2019 BOA San Antonio

[TWHSParent]

I was impressed by what Porter put on the field. I thought you guys were really clean and had a really good show. I think you caught some people by surprise by making finals, and finishing 6th overall. That was an outstanding accomplishment!

[SpartanBandAlum]

Thank you so much! I think we surprised ourselves with that finish, considering our goal was simply finals!

[betelgeuse33]

I too was incredibly impressed by Porter's show at LSP, and I particularly thought the swan lake near the ending was awesome! Unfortunately, I was unable to see the Woodland's exhibition performance. 

[WoodlandsMom4ever]

I saw it this evening as well and you’re right. Huge difference from BOA Houston. Very entertaining show. Still so in love with the colorguard dresses and the entire band dressed in Navy uniforms. This show will do well in Indy. In fact I felt like I was watching an Indiana band when watching it. Perhaps TWHS has figured out the secret.

The director referred to BOA Houston as us limping in on crutches. The night before for the football game was the very first time we were able to get the kids in the full sailor uniforms after a month of fittings and alterations because what was ordered and what came were not the same... Those props showed up that Thursday as well- so the kids were just barely starting to get used to them.

 

I feel like the crutches are gone and we are getting some momentum. (Knock on wood!) I’m excited to see where they take the show in the next month...

[TWHSParent]

Thank you so much! I think we surprised ourselves with that finish, considering our goal was simply finals!

 

Many bands would have been happy to just meet the goal, but I thought Porter went out during finals and took a step forward over the prelims performance. That is exactly what you have to do - so keep it going through the rest of the season, and always make your most recent performance your best!

[MadisonBandMan1]

Just watched the TSOPE show and I don't think I have ever heard a trumpet play so high in HIGH SCHOOL!!!

 

DCI must be under his belt already or coming very soon.

[TWHSParent]

Just watched the TSOPE show and I don't think I have ever heard a trumpet play so high in HIGH SCHOOL!!!

 

DCI must be under his belt already or coming very soon.

 

All we trumpet players can shatter glass...... at home.   Otherwise it was so and so who walked by and bumped the bell while I was playing, so now my lips are bruised...

[LeanderMomma]

The director referred to BOA Houston as us limping in on crutches. The night before for the football game was the very first time we were able to get the kids in the full sailor uniforms after a month of fittings and alterations because what was ordered and what came were not the same... Those props showed up that Thursday as well- so the kids were just barely starting to get used to them.

 

I feel like the crutches are gone and we are getting some momentum. (Knock on wood!) I’m excited to see where they take the show in the next month...

 

I'll admit that I wasn't all that excited about the show (other than how amazing the band and guard LOOKED!) in Houston, but after seeing this video from the Lone Star Preview (I think that's what it's called?), I am officially on board!!  I'm noticing a definite trend now for each of the GN headed Texas bands.  Our shows are slower building this season...much more so than last year...and they are building into something fantastic!  I'm excited for San Antonio of course, but I am pumped about the fact that there are TWO weeks between SA and Indy.  A band can do a lot in two weeks, as proved by the improvement from TWHS, Hendrickson and Bowie in a short time.  I feel like what we are going to see in Indy from Texas will be considerably different and obviously more polished from what we will see in San Antonio.  When we went in 2016, there just was not enough time between SA, UIL and GN to make any major changes or fix any issues.  This time there is lots of time to make changes.  It's going to be like watching new bands!!

[TxBands:)]

I'll admit that I wasn't all that excited about the show (other than how amazing the band and guard LOOKED!) in Houston, but after seeing this video from the Lone Star Preview (I think that's what it's called?), I am officially on board!! I'm noticing a definite trend now for each of the GN headed Texas bands. Our shows are slower building this season...much more so than last year...and they are building into something fantastic! I'm excited for San Antonio of course, but I am pumped about the fact that there are TWO weeks between SA and Indy. A band can do a lot in two weeks, as proved by the improvement from TWHS, Hendrickson and Bowie in a short time. I feel like what we are going to see in Indy from Texas will be considerably different and obviously more polished from what we will see in San Antonio. When we went in 2016, there just was not enough time between SA, UIL and GN to make any major changes or fix any issues. This time there is lots of time to make changes. It's going to be like watching new bands!!

