

9. 77.45 Fountain Valley H.S., CA

10. 77.10 Foothill H.S., NV

11. 76.50 Mead H.S., WA

12. 75.75 Vista Murrieta H.S., CA

13. 74.95 La Cueva H.S., NM

14. 73.55 Arbor View H.S., NV

15. 72.80 Orem H.S., UT

16. 72.20 Mountain Crest H.S., UT

17. 71.60 Corona del Sol H.S., AZ

18. 70.85 Coronado H.S., NV

19. 70.05 Lone Peak H.S., UT

20. 69.55 Monarch H.S., CO

21. 68.30 Mountain View H.S., ID

22. 66.70 Highland H.S., ID

23. 65.10 Lehi H.S., UT

24. 63.65 Westlake H.S., UT

25. 61.70 Tooele H.S., UT

26. 61.70 Montezuma-Cortez H.S., CO

27. 60.00 Covina H.S., CA

28. 58.95 Stansbury H.S., UT

29. 58.10 West Valley H.S., CA

30. 57.00 Grantsville H.S., UT

31. 56.85 Timpanogos H.S., UT

32. 45.00 Uintah H.S., UT

 

Class A

1st - Montezuma-Cortez, CO

2nd - Grantsville, UT

 

Outstanding Music Performance - Montezuma-Cortez, CO

Outstanding Visual Performance - Montezuma-Cortez, CO

Outstanding General Effect - Montezuma-Cortez, CO

 

Class AA

1st - Mead, WA

2nd - Orem, UT

3rd - Highland, ID

 

Outstanding Music Performance - Mead, WA

Outstanding Visual Performance - Mead, WA

Outstanding General Effect - Mead, WA

 

Class AAA

1st - Clovis West, CA

2nd - Clovis, NM

3rd - Mayfield, NM

 

Outstanding Music Performance - Clovis West, CA

Outstanding Visual Performance - Clovis West, CA

Outstanding General Effect - Clovis West, CA

 

Class AAAA

1st - Upland, CA

2nd - American Fork, UT

3rd - Davis, UT

 

Outstanding Music Performance - Upland, CA

Outstanding Visual Performance - Upland, CA

Outstanding General Effect - American Fork, UT

 

Post-Prelims Thoughts: It warmed up as the day went on. I knew at least 2 good bands that are "finals worthy" would not make finals. Special thanks to the Sky View mom who was handing out free sandwiches to people (because they brought extra), so because I didn't have time to hit the snack bar for lunch I took advantage of this and got a delicious roast beef and cheese sandwich. REALLY nice of them. I would say the whole audience was respectful. Utah people are super duper nice. I love Hansen Stadium at Dixie State College, but for this competition it was just a wee bit too small. Dan Potter asked that "if you saw your band in prelims, please consider leaving the stadium and sitting on one of the grassy hills on the outer part of the stadium so that other parents/fans can see THEIR prelim band." I saw a lot of courtesy. There seemed to be a string of bad or mediocre or unfortunate performances from Grantsville to Fountain Valley, and I'm not sure what was up with that except that Westlake--who performed BEAUTIFULLY at the Red Rocks show last night--had a disasterous show with their technical difficulties AND a small plane overhead that decided to make a few circles above the stadium to see this band's show, except...everyone was distracted by this dumb plane and would rather have seen the performance! Lame. Let's see, what else? Vista Murrieta not making finals was somewhat of a shock, considering they were 2nd place at the BOA Hemet Regional last year and overall had a great year last year. Nevertheless, I think that VM was lacking in show design AND performance, which is a double-whammy. (It's not a bad show, but not a great show either.) Mead I thought was better than 11th, but their show did not dazzle like other shows dazzled...and thinking back to it I can see why they did not make it into the top 10. I have to give BIG props to Foothill H.S. from Nevada for making finals. I predicted that they might "sneak in" and they did! Watch out for this band. I'd say they're the best band in Nevada, now, and one that is on the up-and-up. (They had an impressive show last year, too, I believe.) Once again, the BOA judges were all awesome. Not only do I think they got the scores and rankings right, but I think they were EXTRA helpful, courteous and smart. If you heard the judge tapes for the bands you would know why. (I've listened to all the tapes for Fountain Valley TWICE and I am just impressed, impressed, impressed.) Congratulations MFA/BOA on a great, well-run preliminary contest.

 

FINALS Review!

 

Did I mention I love Clovis West's show? They only have 64 wind players and they play like a professional wind symphony. Oh, and their show design is BRILLIANT! They mesh the Sound of Music with all sorts of "dark" or emotional material, including Adagio for Strings. Upland is just a powerhouse--big, bold, and letting their guard shine at all the right times. American Fork has a great show, too! I thought American Fork would win it, but they came up short perhaps because Upland's just "that good." Davis took down Clovis West, and because of their strong showing I think they no longer deserve to be known as the "2nd Best Band in Utah" even though, well, they really ARE the "2nd Best Band in Utah." But they are a great band in their own right, and they proved that to me. Clovis and Mayfield--the New Mexico rivals--PERFORMED great, but did not "wow" me by their presentations. Sky View was just fun...plain old fun...and good for them for placing 7th. Well deserved, Sky View, and "rock me blue" you did (yeah, insert cheezy joke HERE). J.M. Hanks is clean...clean, clean, clean! I think Hanks could have moved up a few spots had they a more interesting show. I absolutely loved Hanks's pre-show performance. Good job Fountain Valley for moving up one spot to 8th, as THAT was the show I was looking for but did not get in prelims. And what more can be said about Foothill that I have not said before? Foothill rocked top to bottom, and their guard work was strong. Foothill had all sorts of angles, shades, atmosphere to their show, including SINGING...and I was diggin' it.

 

I did not score or rank the bands for finals, but here is how it ended up (for reals):

 

87.30