knoxisawesome348

I agree in that the scores would've been closer had Hebron performed right after Broken Arrow, but I think it's a stretch to think the same panel of judges would've bumped them 1.3 points to win from performance order alone. Music scores would've probably opened like principalagent said, visual scores maybe made a big tighter, but I think the best they could've hoped for is beating Avon - or at least gotten really really close. It also didn't help that some of the same judges that judged prelims ended up judging finals IN THE SAME CAPTION (i.e. the visual GE judge who basically sealed Hebron's fate). Why not shift them around like at regular regionals?

My rankings from prelims so far: 1. Hebron 2. Avon 3. The Woodlands 4. Mason 5. Carmel 6/7. Harrison/Keller 8. Blue Springs Kind of messy beyond this point and I don't think anyone below Carmel is safe. I also think Avon and Hebron will be close. All that's really left is Round Rock, Broken Arrow, and Marian Catholic + one bubble to fill out finals.

Here's Broken Arrow's send off:

I was at Hebron's send-off as well. I was a bit concerned with the added visual exposure associated with all white uniforms, but they're definitely pulling it off. I don't think I saw any feet out of time actually. They also have some of the best darn woodwinds (saxophones!!!!) in the country. I mean I caught 0 timing or technical issues from them during those crazy runs. Also ALL of their soloists, not just Mr. Tenor Sax, are fantastic. The oboe and trumpet soloists have some really outstanding tone qualities. Was also very impressed with the mellophone and trumpet features that take place about 1/3 of the way through the show. Overall, they're incredibly solid.

Actually after watching Round Rock's SA prelims performance, that 4th place wasn't a fluke. From what I heard, their finals performance was ROUGH and they had some electronics issues. I personally didn't like the show very much early on, but it's turned into something really beautiful and powerful. My bold prediction is that they along with Hebron will be in the top 4 with Broken Arrow and Avon. I also think they're the strongest Texas group visually right now.

Can you wish for Hebron to win Grand Nationals while you're at it please?

The MPI judge was Jeremy Earnhart of all people. It must be weird judging a program you took all the way to the top 7 or so years ago.

Thanks. Looks like I can't watch Friday prelims, however.

Does anyone know if I were to purchase the live stream for prelims right now, would I be able to rewind and watch earlier performances?

I like your list, though I would probably switch out Birdville with Forney.

Is this Mckinney and McKinney North's first time to state?

I think Dripping Springs last year was grand national finals material. Probably one of the best performances a Texas AA band has ever made. I personally thought they were better than Blue Springs and were very ahead visually than almost every program besides Tarpon. They are AAA now, however.

I'll go ahead and post mine. I'm only confident in groupings: 1. Leander 2. Hebron (music) 3. Reagan (visual) 4. Flower Mound (GE) ------------------------- 5. James Bowie 6. The Woodlands 7. CTJ 8. Marcus 9. Round Rock ------------------------- 10. Cedar Park 11. Vandegrift ------------------------- 12. Cedar Ridge 13. Owasso 14. Wakeland Prelims: 4A Music: Hebron 4A Visual: Reagan 4A GE: Reagan 4A First: Reagan 4A Second: Flower Mound 4A Third: Hebron 3A Music: Cedar Park 3A Visual: Leander 3A GE: Leander 3A First: Leander 3A Second: Cedar Park 3A Third: Vandegrift I'm pretty confident on the groupings and think there's going to be a lot of flip-flopping from prelims to finals. I'm really hoping those top 4 all perform clustered together near the end of finals because that seems to have been the key to high placements the past two years. I also for some reason have a gut feeling that Reagan will win prelims. I don't know why, but I think they'll really stick out in such a large field. Kind of stupid to predict prelims differently than finals, but we'll see how it shakes down.

I'm hoping Reagan will go back next year since it'll have been 4 years since they last attended. Maybe CTJ or Cedar Park will go as well? I've always wondered why Cedar Park never returned after their one appearance in 2010.

While I agree on Plano Senior's potential, I've seen some videos of their performances this year and they have a bit of a ways to improve before they can make finals at a competition like this. Their shows are getting better, but it takes a lot even to make finals at a competition like Duncanville. If they somehow make it though, I'll be one incredibly happy alum.

Cedar Ridge:

Looks like he is the son of David Morrison, who's been the head director at Prospect in Illinois for the past 29 years.

I'll probably look like a fool in 3 weeks, but if I had to pick 3 candidates for a medal with all things considered (show completion, performance scores, etc) in no particular order they'd be: Hebron Leander Ronald Reagan To be completely honest these are pretty much the shows I've seen good videos of that are also my favorites. I haven't seen a good video of Flower Mound since Birdville, more than 30 seconds of The Woodlands, or much of CTJ or Bowie. I do safely think these shows will be top 5 or 6 though. Their performance scores are high and that's what's going to set them apart. If GE judging is anything like the cluster F it was last year (please no), performance will be crucial. I also have a feeling picking caption winners will be like drawing names out of a hat. I'd say there are 7 or 8 good candidates for music performance, 5 or 6 for visual, and 5 or 6 for GE.

30 seconds of The Woodlands (SO FRUSTRATING): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ4s8RxiIhk Curious how long this will stay on youtube after I post it

Looking at the recaps: - Hebron in 3rd for Music GE but 1st in Visual GE - Individual music scores drop off massively after 4th place (13.80-18.40 range total?) - Marcus scored surprisingly low in visual - Round Rock might not be as visually sound as I first thought San Antonio is going to be horrendous. There are maybe 11 bands I would say should make finals, and maybe 10 more to take the last 3 spots.

Found a video of Hebron's prelims performance at TOC shot from a group of students from another band. Lots of visible and audible reactions to the sax solo in the crowd haha. But if I want to hype Hebron for anything else, it's the REST of their saxophones. They're just nailing that technical feature at the beginning. They've got one of the best sax lines in BOA.

For anyone interested in the non-Texas Grand National bands, I somehow found Carmel:

For everyone that was wondering about why College Park didn't make finals, look at the visual GE scoring. They were 7th overall in music, 12th overall in visual, 7th in music GE...... and 24th in VGE. 5 of the 7 judges had them in finals.

Plano Senior's been adding more movement and difficulty to their visuals the last two years it seems. I think it was 2011 or so it seemed like the band hardly moved at all. I think them attending Duncanville (the first contest they've gone to apart from Mesquite since like, 2009) is a good clue that they'll attend the UIL area contest next year. I would really love it if they registered for their first ever BOA contest too but I won't get ahead of myself. I also would love it if PESH started leaning more in a BOA direction. They're a really good UIL band that plays really well and they do place pretty decently at BOA San Antonio, but I feel like if they added more flair to their show they could really excel. Each of the senior highs send roughly 7-10 all staters to TMEA each year, so I just feel like there's so much potential for excellent marching programs.

The latest from Leander including the third movement: The drill is obviously very new, but I'm kind of sensing they're going to add in a move around 7:00 that resembles something like the jazz running The Woodlands did in 2013. And man, their brass sounds really really good. They could definitely medal again in San Antonio, but I guess that's true for like 7 or 8 other groups as well.