Anthony V

Is anyone else super excited to see how the 3A crowd will stack up? Stephen F. Austin, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, etc. There's been a lot of mixing up of the 3A season thus far. Legacy came out of nowhere to steal the 3A class and Pflugerville didn't even make finals. I wonder if the same deal will go for tomorrow. This regional is going to be so exciting!

Just a nitpicky item, but Richland placed 3rd in visual in finals with a visual avg. of 15.05. Flowermound had a visual avg. of 14.7.

I can't quite decide if it's because you guys are so good or because LD Bell is losing their touch. Too bad ya'll aren't going to Arlington. All three of our schools could be in Arlington finals! Birdville is fantastic as always-- they're definitely state bound. I guess we'll just have to settle for San Antonio But in all seriousness, the tiers of years past are starting to break down. This is going to be a very interesting and surprising season. I really can't say how Arlington will turn out. It's an extraordinarily mixed bag!

If you think about who usually starts peaking score wise, and estimating that through out the season, here's how I would guess (based on last year's results. For instance, Richland placed 5th in 2009 at BOA Arlington, but placed 6th in BOA San Antonio, thus beating Hebron, who placed 3rd at BOA Arlington. I'm trying to be as non-biased as possible on Richland though ). Tier 1 (LD Bell, Marcus) 90+ Tier 2 (SFA, James Bowie, Woodlands) 88-90 Tier 3 (CT Johnson, Cedar Park, Hebron, Reagan, Spring, Richland) 86-88 Tier 4 (Churchill, Plano East, Coppell, Keller, Pflugerville) 82-86 Tier 5 (Aledo, Birdville, Mansfield, Round Rock, Flowermound, Haltom, Brazoswood, Colleyville Heritage, Vandergrift, Anderson) 78-82 Tier 5 (Keller Central, Leander, College Park, Akins, Vista Ridge, McNeil, Judson, Westlake, Sandra Day OConnor, MacArthur)72-78 Tier 6 (Those not mentioned above) 72-

Some GREAT scores from the north zone! By feeder schools: ________________________________________ Haltom HS Varsity (Greg Hull): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Donnie Hull): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Sub Non-Varsity (Rene Rosas): 2 1 1 1 1 1 North Oaks MS Varsity (Tony Smith): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Amanda McNeelege): 2 2 2 1 2 2 Watauga MS Varsity (Greg McKutcheon): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Laurie Engelby): 2 1 1 1 1 1 Haltom MS Varsity (David Burks): 1 1 1 1 1 2 Non-Varsity (Jeff Feig): 2 1 1 2 2 1 ________________________________________ Richland HS Varsity (Jason Bird): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Melodianne Mallow): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Sub Non-Varsity (Brian Lowe): 1 1 1 1 1 1 North Ridge MS Varsity (James Smith): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Jessica Shadman): 1 1 1 1 1 1 North Richland MS Varsity (Matthew Cho): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Jessica Maus): 1 1 1 1 1 1 ________________________________________ L.D. Bell HS Varsity (Derek Van Matthews): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (John Alstrin): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Sub Non-Varsity (Brandon Holt) 2 1 2 1 1 1 Bedford JHS Varsity (Valerie Howell): 1 1 1 1 1 2 Non-Varsity (Suzanne Dell): 1 2 1 2 2 1 Hurst JHS Varsity (Monica Dominguez): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Jason Williams): 2 2 3 3 4 3 Central JHS Varsity (Christine Cumberledge): 1 1 1 1 2 1 Non-Varsity (Benjamin Aune): 2 3 2 2 3 2 ________________________________________ Birdville HS Varsity (Jolette Wine): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Mike Cherpika): 1 2 1 1 1 1 Sub Non-Varsity (Gary Barnard): 2 2 2 2 2 2 Richland MS Varsity (Russell Porter / Jeannine Belch): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Smithfield MS Varsity (Ramsey MacDonald): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity ( Joshua Schechter): 1 1 2 1 1 1 ________________________________________ Trinity HS Varsity (Mario Casonova): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Michael Moran): 1 2 2 1 1 1 Sub Non-Varsity (Sean Wahrmund): 2 2 1 1 1 1 Euless JHS Varsity (Jean Bryant): 1 1 1 1 1 1 Non-Varsity (Windy Cho): 1 2 1 2 2 2 Harwood JHS Varsity (Doyle Bellville): 1 2 1 2 2 2 Non-Varsity (Danielle Alice): 3 2 2 1 1 2 Varsity (Christine Cumberledge): 1 1 1 1 2 1 Non-Varsity (Benjamin Aune): 2 3 2 2 3 2 ________________________________________

Wow... Arlington is PACKED.

