Mansfield Preview of Champions

[Anthony V]

My predictions. Sorry for the chicken scratch! I'll type stuff up when I get home. That will include my more thorough evaluation of prelims and finals performances.

 

See my next post.

[Jelonfish]

  On 10/6/2018 at 11:09 PM, Anthony V said:

Class CRichlandLake RidgeSummitIf top 5/bottom 5 performance order -- I know he said randomized -- then Haltom probably 4th in C.

It’s very strange tbh .

Maybe performance time earlier this morning may of effected it . Or it was a bad run but it’s strange cause not even last week haltom placed a lot and I mean a lot higher then lake ridge with lake ridge not even making finals . Just seems alottle strange . I have a small feeling everything is gonna be different for finals

[Anthony V]

My predictions, not results.

Class A:
1) Timberview
2) Western Hills
3) Seguin 

Class B:
1) Burleson Centennial
2) Eaton/Arlington
3) Arlington/Eaton

Class C:
1) Haltom
2) Richland
3) Lake Ridge/Burleson.

 

Overall:

1) Haltom
2) Richland/Burleson Centennial
3) Burleson/Centennial/Richland
4) Burleson/Lake Ridge
5) Lake Ridge/Burleson
6) Summit/Arlington/Eaton
7) Arlington/Eaton/Summit
8) Eaton/Arlington/Summit
9) Legacy/Timberview
10) Timberview/Legacy.

[Anthony V]

I was not there in the stands for Haltom performance. Richland had a muddy run, so I assumed Haltom would top it.

[Anthony V]

Eaton was the surprise of the day for me. A cool show from them! Good for you, Eaton.

[Jelonfish]

I fell like finals with have the same predictions but haltom get move up to first tbh. Something must’ve happened this morning that caused that . Or maybe they were forgotten but I have seen Richland and haltom yesterday. And lake ridge last week and it really is confusing on to what happened cause haltom is at a way higher level then the others .

[Band_dad_of_2]

  On 10/6/2018 at 11:37 PM, Jelonfish said:

I fell like finals with have the same predictions but haltom get move up to first tbh. Something must’ve happened this morning that caused that . Or maybe they were forgotten but I have seen Richland and haltom yesterday. And lake ridge last week and it really is confusing on to what happened cause haltom is at a way higher level then the others .

 

I'm getting reports that finals were cancelled and the top 2 were Burleson Centennial and Richland (based on prelim scores).  Haltom was 5th.

[Band_dad_of_2]

Results based on prelim scores

 

1. Burleson Centinnial

2. Richland

3. Lake Ridge

4. Summit

5. Haltom

[Jelonfish]

  On 10/7/2018 at 1:42 AM, Band_dad_of_2 said:

Results based on prelim scores

 

1. Burleson Centinnial

2. Richland

3. Lake Ridge

4. Summit

5. Haltom

Wow I wish they could of had a finals cause I bet so much would of changed .

[azn]

I wish they had finals because the rain had already cleared out

[eeman0201]

  On 10/7/2018 at 1:48 AM, azn said:

 

I wish they had finals because the rain had already cleared out

That’s a pretty late night

[Band_dad_of_2]

My earlier results were incorrect....Richland actually won the contest based on prelim scores.

 

Sorry for the confusion.

 

1st - Richland

2nd - Centennial

3rd - Mansfield Lake Ridge

4th - Mansfield Summit

5th - Haltom

[Anthony V]

Sorry for the belated assessment that I promised. A fair warning: it's blunt. If you've come here for praise, you may not have received any. This was just an honest assessment of the preliminaries. Some of my notes were on my phone, but didn't get saved, and then my phone died. So I switched to pen and paper, made fewer comments, and more tier placement remarks. I ranked bands within their blocks, and then attempted to rank across blocks. Here we go, in performance order...

 

 

Block 1.

 

Haltom -- //Tier 1, High 70's, Low 80's//

I was a bit behind schedule, so I did not watch Haltom except from the sidelines. Musically, they blend well and individuals generally produce a high quality of sound. 

 

Western Hills -- // Tier 3, 50s //

Unfortunately, my notes for Western Hills were lost. I placed Western Hills in tier 3. Of the bands in their class, they were the smallest. I could have seen them and Seguin flip-flopping because their level of individual achievement exceeded Seguin, I think. If I remember, Seguin had 15-30 or so more numbers which, at that classification, makes a large difference. Looking above, I accidentally posted the class C results instead of class A. The latter results were, in ascending order, Western Hills, Timberview, Seguin. Timberview took both auxiliary captions.

