Jump to content

2019 BOA San Antonio


Recommended Posts

Congratulations to all the bands (finalist or not)! :) As a former Houston-area band kid, I’m especially proud of Pearland for finally breaking into finals. It’s been a long time coming for them, let me tell you! Ronald Reagan has always been a favorite of mine as well, so the very real possibility of them taking the gold made this weekend that much more awesome!

I haven’t seen any of the finalist band performances yet either, so I’m super excited for tonight! Best of luck to everyone!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would not use numbers so much as I would use margins as they tell the real story. Also, with the 2 panel format you can't compare scores between panels.

That is true about margins, but unfortunately even with the two panels you have to compare scores. This is how they get the last 4 spots for finals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pearland!!! YES!!!

 

(Minor boasting :) ) I’m proud that I included them on my “finalist hopefuls” list. Massively overlooked. Trainscapes in 2017 landed them 12th in Houston and 17th in SA. This show landed them 6th in Houston (and I thought it was deserved), so...

 

So proud of them!

 

Also RR in finals is making 6 Texas bands in GN a “pipe dream” more likely to come true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep.  It's like a farm program.  To my amazement, they strongly encourage kids starting in 6th grade to take private lessons.  They line up the instructors and steer kids to them, carving out time during normal rehearsal or before/after school.  Rates are fixed by the district based - typically about $20-$25 per half hour (not bad consider I pay $38 for half hour of piano lessons).  The curriculum is coordinated with the directors.  

 

As far as I know, they don't do any actual marching performance in middle school.  There's a middle school night, but it is stand and play.  Around April or May they start inviting the middle school kids to practice with the high school kids in after school "camps."  All that helps build excitement.  I remember because my Class'19 graduate came home from a camp really energized about joining the band.

 

Maybe other districts do the same.

There's a lot of talk about how money plays the biggest part....I don't think that's true.  Money won't build a progam...lots of kids being encouraged/taught by middle school/high school directors is just as important.

 

As I've stated in another thread, the size of the program has more to do with a program's success than money and, as you say above, the extension of the program to the middle schools is crucial.  That's where the HS and MS directors working to keep kids in band becomes vital.  Combine that with parents who are encouraging kids to be a part of something special and you have a successful program.

 

A good middle school retention rate will do as much for a high school band as money. If a band program has a huge talent pool, tryouts become serious business.  The bands are able to pick out the best players and still have a large JV band.

 

Bands without that depth struggle to keep up and will likely never see the success of the top tier bands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

A good middle school retention rate will do as much for a high school band as money. If a band program has a huge talent pool, tryouts become serious business.  The bands are able to pick out the best players and still have a large JV band.

 

Bands without that depth struggle to keep up and will likely never see the success of the top tier bands.

 

 

One more thing....kudos to the programs that have made this model work.  That process takes a lot of years and a lot of patience to pull off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When competing at the top, the way Wakeland is- there is no need to ask this question. It would be much easier to discuss what went right as there is much to be said about Wakeland's phenomenal show. However the judges must have found that there were at least 14 other shows in which more went right that they were able to reward more points for.

 

Great answer!

 

To the OP, sometimes a performance is just not good enough.  This is one of the hardest competitions around.  Just because a band doesn't make finals do NOT mean they aren't great or that something went wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick analysis, I don't know if any bands were changed to a different judging panel, this is what panel each of the finalist were judged by and Top 7/ Bottom 7 placement:
 

Judge Panel 1    
Friday
Keller TX B7
James Bowie B7
Ronald Reagan T7
Claudia Taylor Johnson T7
Round Rock B7
Flower Mound B7
Saturday
The Woodlands B7
 
Judge Panel 2
Friday
Vandegrift T7
Leander T7
Vista Ridge T7
Saturday
Marcus T7
Hebron T7
Pearland  B7 
L.D. Bell B7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...