I know we're not a regular visitor anymore, but we drive also we we do go.

Thinking again about it, they might just be in a decline as far as maturity. This year with my band, we worked 100 times harder than in years past and had excellent direction, but we were marching only about 30 seniors (4 of which are drum majors) in a 5A competitive program so there wasn't as much experience on the field as needed. Churchill could possibly be experiencing the same situation. Good talent takes time to mature.

That's largely due in part to the loss of Mike Sloan (visual/guard director) to Richland. 2008 they had him, and they were the usual suspects for BOA San Antonio finals. 2009 was their first year to not have him, and their scores dipped way down. And then this year, it such continues. It's depressing, because we all know deep down that those Churchill kids have the talent level of a finalist band as we've seen in years past.

I wouldn't say that having a faster (if even a little bit dirtier) drill velocity will cost you more than a slower and cleaner one in most situations. Ultimately it boils down to the tendency of the judges, but pulling off impressive drill can gain you those lost points. I suppose the chances of a judge favoring faster velocities/dirtier than slower velocities/cleaner would be greater in BOA than UIL, since BOA is based on "visual" scoring rather than strictly "marching". On a general basis, I think that you can have extreme velocities and still have a stunning sound. iShow GN finals anyone?

I would like to clarify some rumors. 1) 2 years ago, our 3rd band director left us, and last year, our head band director left us. 2) We did not have a bad run-through. In fact, it was the best run-through of the year! 3) We have been bashed in music all season long. The judges aren't very satisfied with our musical selection (just check out BOA Arlington. BOTH music GE judges gave us 7th) this season. You can only do so much with a certain piece, and we just capped early musically. In this competition, our placement didn't connect with our skill. 4) Visually, we have a stunning program. One judge gave us 1st in visual, and the other gave us 5th in visual. We don't suck. No one there did. It's just that EVERYONE there was AMAZING. 5) The judging panel's results are not bogus. They have definite reasons for why they gave each band a certain placement, and as a community, it is part of our job to respect that each and every time we speak our thoughts. And finally, 6) The Richland band is not "going downhill". True, we've had director changes, but the following are the words of Tom Shine (ex-Duncanville director) after judging us at Region 5: "I think this is the best Richland band I have ever seen."

Imagine if you were in that band and someone said that to you! It's pretty downsizing. Reality is one thing, but being anti-constructive towards any program of any type is truly breaking and unspoken rule. Please be respectful.

I watched all of the finals bands live from the press box (I was a portal monitor) and here's what I thought (from what bands I remembered): Marcus - Visually astounding, and musically pleasing, Marcus put on a wonderful performance! Their genius effects got the whole crowd going when the guard put their custom weapons together and showed the audience that they were actually 2 halves of a light bulb! Musically speaking, the brass consistently put out a dark and warm sound that flowed over the entire stadium like satin. The woodwinds amplified the effect and added to the warm and glorious tones. Favorite music and visual performance of the night by far. Hebron - This band had an extraordinary sound overall. Lots of good and centered tone. The tree props really helped solidify the theme of the show. Visually, they have a LOT to clean though. From an individual standpoint, there were missed step outs everywhere. From an ensemble standpoint, they were a solid 2nd (in my opinion). Legacy - I remember seeing them before finals (as I was waiting to take the field with my band) at BOA Arlington. I swear they changed the name of their show, but I could possibly be wrong. Titled "The Legacy Tree", this band has a great sound that I've never heard from them before. Like Hebron, though, they had a lot of visual errors. Again, awesome music selection, and awesome performance. Wakeland - Wakeland put out a lot of energy that night, and it showed in their performance. The first hit was really impressive, and they kept it going. Their props were actually band uniform racks lining the back side line and both goal lines and held their uniforms until the closer. Luckily, they had their entire show out, and so it made sense with the props. In the closer they had another massive hit (this time they were in uniform) and they got a standing ovation before the show was even over! Great performance. The performers really reached out and connected to the audience. Keller Central - Wow. What an amazing performance! I loved every aspect of the show! Pure genius! The horn soli in the beginning was absolutely breathtaking, and the repetition of the main theme was completely amazing. The ballad definitely the highlight of the show though. The brass was warm and beautiful through the whole section. Unfortunately, they only had up to the end of the ballad completed. Visually, they still have a lot to work on, and personally, I think that pulled them down a few ranks. Otherwise, I could have seen them taking 4th or even 3rd. * Fun fact - Their head band director (Kevin McNulty) was the 3rd band director at Richland for 6 or so years before he got the position. In addition, he was my concert band director my freshman year.

