2016 6A UIL State

[snares]

  On 11/2/2016 at 2:32 AM, pokemongopractice said:

I think you accidentally missed Hebron....

That is correct

[Mash]

  On 11/2/2016 at 3:43 AM, Fireball275 said:

So I heard that the screen Clements has in the front of their show cost $13,000? Does anybody know if this is true or not?

I can't confirm it, but I would love to see UIL have a specific dollar figure the school could spend on the show.  I would love to see what schools with less financial support could do.  Leave BOA the big over the top show piece.   It doesn't affect our school, but it is pretty obvious about the amount of money some schools get when you see the props.

[drumlinerox]

So, across the 33 Regions, about 250 bands tried out.  202 made Area competitions.  40 made it to San Antonio.

 

All of these band students at all of these programs work hard to attempt to get to SA - Congrats to all of them??

 

That being said, only about 15% make it to the State competition - and only about 5% make the Finals.  That's quite a feat.

 

I know it's history, but of the 40 bands attending this year - I see only 12 that have consistently made the Finals (or very near the Finals) in the last 3 outings (2014, 2012, and 2010) . . . in order of appearance at each of the 8 different Areas.

 

Area B (Keller, Duncanville, LD Bell - don't think they attended in '14, Coppell)

Area C (Flomo - actually didn't make finals I don't think in '12 or '10 - but hard to ignore this year, Hebron, Marcus)

Area D (Reagan, Bowie)

Area F (Spring - not '14, The Woodlands)

Area H (Westlake - not '14)

 

Not appearing this year (either chose not to or didn't advance), but have been stiff competition in the past:

 

CTJohnson

Rowlett

Churchill

 

Fairly new up and comers (at least in this class I think) that could def compete this year:

 

Round Rock

Hendrickson

Vandergrift

Leander

 

Old guard that have been amazing in the past, have fallen off in recent years, but still stand out this year:

 

Plano East

Berkner

I'm sure there's others

 

All that being said, they're all adding and refining shows in this last week.

 

But it will be hard to ignore those previously mentioned 12 . . . it's going to be crowded at the top!

 

 

 

[drumlinerox]

  On 11/2/2016 at 4:33 AM, drumlinerox said:

So, across the 33 Regions, about 250 bands tried out.  202 made Area competitions.  40 made it to San Antonio.

 

All of these band students at all of these programs work hard to attempt to get to SA - Congrats to all of them??

 

That being said, only about 15% make it to the State competition - and only about 5% make the Finals.  That's quite a feat.

 

I know it's history, but of the 40 bands attending this year - I see only 12 that have consistently made the Finals (or very near the Finals) in the last 3 outings (2014, 2012, and 2010) . . . in order of appearance at each of the 8 different Areas.

 

Area B (Keller, Duncanville, LD Bell - don't think they attended in '14, Coppell)

Area C (Flomo - actually didn't make finals I don't think in '12 or '10 - but hard to ignore this year, Hebron, Marcus)

Area D (Reagan, Bowie)

Area F (Spring - not '14, The Woodlands)

Area H (Westlake - not '14)

 

Not appearing this year (either chose not to or didn't advance), but have been stiff competition in the past:

 

CTJohnson

Rowlett

Churchill

 

Fairly new up and comers (at least in this class I think) that could def compete this year:

 

Round Rock

Hendrickson

Vandergrift

Leander

 

Old guard that have been amazing in the past, have fallen off in recent years, but still stand out this year:

 

Plano East

Berkner

I'm sure there's others

 

All that being said, they're all adding and refining shows in this last week.

 

But it will be hard to ignore those previously mentioned 12 . . . it's going to be crowded at the top!

 

 

That's supposed to read "Congrats to all of them!!" 

[drumlinerox]

By the way, I don't believe in "locks" - unless the judges have built in bias.  As with any music contest, it's unfortunately got a very subjective element - unlike say, the final of a basketball game where the score is 96-85 . . . somebody clearly won that contest.

 

Certainly need to march/play well, have a sharp visual element, etc.  But any program that puts in the time, resources, and commitment can come up and surprise us all.