 

VR Eaton -- // Tier 2+, mid-high 60's //

I give Eaton my "honorable mention" award of the day. They had a fun, but dark, carnival-themed show. They have room to grow. They're strongest in visual and GE. It's hard to guess scores, though, especially since Haltom went first and that might deflate things.

 

Lamar -- // Tier 2-, low 60's //

[sparse notes. I'm pretty sure they were lost. My phone died and I didn't my pencils and notepad.] "Hard times don't create heroes... they reveal the hero within."

 

4. Summit -- // Tier 2++, mid-high 60's, low 70's //

[i didn't write any comments. As an ensemble they project well, but they play with a rather harsh sound. Visually, they marched fairly well relative to their peers. Their show design was congruent with their level of achievement.]

 

Block 1 Rankings:

Haltom

Summit/Eaton

Eaton/Summit

Lamar/Seguin

Seguin/Western Hills

Western Hills/Seguin.

 

[i very undecided on where to put Seguin.]

 

Block 2.

 

Legacy -- // Tier 2/2-, low-mid 60's //

Music (Tier 2-). Okay music [performance].

Visual (Tier 2-). Severe visual issues at times.  

GE (Tier 2-). Man versus machine [was the show theme].

 

Richland -- // Tier 1/2+[+], mid-high 70's, low 80's? //

Music (Tier 2+[+]/1-): Electronic issues. Muddy opening articulation, tier 2+ music performance in the intro. Some balance issues [keeping them from an obvious tier 1 music performance]; [i do not think they were] listening. [Great brass] projection, [along the lines of Summit]. Good tuning. Musically good [in terms of tone quality and ensemble cohesion], comparatively [i.e. relative to their closest peers].

Visual (Tier 1/1-): Pretty clean.

GE (Tier 1/1-/2+[+]): About the size of Legacy. Only through ballad. Best design at least since Haltom. [Afterthoughts: They had a very high level of individual and ensemble achievement relative to their closest peers. Pound-for-pound, they were of the highest quality thus far. And the jazzy part was the most engaging, energetic, and fun part of the contest, of the bands that I saw from the stands. I think it was also their best performed section of the program.]

Arlington -- // Tier 2, mid-60's //

Music (Tier 2/2+): Excellent trumpet trio. Good brass throughout. Need more confidence and balance [though]. Same for [woodwinds]. Tuning issues. Musically, not terribly far away from Richland. [(In retrospect, I think there was a bigger gap than I estimated.)]

Visual (Tier 2): Lots of marching content; very difficult. Not as clean as Richland.

GE: (Tier 2): [Performed] partly into closer?
 

Burleson Centennial -- // Tier 2+[+], Low-mid 70's //

Music (Tier 2-): Some electronic issues. Ensemble balance issues. Articulation issues. Follow through! (Referring to phrasing.) Needs polish, consistency. Tuning issues. Not as confident after [uniform change].

Visual (Tier 2+): [No visual notes, but I think I meant tier 2+ since I estimated them in the low-mid 70's.]

GE: (Tier 2+[+]) [First impression:] Tier 2+ design. Better design than Arlington. Uniform change. Full show? Closed well.

 

North Crowley -- // Tier 2-, low 60's //

Music (Tier 2/2-): Tuning [in the woodwinds] is bad. Low [individual] achievement. First hit [was effective.] Timing issues in ballad. Good closer opening, weak after[wards].

Visual (Tier 2-): Sloppy. Low visual demand.

GE (Tier 2-): Mediocre intro design [compared to peers]. Integration not impressive except at impact.

 

Block 2 Rankings:

Richland/Burleson Centennial

Burleson Centennial/Richland

Arlington

Legacy/ North Crowley

North Crowley/Legacy

 

Block 3.

 

Lake Ridge -- // Tier 2+/-, high 60's //

Music (Tier 2/2-): Phasing issues [and] balance issues. Okay impact achievement. Consistency!! [i.e. not following through or maintaining full shape of dynamics.] Not there. Harsh brass.

Visual (Tier 2): Visually dirty. Cleaner at moments. [Partly due to] visual design lack of clarity at times.

GE (Tier 2+[+]): Good show rep[ertoire]. But not quite [tier] 1- range. Achievement lower: [only] 2+ because [lack of achievement in the] closer.

