Jeffrey L. Gorman

For the 2017 UIL Results go to the UIL Music Web Page and look for the State Marching Contest Results. They are all listed there both the prelims and Finals. Remember the UIL uses Ordinals and not basic scores in UIL Contests. By the way, the results from 2016 back to 2004 are in the World of Pageantry Web Page Scores section under Texas Scores. I posted the scores there for many years and got flat out tired of doing everything by myself so I stopped last year.

I lived for several years in New England and by and large, most of the Bands in the New York and New England Areas would not place well in BOA contests. Most of the Bands are smaller in size and have much shorter marching seasons due to the weather. Look on the World of Pageantry Web Page for the New York Field Band Conference Web Site which covers the Best Bands in NY. You can also find out about New England by looking up the New England Scholastic Band Conference Web Site. There are no Bands in that part of the country that are going to make the finals of Grand Nationals or any other BOA regional for that matter.

Actually UIL is going to be harder to change dates. UIL is a SCHOOL event and needs the approval of the school systems. The problem with the 12 hours is that in most case now, Bands miss three days of school. BOA is a non school sponsored event, and if even 10 TX Bands went to it, it would be small potatoes in the number of Bands affected.

US Bands today announced they will host the US Bands National Championships Western Region on 10 Nov 2018 at AT&T stadium. US Bands also plans to host a contest on 20 Oct 2018 at the Star in Frisco for Bands in that part of the State. While I am sure they will get Bands to fill the numbers (they are looking for 50 Bands at AT&T stadium), I have to believe they will find that the number of (Big Name) Schools that attend will be much smaller than they might like.

My comments about using Carl Orff's Carmina Burana is not to attack the quality of TX HS Bands. FYI I have heard Orff's compositon done in person by the Berlin Philharmonic under Von Karajan and and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Ormandy. I have also played this number in College and Community Bands. I would rate the University of Michigan Bands performance of this work under Revelli, the gold standard of how a College Band plays this music. Here is the problem, this music is meant to be played in a Concert Hall. I do not care if it is Broken Arrow, Tarpon Springs, FL, Munford TN or many of our Great Bands(TX Bands are by far the nations finest), this is not suited for a performance on a football field in a stadium with terrible placement of stands. As for my being critical of trying to put on the field mini-theater performances, please let me tell you a story. In May 1973, I was an Assistant Band Director at Loara HS in Anaheim, CA. We were known as the Show Band of the Southwest Marching 322 members in Band and Drill Team. The previous Fall we had won 5 Major contests. In May 1973, we faced off in the Western States Music Tournament in La Mesa CA against the UIL 3A Honor Band from Monahans, TX. At the field show contest both of us used as our endings, the Finale of the Russian Christmas Music by H. Owen Reed. Most Band Directors are aware of this piece of Music. Most of the Fans thought that either one or the other of the Bands would win because we had used this number. When the awards were given out another Band from TX won using a show ending with the Battle Hymn of the Republic. I was so sure that we had been "jobbed" by the Judges, that the next morning I had breakfast with the Late Dr. William Foster, Director of the Florida A&M Marching 100 who was one of the 3 university judges. I asked him after the fact, which Bands performance of the Finale was the Best. Dr. foster looked straight at me and said, I thought both of you did lousy jobs. H Owen Reed wrote that composition for a Concert Hall setting. "That is where it belongs" That is why I think so little of using Orff for a field show.

Just want everyone wants to watch is another sinister production that only the Band and its Family Like. This tells you why University Bands do not do these type of productions. It is very appropriate that at the end of University of Texas performance not only at LISD's Band festival, but also UIL that the announcer told the folks that the Band did "7" different shows during the season. I know of no Corps Style group to include the DCI Champions that get the Attention of Ohio States Script Ohio, The Sunburst drills of the Pride of the Southland from Tennessee, and Grandioso by the Longhorn " Show Band of the Southwest". When are we going to stop putting on shows that most of world thinks are boring.

Actually the change is going back to the way it was about ten years ago. Most schools started classes around the 18th of Aug. However the tourist industry did not like this so they pushed for the later school start date. I think that this situation will play out on the administrative side. I understand both sides of the issue, however I would not worry to much, This is Texas and we will find a way to make things work, even if some of the problems are of our own making.

