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Go one more year back (2022) and you would find 4 of 5 were state finalist with the 5th barely missing finals (17th, i believe?). Area D does not send filler bands to state! There are more than 5 bands here that are state worthy for sure.

So prior to 2021, were the 3 music judges each have their own area... that is one judged brass, another woodwind and the third percussion? Or do they all judge music like they still do in area?

I'm jealous of all the folks who were at the stadium today to witness all these bands perform. IMO, streaming doesn't do any of these bands justice (regardless of platform, the technology just isn't there yet). For those ending your season today, congratulations on a great season. For the rest, all the best on your next contest and keep it up. Thank you for your performance today.

Congratulations to the Area D representatives! 2 got into finals and the first 3 out were all area D. That is, all 5 bands are within top 17 in the state. I think that speaks to the competitivenes of this area. I believe we have more than 5 bands that can compete for finals spot at state. There are no filler bands when area D sends a representative to state.

Congratulations to all who performed today! You were all awesome! Remember that this batch of seniors were freshmen during COVID. And the underclassmen were affected by COVID in the crucial middle school period. They have overcome all that and more! (That's for every band kid this season!) I wish there was more than 14 slots in finals! I don't know how the judges will decide the top 14 but I hope you all enjoyed performing your shows and performing with your friends!

should this be in the upcoming contest forum? I would love to hear how our Texas bands are doing. Go Team Texas!

I think competing by program sizes can have unintended consequences. Wouldn't that open the door to "gaming the system"? Say a director doesn't want to compete in 6A so he limits the program size to 5A or 3A. And that would limit the number of students that can participate in the program which I'm sure is not something that any of us would want. I think it takes time and effort, from one class to the next and to the next and so on, to build a strong and successful band program. I remember someone here posting something similar (can't remember who it was or when it was posted). Someone posted a story about how they didn't compete well in the past but they have seen the growth in their school's program since then (and they're still trying to grow up). And it's not just the students and directors, it's everyone, including the parents and the community.

This area is so competitive. Last year 4 of 5 were state finalist with the 5th barely missing finals (17th, i believe?). I loved all the bands that performed at finals last night from Reagan to Churchill. It's unfortunate we can only send 5. I think we could have sent more (if not all of them) that would still have competed well at state. Congratulations to Reagan, Round Rock, CTJ, Westwood and Dripping Springs! They were stellar last night! They will be represnting our area well! All the best to them in state. Good luck on the rest of the season for everyone!

Oh and speaking of heat... today, Sept 24, the national weather service issued a heat advisory for Williamson/Travis County (where the KRAC is located) from 1pm to 7pm. If this was issued yesterday, would the contest have been postponed?

Congratulations to all the bands that performed yesterday! I was in prelims and it was soooooooo hot! Usually (at least in the last 2 years that I've watched this contest) in the last block and/or announcements the stands would be full. But yesterday, there were a lot of empty seats. It was that hot! And despite the heat, all the kids pushed thru and did outstanding work. It's early in the season and this is just the first competition. I'm excited to see how each of your shows develop in the next few weeks! (Sidenote: Do we know (if any) had their full show on the field already? Just curious...) Congratulations to Rouse! That was a great show you put on at finals! Bravo! Congratulations to all the finalist bands as well. Each one that performed last night (including the exhibition bands) was amazing. I was thoroughly entertained. Looking forward to watching y'all again this season!

All the best to all those performing tomorrow! I'm excited to see all the shows this season. A new season, a new show, a new set of performers and leaders... have fun with it!

Thank you! This is very helpful. So I take it, M&G Johnson and The Woodlands have been involved with WGI for awhile (and have been excelling at it)? Is that why they are already at World? That's awesome. Are the competitions streamed? Any "must watch" performance vids on youtube that you would recommend?

Just curious and willing to learn... What are the different classifications? (ie. Scholastic A, Independent A, etc) do the schools choose which classification to enter?

How about.. The Alamo Sweep 🙂

New to this too but I've learned a lot just by reading on this forum. There are a lot of people here with first hand experience (which I have none) or have been involved with the arts for a long time. Here's what I've learned so far: On the visual question, celesta had a very good break down of the Hebron performance that describes what judges are looking for. Here's the quote (emphasis are mine): I've also seen it described as commitment by each and every performer. Not just the guards but each person on the field because each person has a role and message to convey. And they have to do it for the whole show because you never know where the judge is looking. On Cedar Ridge, you will just have to trust the experts on this (and I am definitely not one of them). The technical accuracy/precision that the percussionists are expected to perform to be considered great at this is unreal. I personally am not able to tell but they can hear when a drummer is off by even a smidge or if there is inconsistency in the keyboard playing. The snares for example has to sound like a single player (so there is no "width in the sound") and that's hard when you're doing that at the speeds that most of these kids are expected to play. It's also not just about banging the drum, there are nuances of dynamics, phrasing and musicality which again might be hard to discern/identify for the untrained ear. (Sorry, I'm a bit passionate about percussion even though I'm not really good at it. )