aaron067

Connally was still 5A two years ago.

Based on contests so far, I'd say that it's going to be a tight race for the 1, 2, and 3 spots. I haven't heard anything about Heath, but I wouldn't count them out, either.

Well, well, well... It seems like Coppell is finally starting to put more modern music design on the field. Visual design is definitely improving, too. Throughout the four years of working with that band through college, this is more along the lines of what I kept hoping we would produce. I'm glad to see the evolution continues! They have a few issues to sort out, but they definitely seem to have their eye on BOA:SA finals this year.

I guess when I watched the video I must have dreamed up the 160+ tempos, all the rotating blocks that maintain shape (curved path), the long rotating lines, multiple things going on at once, and a music book that will most likely stand up to even the best in 5A. Or do you not consider any of that complicated or difficult? I've been around marching band for almost 15 years, competed in 4A when I was in high school, have worked with 5A UIL and BOA top 3 bands, and what I just watched will eventually be in the upper echelon of 4A shows when it's cleaned up and refined with GE additions. What I'm not sure about at the moment is if the band can totally sell the visual package. I guess we'll find out in a little over a month. And to the OP: What I remember from the score recaps of last year's DMI was Coppell clearly earning 1st place, with Richland, Waxahachie, and College Park fighting for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, which was the order they finished in. To Zdafoe: Wakeland was most definitely not the runner up for Honor Band. That was Southwest, followed by Liberty, Cedar Park, Dripping Springs, Pierce, and then Wiley. If I remember correctly, Wakeland was knocked out of the running at Area.

Waxahachie HS presents: unREAL Featuring the music of Saint-Saens, Danielpour, Verdi, and Eshkeri. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK9dxIKBOcc

I thought I read somewhere that the music they performed right after America the Beautiful was an excerpt from Black Hawk Down, which would support the whole helicopter theme in that section. I'm not certain, though.

Don't start chucking stones so quickly. Your signature has its own issues, too.

Interesting find. I was at Arlington National Cemetery when I was in high school, and for some reason I was remembering it has having cross-shaped tombstones. Thanks for the clarification. So they're honoring fallen soldiers from World War 2, which makes sense considering the vintage flag colors and guard uniforms. It also gives the theme a much more narrow focus than the general "patriotic" or "military" show that someone was saying had been overdone recently.

How could the building of Arlington National Cemetery in the backfield be in poor taste? The show is about honoring service men and women, especially those who have fallen in the line of duty. They're simply acknowledging those fallen soldiers and making sure everyone watching the show knows who they are honoring. Personally, I felt like the tombstones were never utilized properly, but after watching the new ending tonight I think they went in the right (and respectful) direction. Wait to see the final product at Grand Nationals, and I think you might change your mind about the use of Arlington National Cemetery.

I just got back from their rehearsal/community performance tonight, and the new tag ending adds a very poignant cap to what seemed like an incomplete show for most of the season. I felt like the tombstones were a bit pointless before tonight, but the new ending utilizes them in a simple yet very effective way. I'm excited to see the complete and polished product in Finals next Saturday night. To the Bell band, best of luck next week at Grand Nationals!

Good point. To rephrase, I meant I could see them attending some of the more competitive optional contests throughout marching season instead of purely UIL-based contests like Mesquite or DeSoto. I'd be very interested in seeing them attend the Arlington BOA contest in the near future, but I have my doubts as to whether that will happen.

Coppell's performance was solid, as always. It's by far the best-designed show they've ever put on the field, so kudos to them on that. They have some musical issues that might be problematic at State, like individuals sticking out, thin section tone in places, and a general lack of resonance on note releases. Those are all part of their style, though, and it hasn't been a huge detractor in years past. Overall, the show was very clean and should make finals at State. The only time I had seen Richland's show prior to last night was on the MFA website, where it ended with the ballad. I felt it was lacking at the time, but the performance last night was energetic, fast-paced, and very well thought-out. The velocity held them back a bit in visual execution, but it's definitely one of the best sounding Richland bands I've ever seen. Waxahachie is the little band that could. They were one of the smallest bands (along with Birdville) and were very clean, with the exception of a few minor phasing issues. Blue Shades was by far the most challenging music at the contest, and their velocity was on par with Richland. It was a strong drum corps-style show with great hits and overall tone, but their small numbers keep them from sustaining big, relaxed sounds for extended periods like the larger bands. Definitely the strongest WHS band to date. I liked College Park's show a lot. Very nice sounds coming out of the band throughout the show, but they had some phasing issues throughout the opener. The drill was a bit chaotic, and upper body carriage was a bit wiggly, which is what dropped them down to 4th in finals. Duncanville's exhibition was amazing! There are big balance issues in Church Windows with brass covering up the woodwind/pit line, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching their performance. The show seemed to have more energy than other performances I've seen from the band, and the uniforms are definitely sharp. I loved the show design, too! I can see a resurgence of this band into the competitive marching world with this style of show. I caught bits of Birdville's show and loved the overall effect. They play with very nice tone and balance, and did a great job of filling up with field visually and musically. I didn't get a chance to see the other shows in full, but I'm sure they were all strong considering those bands' track records.