It has only been in the last 10 years that Bands have not been able to put their show on the field in a finished manner at the start of the football season. I realize that the degree of difficulty has gone up with the shows, and thus more time is needed to get them ready. However one thing that is very noticeable, but not talked about is that with this degree of difficulty forcing later presentations of the full shows, you have far more shows done that are less than great and more mistakes are very noticeable. The truth is that many Bands are trying to push the envelope in what they are capable of doing and when they do not succeed the show's score is not good. I think we are reaching a stage when the Shows will be too difficult for all but the top Bands. What then do the Bands that are just average to. For every CTJ, Marcus, Hebron, Flower Mound, etc, there are ten Bands who have taken on shows they have no business doing. I do not know what we are trying to prove by doing this. The Fans are not coming out in great numbers to watch shows that Bands are in over their heads performing.

The problem is that you mentioned not One Band from UIL Region 8 which is where Waco is located. I live in this Region and I also admit that the Class 5A & 6A Bands are not strong. However, we have a number of Decent 4A Bands and here is the thing. If BOA wants to get more schools involved they should go out like they did to Midland last year and to McAllen before. To improve the Bands in Region 8 they should be the ones BOA is making this comtest for. No offense but the Austin Area and the Metroplex already have BOA contests. Lest try to improve the quality of one of our weaker areas by making BOA more affordable and available to these Schools

Since Cedar Ridge has a sure thing set up for Stadium and such, BOA needs to make a decision fairly soon. With BOA already having a contest in Austin, many schools will have to question the cost of another BOA regional in a less than major Stadium.

Actually the best stadium in the Area for HS Bands is at Midway HS in Hewitt. It is the choice of all the Class 5A & 6A Bands for Region Marching contest due to better parking conditions.It also hosts its own invitational contest each fall.

Mclane Stadium is open on the 13th, so that would be an excellent place to have the contest. Waco ISD stadium is in my opinion a little to small to handle a BOA contest. They handle UIL Regionals but not area contests since the capacity is about 12,000. The Only disappointing thing is that the Baylor Golden Wave Band will probably not be able to perform due to their having to be in Austin for the Baylor vs UT game that same day. This rivalry would demand that BU perform in Austin that day. Since Waco is 107 miles from Austin, I do not think the Band will try to do both that day.

I have to agree in total to this comment about funding. Many of my peers are retiring from Band Directing in CA. I know these directors and they are outstanding in getting the most out of their kids. However with a few exceptions IE Arcadia, Diamond Bar, and Chino areas, these Bands have to scratch for every cent they can get. Even with great Parental Support, having to fund your own travel, uniforms and even music makes it near impossible to be competitive against powerhouse Bands. Most Directors in TX are far better paid than any other state. Our Bands are great, but look at this, name me many great Bands in States that Border Us, LA, Lafayette and no one else, NM Clovis and no one else, OK, Broken Arrow, Owasso, Jenks, Union, Mustang and who else. Funding makes the difference between being good and Great with all other things being equal.

I understand your belief that Guard is a huge part of GE, however unless you are a large school with a multiple staff, the chances are you will not have much time to spend for WGI events. Most schools try to get involved in local guard circuits and even that is difficult under UIL rules. I live in a Region that has 37 A-AAA HS Bands. There are only 16 5A & 6A schools in the region. The Small schools mostly have a Single Band Director working at the school with an assistant who is primarily working at the Middle Schools. The primary TMEA and UIL emphasis after Marching Season is Solo and Ensemble and All Region, Area and All State Bands. The Band Director of a Small school does not have the time to spend much time with Guard Units when Solo and Ensemble and Region Band are the more important emphasis. Second since Guard is not a UIL Recognized activity, you have to fund it yourself, which is hard. Your comment about the Guard being a huge part of General Effect is only valid with schools that have the staff to support this activity. Another negative is that in small schools, the same kids are doing basketball, cheerleading, FFA , choir, wrestling etc. When you only have 300 students in school , Guard is a "NICE TO HAVE" option but no something most smaller schools spend the money for.