[ChristopherRoden]

  On 11/2/2016 at 3:43 AM, Fireball275 said:

 

So I heard that the screen Clements has in the front of their show cost $13,000? Does anybody know if this is true or not?

I can confirm

[TrumpetorHorn]

The reason you don't see Flower Mound in 2010 and 2012 is that they did not qualify for state. This year is only the second time they have advanced to the state competition.

[Xenon]

  On 11/2/2016 at 2:10 PM, TrumpetorHorn said:

The reason you don't see Flower Mound in 2010 and 2012 is that they did not qualify for state. This year is only the second time they have advanced to the state competition.

RIP, circus show.

[NTXBandFan]

saw another post answering what I attempted to answer

[bandit]

  On 11/2/2016 at 4:33 AM, drumlinerox said:

So, across the 33 Regions, about 250 bands tried out.  202 made Area competitions.  40 made it to San Antonio.

 

All of these band students at all of these programs work hard to attempt to get to SA - Congrats to all of them??

 

That being said, only about 15% make it to the State competition - and only about 5% make the Finals.  That's quite a feat.

 

I know it's history, but of the 40 bands attending this year - I see only 12 that have consistently made the Finals (or very near the Finals) in the last 3 outings (2014, 2012, and 2010) . . . in order of appearance at each of the 8 different Areas.

 

Area B (Keller, Duncanville, LD Bell - don't think they attended in '14, Coppell)

Area C (Flomo - actually didn't make finals I don't think in '12 or '10 - but hard to ignore this year, Hebron, Marcus)

Area D (Reagan, Bowie)

Area F (Spring - not '14, The Woodlands)

Area H (Westlake - not '14)

 

Not appearing this year (either chose not to or didn't advance), but have been stiff competition in the past:

 

CTJohnson

Rowlett

Churchill

 

Fairly new up and comers (at least in this class I think) that could def compete this year:

 

Round Rock

Hendrickson

Vandergrift

Leander

 

Old guard that have been amazing in the past, have fallen off in recent years, but still stand out this year:

 

Plano East

Berkner

I'm sure there's others

 

All that being said, they're all adding and refining shows in this last week.

 

But it will be hard to ignore those previously mentioned 12 . . . it's going to be crowded at the top!

Sadly, LD Bell did not qualify for State in 2014. They were in the area with Hebron, Marcus, FM and got knocked out by another band (I think Haltom)

[bandit]

  On 11/2/2016 at 4:16 AM, Mash said:

I can't confirm it, but I would love to see UIL have a specific dollar figure the school could spend on the show.  I would love to see what schools with less financial support could do.  Leave BOA the big over the top show piece.   It doesn't affect our school, but it is pretty obvious about the amount of money some schools get when you see the props.

I love this idea. There should be a cap on what a school can spend. Lets even the playing field and make it more about the marching and music and less about the glitter and glitz

[ozzmodaus]

Although the props and stuff really are not "technically" judged. they fall under the heading "Visual reinforcement of music" or "General effect" which is just a tiny piece of the entire puzzle, 100 max pts to be exact. (which is a shame as from what I can tell Color Guard falls under this heading....might be wrong though). That being said....I have zero doubt that props and sets do get judged more than technically they should. Judges are human after all and a nice set will increase interest...etc.

I fully support the idea of a cash limit, but that won't do much as some of your bigger bands have many more boosters and parents thus much more likely to have Construction, welders, engineers...etc able to "donate" their time and talents so what may cost one band $100 might cost another $50.

[LKendrick]

If you put a cash restriction on bands they will just find another way to adapt and do well in those conditions because the best bands do well because of their amazing staffs and teaching, not because they have cool backdrops or some fancy lighting effect.

 

If you take that away and put a rule in place that says bands can have nothing on the field and have to march in a box formation for 4 minutes and curves for 4 minutes with no body, you can bet that directors like Sealy, Drinkwater, Biskup, Selaiden, so on and so forth would change how they teach, get the best staff they can to teach it, and still do well because they're amazing teachers.

 

I've had the pleasure of experiencing one of those listed first hand and his bands sure as heck aren't dominating because they're hiding behind smoke and mirrors, it's because they're master teachers.

