2017 Grand Nationals

[dylan123]

FULL SEMIFINALS SCHEDULE (CST)

5:30 AM – Adair County H.S., KY

5:45 AM – Jenison H.S., MI

6:00 AM – DeSoto Central H.S., MS

6:15 AM – Central Hardin H.S., KY

6:30 AM – Norton H.S., OH

6:45 AM – Beechwood H.S., KY

7:00 AM – Archbishop Alter H.S., OH

7:15 AM – Franklin H.S., TN

7:30 AM – Prosper H.S., TX

7:45 AM – James F. Byrnes H.S., SC

8:00 AM – Bassett H.S., VA

8:15 AM – Union H.S., OK

 

BREAK

 

9:00 AM – Broken Arrow H.S., OK

9:15 AM – Marian Catholic H.S., IL

9:30 AM – The Woodlands H.S., TX

9:45 AM – Owasso H.S., OK

10:00 AM – Round Rock H.S., TX

10:15 AM – Marcus H.S., TX

10:30 AM – Avon H.S., IN

10:45 AM – Castle H.S., IN

11:00 AM – O'Fallon Township H.S., IL

11:15 AM – Plymouth-Canton Educational Park, MI

11:30 AM – Blue Springs H.S., MO

11:45 AM – Center Grove H.S., IN

 

BREAK

 

12:30 PM – Carmel H.S., IN

12:45 PM – Centerville H.S., OH

1:00 PM – Flower Mound H.S., TX

1:15 PM – North Hardin H.S., KY

1:30 PM – Homestead H.S., IN

1:45 PM – Walton H.S., GA

2:00 PM – Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN

2:15 PM – Winston Churchill H.S., TX

2:30 PM – Lawrence Township, IN

2:45 PM – William Mason H.S., OH

3:00 PM – Fort Mill H.S., SC

3:15 PM – Fishers H.S., IN

3:30 PM – Mililani H.S., HI

[PSHSMom]

Wow.... they start really early!

[NTXBandFan]

  On 11/11/2017 at 3:33 AM, PESHMom said:

 

Hoping Greendale High School makes Semis. Very cool show and my Wisconsin roots want them in!

One of my employees’ kids go to school there!

[Fwguard17]

  On 11/11/2017 at 4:24 AM, dylan123 said:

Wait so does that mean that last year’s bronze medalist (William Mason) was in the “bottom 8”??? (at least i think they were bronze medalists)

They were 3rd in 2016, and yes. They are in the bottom 8.

[Xenon]

The Semis Live Blog is available at live.txbands.com or https://www.24liveblog.com/live/49dd83b0c69511e7abf2f23c913e9177

[LeanderMomma]

WOW, wow, wow. Broken Arrow did it to me again. They absolutely just BLOW. MY. MIND. A visual masterpiece. And the music ain't bad either. Just truly stunning. I can only imagine how incredible that must be live.

[dylan123]

THE WOODLANDS! I love that show sooooo much! It’s gotta be my personal favorite texas show at grand nationals this year!! Although Flower Mound is veryyyy close.

[LHSax]

May have already been discussed, but anyone feel that that woodlands show is the beginning of a multi year story line? Cuz i could be down with that.

 

...also, man they were on fire!!

[LeanderMomma]

Oh my goodness The Woodlands just BROUGHT IT!! That was just phenomenal. The How Great Thou Art ballad gave me chills, made me cry, and PERFECTLY describes The Woodlands band!

[bandmom2389]

did anyone catch prospers run?

[symphbee]

Even over live-stream I could tell The Woodlands has DEFINITELY put a lot of work into foot timing in this last week! Excited to see what happens tonight!

[dylan123]

  On 11/11/2017 at 3:44 PM, LeanderMomma said:

 

Oh my goodness The Woodlands just BROUGHT IT!! That was just phenomenal. The How Great Thou Art ballad gave me chills, made me cry, and PERFECTLY describes The Woodlands band!

I wholeheartedly agree. How Great Thou Art always makes me emotional and they just performed the heck out of it.

[dylan123]

  On 11/11/2017 at 3:43 PM, LHSax said:

May have already been discussed, but anyone feel that that woodlands show is the beginning of a multi year story line? Cuz i could be down with that.

 

...also, man they were on fire!!

I haven’t really thought about that!! could be

[Rubisco]

Ensemble visual should be well into box 5 for The Woodlands. Much, much cleaner performance than at San Antonio. That said, the music ranks as one of the weaker Woodlands shows I've heard. Obviously, they sound good, but they don't sound great, like they did in 2013. Ballad sounds great, but there are rough patches in the other parts where it really doesn't sound like a full ensemble contribution to the sound -- like, for instance, at the very beginning. Also, I feel like if you're going to mic a woodwind ensemble doing those runs at the end, they *really* need to have that technique down.

[Rubisco]

I didn't see Round Rock in prelims at SA, but they sure looked and sounded like a National finalist today.

[LeanderMomma]

Round Rock and Marcus were insane. Texas is on fire today. Now Avon, bring it home!!

[LeanderMomma]

I'm already feeling emotional just trying to prepare myself for watching Castle again. #WeAreAllCastle RIP sweet Sophie. You will never be forgotten.

[jmj]

  On 11/11/2017 at 3:48 PM, bandmom2389 said:

 

did anyone catch prospers run?

Yes! Loved it again! Such gorgeous classic Texas sound that is tremendously well balanced. On the full ensemble moments you truly hear every single voice. Marching was rock solid and very engaging. Woodwind ensemble in the closer is my favorite moment, tons of notes and lovely warm tone. Thought it was as good or maybe slightly better than yesterday. If they'd had a run like that on Wednesday night, they likely would have been in the medals in SA. I had never really heard of or seen anything from Prosper until this year and I am now a huge fan! Very excited to see what is in store for them in the future.

[jmj]

For Marcus, it was not my favorite show when I saw it at Southlake. Now, however, oh my! Still the same gorgeous Marcus sound, but the volume dial is certainly turned up from years previous. I enjoy all of the quirky visual touches - fun show! I also got chills from some of the full ensemble chords in the ballad. Bravo! Can't wait to see it again later!

[dylan123]

Castle. Wow.

[LeanderMomma]

  On 11/11/2017 at 4:59 PM, dylan123 said:

Castle. Wow.

Super emotional. Great tribute to Sophie.

[Hard Core Band Fan]

  On 11/11/2017 at 4:11 PM, Rubisco said:

I didn't see Round Rock in prelims at SA, but they sure looked and sounded like a National finalist today.

Yes, definitely their best run to date. Much better than on Thursday, which was a great improvement from SA prelims.

[Rubisco]

The future of marching band looks something like O'Fallon Township's show. Very striking visual program, although it's a risk, since the white really makes visual dirt pop. It seems like a combination of the Bluecoats' recent productions and Onyx's 2012 WGI championship show. I do think WGI Winds is coming around at just about the right time. Obviously, football will be around a while longer, but unless they figure out how to play the game without giving kids brain damage, it probably won't last. Then bands will have to find a new outlet for performance, and that will probably be a WGI, indoors sort of thing.

[Rubisco]

Or maybe something like Center Grove's show. Similar, WGI-ish feel.

[Rubisco]

And when the activity does move indoors, that opens up the possibility of American bands competing against the likes of Nishihara from Japan. Wouldn't that be something?