The main difference is that UIL is 60% Music and 40% Marching and Man. Visual is not a caption under UIL. The fact is that a Non Corps style Band could not be judged fairly in BOA contests. In 2016 Spring Hill and China Springs both made the 4A Finals at UIL. In the Finals they received higher M&M Scores than most of the Corps Style Bands. This made many Corps style Directors angry. It seems that they did not like having a Band that did precision drills get a good M&M Score. If you watch the DVD of the Contest, both Spring Hill and China Spring were crisper in their drills than the Corps Style Bands. While most Bands in TX are Corps style, UIL is tasked to judge all types of Bands fairly. The current BOA way of judging clearly discriminates against, Military Style, Show Style and Big Ten Style Bands. For those who disagree, please look at the fact that in 2016, the Florida Marching Band Coalition agreed that the scores for Show Bands under the criteria they had in place was unfair. They now have different score sheets for Show Bands in Contests. That is an honest appraisal. When BOA first started their was a variety of Bands that entered. Once they saw that unless you were corps style, you could not win. They walked. UIL has a responsibility that BOA(which is a Private Organization does not have) of making the playing field as equal as possible.

If BOA believes what it professes, then Bands that have Dance Teams should be rated as fairly as Bands that have all sorts of equipment. In many Texas Schools, the Drill(Dance Team) is still a major part of the Bands Shows. Most of you folks do not see them due to their not going to BOA contests(they have been told that the odds are stacked against them). We had a director get fired some years ago in Region 8 because she wanted the Guard to be the primary aux and jettison the Dance Team. She was foolish because in her contract she agreed to use the Dance team as part of the show, something the school had been doing for 40 years. At the start of the season she installed her program without the Dance Team, the parents complained and she got fired. She is still not directing a large HS Band. Here is the crux of the matter, to the folks in the stands, Guard is in many cases boring(along with the show they walk out on for the same reason). Fortunately UIL does not make that distinction.

I think that all this sounds great, however living in a District than cannot afford its Football teams to go over 200 miles in non-district games, I doubt that many districts that have the same situations of limited funds are not going to look forward to their Bands going to contests 300 or more miles away when there are many contests available in the local areas. The schools that travel are those who have fairly affluent population areas to draw from. Lets face it there are about 200 Bands at best in TX that do BOA, another 70 probably do USBands. That means that almost 1100 HS Bands do neither of these contests. Do I think this is going to Change, No. Our Administration says we have plenty of contests within a 100 mile radius. And that is what we and most schools of TX live with it. BOA draws those who are affluent enough to afford it. In regards to OK Bands. The Oklahoma Band Masters Association several years ago went with BOA rules and Judging. Since that time OK has added several Bands to its top 5 or 6 that can compete out of State. The List, Broken Arrow, Owasso, Union, Jenks, Mustang and Bixby. The fact is though that only BA has consistently defeated TX Bands. LD Bell won at Union this fall beating Owasso pretty handily. The results of BOA Grand Nationals show that with the exception of BA, OK Bands are not really ready on take on the Best Bands of TX. I doubt many of them will cross the red River. It should be noted that OBA Class 6A is made up of 24 schools with enrollments of 750 students and above. Their is definitely a size difference and monetary difference between the two states.

They did not list positions after the top three. However based on ratings, this is probably as close to positioning as they made it.

While most of TX was watching the BOA Super Regional contest, on 4 Nov 2017 23 Texas High School Bands that march military style Precision Drill Shows competed in the Texas State Military Marching Contest hosted by NAMMB at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches. The Results are as follows Class 2A 1. Timpson Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-1-1-1 2. West Sabine Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-2-1-1-2 Class 3A 1. New Diana Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-1-1-1 2. West Rusk Rating 2 Judges Ratings 2-1-2-1-2 3. Beckville Rating 2 Judges Ratings 2-2-2-1-2 Harleton Rating 2 Judges Ratings 2-2-2-2-3 Hemphill Rating 2 Judges Ratings 2-3-2-2-2 Ore City Rating 2 Judges Ratings 2-2-3-2-2 Class 4A 1. Spring Hill Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-1-1-1 2. Cleveland Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-1-1-1 3. Pittsburg Rating 1 Judges Ratings 2-1-1-1-1 Carthage Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-1-1-1 Brownsboro Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-1-1-1 Gilmer Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-1-1-1 Center Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-2-1-1 Chapel Hill Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-2-2-1 Bullard Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-2-2-1 Henderson Rating 2 Judges Ratings 1-1-2-2-2 Class 5A 1. Lindale Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-1-1-1 2. Huntsville Rating 1 Judges Ratings 2-1-1-1-1 3. Hallsville Rating 2 Judges Ratings 1-2-3-1-2 Class 6A 1. Lufkin Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-1-1-1-1 2. Montgomery Rating 1 Judges Ratings 1-2-1-2-1

