MadHornist

The bands do submit a script and that script is read while the band marches off the field. However , the prelim audience largely consists of their own fans and the fans of the next few bands to perform after them. I don’t think many band parents stick around to watch other prelim bands after their band performs because they are too busy moving equipment and chaperoning. Why not recognize bands for their SMBC accomplishments when everyone is assembled for the announcements of state finalists? Did you know that the Dickinson band is a five time former state champion, or that Hanna has a long history of SMB appearances? You wouldn’t from the current way the SMB introduces the bands at the end of prelims.

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Pearland will win first place, leaving the rest of y’all to battle it out for the remaining spots. 😜 Good luck to all, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Vista Ridge is from Cedar Park. From Google - Wealthiest suburb: Cedar Park has the wealthiest ZIP code among suburbs in the Austin metro. There are definitely differences that help all the Leander ISD schools to dominate at state. Besides “hard work and believing that they can win state”, their schools can afford top tier uniforms and props, etc. Leander ISD doesn’t offer orchestra, so the band programs benefit from additional funds that might have been otherwise spent on orchestra, and the bodies of the musicians who might have otherwise chosen orchestra if it was an option. Again, I don’t wish to detract from the elite band programs, but I only wish that they would acknowledge that there are external factors that make them elite besides the hard work of their musicians. The Hanna parent made a good point that the lower ranked bands that consistently make state don’t get recognized for their consistent appearances. Maybe that could be something that’s added to the distribution of the participation awards at prelims. In addition to introducing schools, the UIL should add details of how many consistent appearances the schools have made at the SMBC. There are a lot of “really good, consistent bands” throughout the ranks, but only the ones at the top get full credit for their accomplishments.

I’m not saying that UIL should use BOA scoring. I just appreciate how BOA groups bands into classes based on school population. There are plenty of “really good, consistent bands” at smaller to mid-sized 6A schools, but a 250 person band from a school with 2,500 students is not realistically going to be competitive against a 300-400 person band from a school with 3,000-4,000 students. Why not create a division two tier for the smaller bands to compete in?

To be honest, it’s unrealistic for most of the bands competing in the 6A SMBC to have any aspirations of being crowned state champion or to even make it into the top ten. Most bands lack the size or financial resources that it takes to be an elite band. For them, just making it to state marching competition is their reward. I don’t mean to take anything away from the top bands because they have definitely earned their placement. However, it would be nice if the 6A marching band competition was split into two divisions like football. After four years of attending the competition, it’s become obvious that after the top twenty or so, the lower ranked bands don’t get the same attention by the judges in prelims because the judges priority is to select the top bands for finals. Would a BOA metric like 10th through 12th grade school population be a good way to divide the field, or should the divisions be decided by band size? Comments?

Dawson nearly beat Pearland at Area, so it would not surprise me to see them in finals. Likewise, Pearland should be a safe pick for finals. I’d love to see Brook in finals, but a more reasonable goal would be them cracking the top 20 since they are the second smallest school represented in the 6A SMBC. Hopefully, the crowd will enjoy their performance as much as the kids enjoy putting it on.

My expectation from watching both bands is that they will adjust and be more competitive next year. They both have the skills and quality direction, IMHO.

I rewatched their shows. They both have the size and talent to be more competitive. The only thing that I observed was that the musical scoring of their shows sounded easier than what was played by some of the higher scoring bands. That is definitely something that is easier to address than the physical band size, which is what holds back many other quality programs.

Congratulations to all the bands who performed yesterday! Whether or not your show advanced to finals or to state, the quality performances gives testimony to how much musical talent exists in this Area.

There are still four more bands to compete in finals.

…and may the odds be ever in your favor!

For the band parents, the suspense will be seeing who gets to eat November Nachos on the San Antonio river walk.

Notice that I expanded my initial comment. It does set up an interesting scenario if this turns into a prelims only event.

The early performances might benefit if they can lay down solid prelims runs before the rain moves in.

Clear Lake and Clear Brook have Thursday night lights, tonight. Rain ended in time for kickoff. It’s currently halftime.

As a former French Horn player, I get warm fuzzies from the Foster French Horn solo. I’m definitely looking forward to hearing it in finals this weekend!

The chance of rain should decrease Saturday afternoon, so holding finals shouldn’t be an issue unless bands are backed up from earlier in the day. Looking at computer forecast models, this doesn’t look like a heavy rain situation, so hopefully the contest will go off with a hitch. Question - Will the finals be divided into bottom 5 / top 5 groupings?

FWIW - Brook added additional material to their show after BOA Webster. I just hope that all bands have clean runs this weekend, and that the weather is not a factor in determining who makes it to state.

Should conditions warrant, the contest will be paused until officials determine it is safe to resume. If the contest is paused bands will be notified of any adjustments to the schedule. Be advised that if delays are significant enough to prevent the preliminary round and final round from being completed by about midnight, by rule the preliminary round may be declared the final round. Unless conditions are determined by contest officials to be unsafe the contest will continue as scheduled, which includes the possibility of performing in light to moderate rain.

I’m not liking the weather forecast trends. The probability of precipitation has increased to just over 50% on Saturday. The predicted amounts are still not high, but more likely than not it will rain on someone’s performance. 😞 It’s too early to have a better feel for timing. The forecast for SE winds at 15-25 MPH hasn’t changed.

Dickinson has a very cool show titled “Confectionery”. It’s very colorful and entertaining, and with a very large band to back it up. IMHO - They pose the biggest challenge to Pearland for the top spot, provided that they don’t get overconfident in finals, like they did in 2021 when they dropped from second after prelims to sixth overall.

I think the biggest rain threat will be over before Saturday. The NWS only has a slight chance of precipitation on Saturday with light accumulation. A bigger concern for me are the predicted southeast winds at 15-25 MPH.

The hardest part about next weekend is that Area E can only send 5 bands to state, but there are more than 5 state-worthy shows this year. That is also the greatest thing about next week’s competition. I predict that Pearland, Dickinson, and Austin will grab the top three spots. After that, it’s a true battle of the bands between Brazoswood, Brook, Clements, Dawson, Foster, and Fulshear for the remaining two spots. Of those six bands, I predict that the top three will be Brook, Dawson, and Foster. I won’t pick an order at this point because it will come down to who brings it on the best in finals.

They didn’t award those categories.

Grand Champion - Dickinson Second - Clear Brook Third - Clear Lake Best Auxiliary - Clear Brook Best Drumline - Clear Brook Best Music - Dickinson