Actually, this is the entire line-up. Here's directly from the invitational website: "As of Wednesday October 6, the following bands will be in competition at the 17th Annual Duncanville Marching Invitational. A schedule will be posted within the coming week." And it's unlikely that a band who doesn't make state will sign up for prelims after the schedule has been made. Changing times and accomodating for late bands isn't a very wise decision, because you can't just tack on time slots. They have to be pre-assigned for things like warm up, awards, the first finals bands, etc. And plus, they would have to negotiate with the stadium holder on times. It's not like they own the stadium. It belongs to the district.

Wooh!! Participating bands are in! Alvin HS, Alvin TX Birdville HS, North Richland Hills TX Cleburne HS, Cleburne TX College Park HS, The Woodlands TX Coppell HS, Coppell TX Hays HS, Buda TX McKinney Boyd HS, McKinney TX Richland HS, North Richland Hills TX South Grand Prairie HS, Grand Prairie TX Waxahachie HS, Waxahachie TX I'm surprised to see College Park coming all the way from down south. What a drive for an invitational!

Again, with the success factor, the region contest is more driven towards separating the "goats from the sheep" if you will. It's just to see if you're on the right track. Once you get past region level, Area level preps you for state-hood (if you make it). In addition, the allotted time between region and area is extremely minimal; Any amount of excessive ranking would be unnecessary. When you put all these rankings out there, the focus turns from excellence to "being better than THEM", if you understand what I mean. Not to say competition is a bad thing, but that it, like everything, must be taken in proportion to the activity. Marching band is about excellence. Drum Corps is about perfection. Just being nitpicky, but UIL marching band doesn't hold district level competitions. Too costly and tedious.

UIL has and will probably always be based simply on execution. The reason behind this is the mission of the program. Not everyone is going to have as good or hard a show at one another. We are all on different levels, but that shouldn't close doors and limit achievement just because of the experience of the band. How good a band is will be evident in whatever they might be doing, regardless of difficulty. On the flip-side, you can't just sign up for UIL state like you can BOA Grand Nationals or USSBA nationals. You have to earn your way there, and that in itself is a reward. Personally, I enjoyed making UIL state rather than competing in BOA San Antonio finals-- of course there's always room for other opinion.

Does anyone know the line-up for Duncanville invitational? It hasn't been posted on the website. Please and thank you

Drop Richland from BOA San Antonio. We're not going this year due to transportation and money issues. We will be going to BOA Arlington, UIL, and the Duncanville invitational though.

There are a large number of factors that play into the usage of a ballad during a show, but one of the most prominent has to do with effect. There are basically two ways you can relay effect: -Contrast -Conformity You can contrast different elements of the show (whatever they might be) to elaborate on specific identity, or you can compare two or more like elements (again, whatever they might be) to create a sense of uniformity and a powerful presence. A ballad is generally a contrast to the rest of the show - a great source of music GE if used correctly; Among other things, it usually takes the focus off just the band (seeing how the slower music might be more ambient than thematic) and places it upon a contrasting element that amplifies the effect. In other words, it gives the band a break from melting your face, and gives someone (or something) else a chance in the spotlight for a while. While I don't see a ballad as absolutely crucial to having a good show, I do see it necessary for more flexibility of the performers and a display of the [hopefully] broad talent range being presented. (i.e, I can play "Gems of Adiemus" and then turn around and play something like "O Magnum Mysterium")