 

It's not the what they're teaching, it's the how. I've seen PLENTY of absolute crap bands with amazing props and trying do do BOA type shows as well as AMAZING bands that do really well with absolutely nothing extra in the field.

[FloMoParent]

  On 11/2/2016 at 4:33 AM, drumlinerox said:

So, across the 33 Regions, about 250 bands tried out.  202 made Area competitions.  40 made it to San Antonio.

 

All of these band students at all of these programs work hard to attempt to get to SA - Congrats to all of them??

 

That being said, only about 15% make it to the State competition - and only about 5% make the Finals.  That's quite a feat.

 

I know it's history, but of the 40 bands attending this year - I see only 12 that have consistently made the Finals (or very near the Finals) in the last 3 outings (2014, 2012, and 2010) . . . in order of appearance at each of the 8 different Areas.

 

Area B (Keller, Duncanville, LD Bell - don't think they attended in '14, Coppell)

Area C (Flomo - actually didn't make finals I don't think in '12 or '10 - but hard to ignore this year, Hebron, Marcus)

Area D (Reagan, Bowie)

Area F (Spring - not '14, The Woodlands)

Area H (Westlake - not '14)

 

Not appearing this year (either chose not to or didn't advance), but have been stiff competition in the past:

 

CTJohnson

Rowlett

Churchill

 

Fairly new up and comers (at least in this class I think) that could def compete this year:

 

Round Rock

Hendrickson

Vandergrift

Leander

 

Old guard that have been amazing in the past, have fallen off in recent years, but still stand out this year:

 

Plano East

Berkner

I'm sure there's others

 

All that being said, they're all adding and refining shows in this last week.

 

But it will be hard to ignore those previously mentioned 12 . . . it's going to be crowded at the top!

 

One thing that should be hard to forget is that Marcus is the five time defending UIL State Champion -- ten years of being on the top.  Flower Mound is performing in just their second UIL State Finals (moment of silence for "The Greatest Show" aka the Circus Show of 2012).

 

Until Marcus is NOT the State Champion, it is hard for me to predict that they won't be on top again.

[Hard Core Band Fan]

  On 11/2/2016 at 6:23 PM, bandit said:

I love this idea. There should be a cap on what a school can spend. Lets even the playing field and make it more about the marching and music and less about the glitter and glitz

 

We have to be careful when we start making decisions with the intention of leveling the playing field. No particular rule or set of rules is going to make things equal for all involved. The rules in place now have been developed over decades of time and they still aren't considered by all to have leveled the field. It is what it is and everyone has to make their best effort according to the guidelines in place. It's not a perfect system, but it's not a bad one either.

 

As far as limiting costs, should this also be expanded to include how much you are spending for your drill and/or arrangements? Or to how much you spend on instrument costs? Does anyone really need a $7,000 bassoon? Or how about how much is being spent on staff, either part-time or full-time? Or electronic equipment? Or uniforms and costumes? Once you start limiting costs, it's just hard to find the place to draw the line. And with UIL, I don't really see props and visual elements having the ability to tip the scale that much, if at all. I see those items tolerated more than appreciated in this system. If you march and play at a high level, you will be judged fairly whether you have the glitz and glamour or not.

[PSHSMom]

  On 11/2/2016 at 8:13 PM, FloMoParent said:

One thing that should be hard to forget is that Marcus is the five time defending UIL State Champion -- ten years of being on the top.  Flower Mound is performing in just their second UIL State Finals (moment of silence for "The Greatest Show" aka the Circus Show of 2012).

 

 

If it makes you feel any better, after PESH went to state with The Bells in 2012 over the Circus Show,  I believe our Associate Band Director left and went to FloMo at the end of the year!   She is really good  

And I did enjoy the Circus show very much too          

[bandit]

  On 11/2/2016 at 8:48 PM, Hard Core Band Fan said:

We have to be careful when we start making decisions with the intention of leveling the playing field. No particular rule or set of rules is going to make things equal for all involved. The rules in place now have been developed over decades of time and they still aren't considered by all to have leveled the field. It is what it is and everyone has to make their best effort according to the guidelines in place. It's not a perfect system, but it's not a bad one either.

