CPFrntEns

I believe his reasons for leaving were both the chance to start a new program and the chance to work with a great friend of his in Jeremy Spicer. He didn't expect to leave so soon either, but the circumstances just worked out that way. Having had him as a director, I can attest to what a fantastic teacher and motivator he his. Vandegrift drumline and the rest of the band will be a force in the future- just look at what they accomplished today in their third year! In regards to Standstill vs. Marching- I've always marveled at how Marching lines learn an entire extra show for drumline competitions. It blows my mind that they have the time to do that and still be excellent in normal marching band. I wish WGI was more prominent in Texas, I find it incredibly interesting and exciting to watch, and I'd enjoy seeing more Texas groups, especially Texas High Schools, compete in Indoor Drumline.

It's interesting to note that both the 1A and 2A competitions had bands that dominated prelims, scoring straight 1s or nearly straight 1's. However, when finals came around, the competition was much closer. I would not be surprised if something similar happened tonight.

And they're up: http://utdirect.utexas.edu/uilsmbc/lbw2_sc...;s_display_sw=R

I agree with all of the above posts. Regardless of Prelims scores, Finals is gonna be crazy. So many good bands, one after the other. Wish I could be there, but the livestream is awesome too! UPDATE FROM SOURCE: Prelims placements: 1. Cedar Park 2. Dripping Springs 3. Wake land 4. Vandegrift Again, this is unconfirmed, but I trust the source Edit: SORRY! 4th is Vandy, not LT

A source from inside the CP band told me that they got straight 1st ratings. I cannot confirm this personally, but I very much trust this source

Cedar Park and Round Rock's rivalry is biggest between the drumlines. I think we used to go to Belton drumline contest every year with them, and the drum caption at any CenTex competition that both bands attend (Westlake, Cap City, Vista Ridge) has usually been given to either CP or RR's lines in recent years.

Recaps are up on RR's website now (DragonBand.com, click on "Marching Competition Link").

And if you assume this, that means that Hays HS, a 2009 4A state finalist, will also miss state. No question about it, Area D is stacked this year.

A source from this contest told me that Vandegrift just won the 4A division, taking the Music, Marching, and Auxillary Captions. CP took Percussion and General Effect. I don't have full results, just this. Edit: Beaten to the punch by the TxBands live stream. Apparently it went 1. Vandy 2. CP 3. Lake Travis

The Rice Marching Owl Band, or the MOB. "$ECcess?" At UT - "If you build it, she will come" Tribute to the Johnson Space Center's 50th anniversary- Script: http://mob.rice.edu/history/scripts/201109100

CTJ!! Our high school loves you guys, partly because our old old percussion director works there. I've heard your pit play, and they're really good. It's no wonder they're good though; Maldonado is a great percussion director. In response the overall thread, while at some schools pit's where less talented percussionists and even wind players go, a pit doesn't have to be like that. Pit parts can be incredibly more difficult than any part on the field, simply because we don't have to march. And yes, rack is often where the bottom tier percussionists go, but their parts can be challenging as well. Side note, if you look back at the first page of this thread, somebody suggested a marching marimba, like where two alternates would push a marimba around a field while someone played it. I would really like to see some school do this, even if it's just for a short period of time (i.e., they move it out for the ballad, then play a ww/marimba duet, then the marimba is moved back).

Some of my favorites that I've performed in: Verspertine Formations by Christopher Dean Performed by the Cedar Park HS Percussion Section (I'm the guy furthest to the right) Stained Glass by David Gillingham Performed by the St. Cloud State University Percusion Collective Metric Lips by Bela Fleck arr. David Steinquest Performed by the Pearland HS Percussion Section http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSSGJgTbaok Other good ones: The Doomsday Machine Blue Rondo a la Turk Jingle Bells? (pretty much the only Christmas percussion ensemble I can stand) I don't listen to percussion ensembles a lot, so I'm interested to see what people post. They're really interesting and fun to listen to. Edit: Whoops, just saw "without standard instruments". Oh well. Out of those, Doomsday Machine is really the only one that could be considered without standard instruments, and that's pushing it.

Cause of this guy. How quickly will these forums go quiet until next September?

While this is a very valid point, I have to point out one thing: because Vandegrift is so small, they have to be so much better individually. Let me explain. If one person messes up in a band of 350, it gets covered up fairly easily. But if one person messes up in a band of 80, it's glaringly obvious. So the fact that Vandegrift was so clean is a testament to how hard they work and how good they were. Also, I have to object to your comment about singing and dancing on the field. Sure, Vandegrift sang Simple Gifts ONCE and had body in their show (both of which I liked and thought were effective), but to complain about that and not complain about other GE elements the larger bands do shows a bit of a double standard. If you still think Reagan and The Woodlands were better than Vandegrift, that's perfectly OK. I didn't see the Woodlands, but I enjoyed Vandegrift's performance more than Reagan's. Looking forward to seeing Vandegrift in their first Super Regional finals.

This is pretty true. You can get GE points from doing just about anything well. The other main point to bring up is that all judging is completely subjective. That's what judging is: someone's opinion on how good or bad something is. Of course, some opinions are absurd (who's gonna say a Little League T-ball team is better than the Yankees?), so there is a sort of standard for judging. But when you get a lot of bands peformaning vastly different shows and very high levels, there's often a discrepancy between the opinions of the judges and therefore the scores of the judges. People point to GE as the most subjective category, and in a way they're right, but all categories are subjective, so you can't fault the GE category for ruining results. Ok, that even confused me. Point is, it comes down to the judge's opinion no matter what format you use.