 

Burleson -- // Tier 2+/-, low 70's //

Music (Tier 2+/-): Phasing [but then] decent intonation. Balance? [i.e. there wasn't a corresponding ensemble balance.] Good solos! Double tonguing! Great brass projection.Tier 2+/1-? [Then the show continued on, and I commented] No. Then 2/2-.

Visual: (Tier 2/2-): Tier 2/2- at first blush. Demanding. Just pretty sloppy.

GE: (Tier 2/2+): High achievement at times. Mediocre rep[ertoire]. Staging?? [Meaning there were some times where drill placement was not clearly fitted to musical presentation.] Ballad [was the second movement]. Barber of Seville [was fun, and made me smile.] [Three-quarters] of the show as put on the field.

 

Grand Prairie -- // Tier 3, high 50's, low 60's //

Music (Tier 3/3+): Intonation!! [Meaning that there were severe tuning issues.] [Tier] 3 so far. [i.e., as of introductory movements.] Harsh [brass sound.] Inconstancy [in following through on note value and dynamics.]

Visual (Tier 3): Dirty, exposed. Lots of individual errors.

GE: (Tier 3): Vanilla [tier] 3. Decent achievement.

 

Sam Houston -- // Tier 3/3+, High 50's, low 60's//

Music (Tier 3/3+): Mediocre 3. Brass no too harsh, but a bit splatty. Balance issues. But decent for [tier] 3.

Visual (Tier 3/3-): Intro dirt. High demand. Some achievement. Tier 3- intro visual. Ind[ividual] errors galore. Upper body!! Some [visual] ensemble achievement.

GE (Tier 3+/2-): [No notes.]

 

Timberview -- // Tier 2-, Low 60's //

Music (Tier 3+): Mic issues. Not over-exerted but a bit splatty. Brass consistency: follow thr[ough]. Controlled. [Tier] 2-?

Visual (Tier 2-): Bad visual [ensemble] (cover-[down]). Slightly cleaner [and] tighter than [sam Houston.] Ind[ividual] errors. Horns up [errors]. Cleaner than [sam Houston]. Closer [is visually] messy.

GE (Tier 2-): Mic issues. Tier 2- design [repertoire]. Vis[ual] demand more in [the tier] 2- range.

 

Block 3 Rankings:

Lake Ridge/Burleson

Burleson/Lake Ridge

Timberview

Grand Prairie/Sam Houston

Sam Houston/Grand Prairie

 

By the end of prelims, but before announcements, my scoring/ranking would have been something along the following lines (give or take a couple points):

1. Haltom -- 81

2. Richland -- 78

[3. Mansfield -- 76, had they competed]

3. Burleson Centennial -- 75

4. Burleson -- 71

5. Lake Ridge -- 69

6. Summit -- 68

7. Arlington -- 66

8. Eaton -- 65

9. Legacy -- 63

10. Timberview -- 62

11. North Crowley -- 61

12. Lamar -- 60

13. Sam Houston -- 58

14. Grand Prairie -- 57

15. Juan Seguin -- 56

16. Western Hills -- 54

[Anthony V]

A note: the tier rankings were generally constrained to the block in question.

[KickemColts75]

New member...

 

You can probably tell from my username what band I'm affiliated with.

 

I just want to thank you for your words on Arlington. Everything you said was 100% true.  Our kids have struggled with their confidence all season.  Not making excuses but the weather reeked havoc on our woodwinds, I don't know if the kids weren't prepared or what happened but our clarinets mentioned it as they left the field.

 

I wish they could have had another run in finals. This has been the most difficult show they have had in years and they have really risen to the occasion. It has far been my favorite but I have a sophomore so who knows what will come her senior year.

[Anthony V]

  On 10/25/2018 at 3:40 PM, KickemColts75 said:

New member...

 

You can probably tell from my username what band I'm affiliated with.

 

I just want to thank you for your words on Arlington. Everything you said was 100% true.  Our kids have struggled with their confidence all season.  Not making excuses but the weather reeked havoc on our woodwinds, I don't know if the kids weren't prepared or what happened but our clarinets mentioned it as they left the field.

 

I wish they could have had another run in finals. This has been the most difficult show they have had in years and they have really risen to the occasion. It has far been my favorite but I have a sophomore so who knows what will come her senior year.

 

You're very welcome! I'm glad that Arlington was in the mix, and that they are yet another solid band program in the area. Thank you for being part of what makes the fine arts stick around in north Texas!