Finals Results: 1st - Coppell 2nd - Richland 3rd - Waxahachie 4th - College Park 5th - Birdville 6th - McKinney Boyd 7th - Hays 8th - Alvin All Captions - Coppell

Fossil Ridge was 4th in 1999. And I hope you went to both the DeSoto and HEB contests; otherwise, your opinion is worth about as much as the air you're breathing and has even less supporting it. While I didn't attend Fossil Ridge or any Keller ISD school, I agree with the kid from that band. I find your posts a little offensive and remind you that these forums are a friendly gathering place for band members, directors, and enthusiasts. Negative criticism and bashing of bands (whether intentional or not) is just not appreciated here. Remember that your attitude reflects not only on you, but on the groups you've been a part of, like the Cavaliers, and the Forney and Poteet band programs.

Vandegrift will not get smaller, and no school will ever split off of them. They are land-locked into 4A and are in the southwestern most corner of Leander ISD. Any further development in that district will be in the northern region (pulling from Leander and Rouse High Schools), as the southern half is filled out with Cedar Park, Vista Ridge, and Vandegrift.

Or perhaps it was the contest where Mansfield beat those two other State bands that had odd judging. Or, it could simply be that that contest was two weeks ago, and many bands make a major push in cleaning up their show in that amount of time. Regardless, there was enough inconsistency in their Area performance that the three music judges weren't in agreement on the quality of playing. It happens to some of the best bands sometimes. The goal should always be to perform so that no judge will doubt the band's ability and right to advance on to State.

Not 19th place. Their ordinal rankings added up to 19, which gave them 3rd place over all. 1st - Marcus 2nd - Hebron 3rd - L.D. Bell 4th - Haltom Edit: Beaten to the punch!

Props to Irving and MacArthur! I don't recall Irving having made a 1 in my memory, and MacArthur has been a bit shaky lately, too. It's unfortunate DeSoto lost their streak. I think they ranked higher than South Grand Prairie earlier in the season, too. Hopefully that band has improved enough to earn their usual ones. Add Duncanville, Coppell, and Midlothian, and Region 20 is sending at least 5. Hopefully Area C will end up with the 20 performing groups they need to advance all four bands that deserve a slot at the SMC.

Wait... So this is now the second contest where Bowie has finished behind Round Rock despite having higher music and visual scores? Call me old-fashioned, but the two most important elements in marching band don't seem to have been given enough weight. Granted, I haven't seen either band this year, so it's very possible Round Rock is just slightly behind in those captions. Still, I'd be upset if I was winning music and marching but finishing second.

I'm betting it's just conjecture. While Cedar Park has a strong chance of performing well enough to earn a spot in GN Finals, I'm positive Marcus will not be attending this year (a 5A State Marching year). If I'm not mistaken, I also believe that The Woodlands will not be attending due to having a new director among other things. I can also assure you with 200% certainty that neither Coppell or Duncanville will be making an appearance at Grand Nationals while the current staffs are in place. While it's possible that Duncanville might make an appearance at a Regional now that Dr. Shine has retired and the show design is going in a more contemporary direction, I still wouldn't count on it. Coppell is also expanding it's show design concepts to include an actual theme, but they still sit firmly in the UIL camp. Just because they stretch a toe across the line every once in a while (BOA SA in order to perform at the Alamo Dome on non-State years and BOA Arlington in order to be part of the most competitive DFW contest) doesn't mean they have any intention of making the trip to Indianapolis.

If it's the same proposal I'm aware of, he also wants there to be a specific performance venue and date for each area that would serve to make sure every band is submitting a single, live concert performance for their entire tape, helps to equalize recording standards around the state, and in general makes the entire contest more fair and focused on which ensemble is actually the most prepared (as opposed to the one that can acquire the best recordings over 4 or 5 performances). I like it.

Makes sense, I suppose. What was Coppell's program?

What judge ranked DeSoto ahead of Coppell, and what were they smoking? Not that I'm putting Coppell on a pedestal, but even on their worst day I would put my money on that band over DeSoto without a second thought.

They may at first, but considering some of their internal struggles this year I wouldn't be surprised to see Vandegrift surpass them within the next 2-4 years. I also feel like Dripping Springs has established itself as a consistently improving program over the past few years. I'd look for those to be the top 3 programs in area D, with Friendswood and Poteet rounding out the top 5 at the state level. Forney is a bit of a loose cannon if you ask me, but Waxahachie is slowly developing an Honor Band/All State-caliber performance level year round. I wouldn't count out any of the recently successful Frisco schools either. Wakeland will most likely struggle with being split for a couple of years (even if only slightly), and several others are practically brand new. Centennial, on the other hand, has finally reached a point where they are no longer being split and can build into a mature program. Keep an eye on what they're capable of in the future. Vista Ridge has its own set of issues. There's some amazing teaching going on at Henry MS, but I think a lot of the kids are burned out after their 3 years (especially the top band kids). You know there's a problem when the middle school is starting around 160-200 beginners every year, the top band is earning honors like State Honor Band and Midwest, and then the high school struggles to reach 150 kids. Just my 2 cents worth...

I would say that Mahler is a 19th century composer, despite the fact that his music didn't really come to prominence until the middle part of the 20th century. He had a few major works stretch into the very early part of the 1900s, but most of his pieces are still anchored pretty heavily in the Romantic period. He definitely prophesies the trend to move away from strict major/minor tonality, but he never ventures into the Neo-classical, Modern, or Atonal areas of composition. I'm certainly no expert on past DCI shows, but I personally recall far fewer corps featuring Romantic period music versus 20th century works. There are definitely standouts, but that period of music just takes a lot more effort to work into a contemporary marching show.