Final Results 88.25 Coronado Tournament of Bands Champion 87.25 Bel Air 86.08 Hanks 84.67 Americas 83.83 Eastlake 83.67 Onate 82.83 Montwood 82.33 Pebble Hills 79.17 Eastwood 76.17 Chapin

Scores of Bands advancing to Finals 85.58 Coronado 85.33 Hanks 84.75 Bel Air 84.67 Americas 82.583 Onate Higher GE Score 82.583 Pebble Hills 81.83 Montwood 81.00 Eastlake 80.75 Eastwood 76.17 Chapin GE & Music Caption Awards to Coronado Class Winners in Prelims Class C 52.2 San Elizario 46.7 Morenci Class B 68.8 El Paso 67.3 Alamogordo 63.4 Jefferson/Silva Class A 1. Eastlake 2. Chapin 73.5 Centennial Class AA 1. Coronado 2. Hanks 3. Bel Air

This saturday, 4 Nov, Bands in West TX and New Mexico will bring their contest season to a close. 25 Bands from AZ, NM and TX will compete in the NMSU Tournament of Bands. The contest starts at 9:15 Am 9:15 Morenci, AZ Class C 9: 30 San Elizario, TX Class C 9:45 Santa Teresa, NM Class B 10:00 El Paso, TX Class B 10:15 Deming, NM Class B 10:30 Alamogordo, NM Class B 10:45 Jefferson/Silva, TX Class B 12:15 Centennial, NM Class A 12:30 Chapin, TX Class A 12:45 Albuquerque, NM Class A 1:00 Las Cruces, NM Class A 1:15 Mayfield, NM Class A 1:30 Eastlake, TX Class A 1:45 Horizon, TX Class AA 2:00 Pebble Hills, TX Class AA 2:15 Coronado, TX Class AA 2:45 Hanks, TX Class AA 3:00 Eastwood, TX Class AA 3:15 Onate, NM Class AA 3:30 Socorro, TX Class AA 3:45 Franklin, TX Class AA 4:00 Montwood, TX Class AA 4:15 Bel Air, TX Class AA 4:30 Americas, TX Class AA 5:15 Prelim Awards 8:00 Finals Schools are divided by School Enrollment Class C are schools under 700 students Class B are schools from 701 to 1600 students Class A are schools from 1601 to 2100 Students Class AA are schools from 2100 and above Further information to include the Names and Position of the Judges can be found on the Tournament Web Page Https://music.nmsu.edu/index.php/en.Tournament-of.Bands

Actually as mileage goes, Houston is about 30 miles closer via the city limits. However the El Paso Bands consider anything from Palm Springs on into LA as Los Angeles, and if you consider that Palm Springs is about 100 miles from downtown LA, that is what is meant by being closer. Not coming to the east to face the best TX Bands has hurt the El Paso schools at UIL. They consistently are at the bottom of the Prelims at SMC. I have to believe that if they competed with Bands in San Antonio or further East it would improve them.

I suggest you look at the Borderland Marching Facebook page that covers all their marching activities in the El Paso Region 22. The Best 5A Band is Bel Air. The Best 6A Band is Coronado. These Bands compete primarily with Bands from New Mexico and sometimes the Midland-Odessa Area. They are heavily influenced by CA Bands since they go to the BOA Regional in Southern CA. Except for SMC they do not travel eastward. Did most of you know that El Paso is closer to Los Angeles than to Houston. The next Big contest for their Bands is the New Mexico State University Tournament of Bands either this coming weekend. All of their 6A Bands will compete. Their 5A Bands going to San Antonio will sit this one out. Hope this information helps a bit. One big complaint most of us outside the Metroplex have is that very few folks up their have any idea about the rest of the state, both East and West. By the Way I live in Region 8 which is in the center of the State, so I have heard these complaints as a unbiased listener