 

As far as limiting costs, should this also be expanded to include how much you are spending for your drill and/or arrangements? Or to how much you spend on instrument costs? Does anyone really need a $7,000 bassoon? Or how about how much is being spent on staff, either part-time or full-time? Or electronic equipment? Or uniforms and costumes? Once you start limiting costs, it's just hard to find the place to draw the line. And with UIL, I don't really see props and visual elements having the ability to tip the scale that much, if at all. I see those items tolerated more than appreciated in this system. If you march and play at a high level, you will be judged fairly whether you have the glitz and glamour or not.

Very valid points. But when bands start bringing go-karts and bicycles and unicycles into a marching show, some kind of line has to be drawn. I don't have an answer. Just thinking out loud.

[txkyle]

Ok, I have to weigh in on this.  Since when did parity become the goal?  This is a volunteer extracurricular activity with much more to do with the broader education of a student than a great band show.  What you do with what you have is the real objective here.  The fact is, certain programs, communities, districts etc. have more money and/or are willing to spend more money fine arts.  I've seen some incredible band shows with very little money investment and I've seen huge schools who put vast amounts of resources for a very mediocre result.

 

This is the arts...if they want go karts then they should have go karts.  This is supposed to be about continual evolution (which is why so many people have issues with the UIL system).  I can say with certainty that I see no program that does it the way I did it many years ago.....and you know what??  GOOD!  It was great for the time and it keeps on evolving.  I find it particularly enjoyable just to see what kind of things people can come up with artistically when there AREN'T limitations.

 

UIL and BOA both have a huge responsibility and do a fantastic job at setting a level playing field.  Now, what can you do with that - that's where the fun starts.

[Fwguard17]

  On 11/2/2016 at 10:19 PM, bandit said:

Very valid points. But when bands start bringing go-karts and bicycles and unicycles into a marching show, some kind of line has to be drawn. I don't have an answer. Just thinking out loud.

Why does it have to be drawn? This is supposed to be an art form first. Artistic creativity shouldn't be hampered for competition sake. If anything, we should stop ranking bands and come together to enjoy the aristry of the productions. Not that any of this will ever happen, but while we're making pie in the sky wishes I'd rather celebrate the creative process than restrict it.

[DDFFXX]

What does everybody think of Wylie's show this year?

[bandit]

  On 11/2/2016 at 11:02 PM, Fwguard17 said:

Why does it have to be drawn? This is supposed to be an art form first. Artistic creativity shouldn't be hampered for competition sake. If anything, we should stop ranking bands and come together to enjoy the aristry of the productions. Not that any of this will ever happen, but while we're making pie in the sky wishes I'd rather celebrate the creative process than restrict it.

I guess I am just an old-school old-timer

[Txbnds]

Why is everyone sleeping on Berkner?

[Xenon]

  On 11/3/2016 at 1:32 AM, Txbnds said:

Why is everyone sleeping on Berkner?

Not sleeping, just meditating. ;p

[NTXBandFan]

  On 11/2/2016 at 9:23 PM, PESHMom said:

If it makes you feel any better, after PESH went to state with The Bells in 2012 over the Circus Show,  I believe our Associate Band Director left and went to FloMo at the end of the year!   She is really good

And I did enjoy the Circus show very much too          

She was already at Flower Mound that year.  She started there in the Fall of 2012

 

  On 11/2/2016 at 10:19 PM, bandit said:

Very valid points. But when bands start bringing go-karts and bicycles and unicycles into a marching show, some kind of line has to be drawn. I don't have an answer. Just thinking out loud.

FloMo had a unicycle in the circus show, as well as someone on stilts.

[PSHSMom]

  On 11/3/2016 at 5:02 PM, NTXBandFan said:

She was already at Flower Mound that year.  She started there in the Fall of 2012

Oops sorry.   I was thinking my son had her for one year at PESH as I remember being in contact with her, but I forgot he was a "Roadie" with the band his sophomore year before. 

(PESH is only years 11 and 12 so they have kids at the 9/10 high schools help with equipment at football games).