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.

My bold prediction: Vandegrift wins 4A state next year.

Argh, are you guys gonna start that again? Either tell us what happened or stop bringing it up, it's really annoying!

I think this was already brought up on the Westlake topic, but I'll put it here anyway. The Westlake contest predictions is not working. After hitting submit, it shows me all my predictions and says thank you for participating or whatever. But then when I go back to predictions, it says I have not completed the predictions yet. Thanks in advance.

As far as which show style is best, that all comes down to preference. Personally, I like more dci-style: few props, but you have body and other not strictly marching elements in the show as well. I like little effects here and there, but in my opinion the vast majority of the show should be playing and marching. But there are some who love the story-telling style and think the props add a ton to the show and there are some who would prefer if bands did just straight marching and playing, nothing else. It's all opinion. As far as the judging, it all comes down to a little category called General Effect. I still don't know exactly how GE is judged, but it has to do with how the audience reacts to your show. Generally speaking, props add GE. Cool effects from the synth add GE. Body adds GE. Basically anything that makes you go "Oh wow, that was cool" gives you GE. The problems arise when one person says "Oh wow, that was cool" and another says "I don't get why that's cool." It's a fault many have with BOA judging. And GE is the largest category at BOA contests, so it plays a huge factor in who wins and loses. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. It causes way to much stress to worry about the results and who got what because of why. Trust me. Just enjoy the shows for what they are. In the band world, especially for students, the sooner you figure this out, the more enjoyment you'll be able to get out of it.

From a performers perspective, it's gotta be the dome. Sure, it's hard to hear in there, but nothing beats walking out of the tunnel and hearing the roar of the crowd in the Alamodome. Plus, every year I've been there, there's been at least one moment in our show where the band will play really loud then cut off quickly, and the ring that follows the cut off is incredible.

This is really in the wrong section... it should be in the Upcoming Contests Section. But yeah this contest is incredibly stacked. Some very good bands will not make finals.

No kidding they were all over the place. It's crazy to think that one judge thought a band was the best in the area, and another judge thought the same band was the worst. I mean, differences of opinions will always exist, but to that extent? Wow. Anyway, kudos to the Woodlands College Park. I'm just happy CP advanced.

Hmmm... after doing a little research I also found an example of a 5A band that moved down to 4A and competed the next year: Hays in 06 (competed in Area in 07). Maybe I am wrong... I'll see if I can figure this out.

I know, it wouldn't make sense at all, but this person definately knows what they're talking about. And from what I understand it only applies when a band moves from 5A to 4A.

Just a little heads up: I may be wrong, but I'm almost positive there's a UIL rule that says that when a band moves from 5A to 4A, they cannot participate in the first state marching contest after switching. What this would mean is that all the 5A bands that just moved down would have to wait until 2013 to participate in a state marching contest (because 2011 would be their first state year in 4A). The class of 2013 will actually not get to go to a state year at all in these programs. Again, I may be wrong, but I heard this from a very reliable source, so I highly doubt it.