Speaking of comebacks, Round Rock is also sounding exponentially better than austin, I saw them at Westlake prelims last week. I have no clue who's going to make finals anymore!!

[bandtingz]

Speaking of comebacks, Round Rock is also sounding exponentially better than austin, I saw them at Westlake prelims last week. I have no clue who's going to make finals anymore!!

I heard they didn't have their best run in Austin prelims. That, combined with their early performance slot, is likely why we didn't see them in finals. I'm really hoping for a Round Rock comeback. I love the concept and hope they can execute it to their best!

[jrglinares]

Fingers still crossed for Churchill to attend.

[LHSbandDad]

Has anyone received their BOA SA tickets in the mail yet that ordered them directly from MFA?

[Rubisco]

Okay, I did what will probably be my last video search before the contest. Also, I had a few in my inbox (via Google Drive). It's still really hard to find a lot of the top groups. (I think bands are getting a little bit better about keeping their shows off of the Internet. Go figure.) My opinion hasn't really changed all that much. I'd be very surprised if Reagan and Flower Mound are not in the top 3 at this contest -- likely in first and second place, respectively. I don't think either group is breaking a whole lot of new ground, but even when these groups tread water, the shows they put on are all-around outstanding productions. I would like to see them branch out in the near future.

 

Third place, I'm leaning towards Vandegrift. The other groups I can see "medaling": Hebron, TWHS, and CTJ. I'd be surprised if the top three comes from any other set of groups. I'd be surprised if the other group making the top 7 cut isn't Leander, although there might be strong challenges from groups like Marcus, Vista Ridge, and Keller. I suspect there will be another exaggerated, artificial gap between the top half and bottom half in finals. It's annoying, but what are you going to do about it? BOA offers the finals panel a massive crutch now, and the panel seems to lean on it quite a bit.

 

Notice how I'm using the word, surprised, and not the word, shocked. It takes a lot to shock me at San Antonio these days. Maybe if a group we're not talking about at all wins the entire contest, then I'd be shocked. I don't see that happening.

 

As for the remaining finalists, I just think it's so difficult to predict. Cedar Park and LD Bell will probably make it, and maybe even provide some challenge for some of the middle-of-the-pack finalists. That leaves what, two spots? I feel like there are some other groups I'm forgetting that might be locks. I'm so used to rattling off James Bowie as a lock, but maybe not this year. I just hope we see a new group make it into finals. That's always a delight.

 

I feel like I'm starting to develop some strong opinions about where the groups should place. Maybe I'll post a list closer to the contest date. That said, in recent years, with the adjudication changes, it has been harder for me to predict placements. Last year, I had Reagan in first, and they did in fact end up in first place after a wonky set of two-paneled prelims scores, but they got edged out by Flower Mound in finals, a group I believe I had around 4th place going into the contest, mainly because the show last year also seemed like more of the same. I didn't think Hebron would do as well, because the show had substantial dirt; on the flip side, I thought The Woodlands would do much better, because they had the cleanest show visually. The judges pretty obviously placed a much higher priority on difficulty than I was expecting. Of course, what a judge thinks makes a show difficult isn't some perfectly standardized thing. The fact that it's a relatively new phenomenon on the sheets doesn't help. In the past, you'd have judges (like Jim Sturgeon) who would obviously take into account the demand of a show when doling out Ensemble Visual scores, then you'd have a lot of others who didn't really seem to care all that much about demand. I guess I'm just suspicious about all the judges being on the same page.

 

Anyway, it'll be a fun contest. I'm looking forward to seeing which bands live up to expectations, which ones fall short, and which ones exceed them.

[LeanderMomma]

You gotta make the trip down sometime. You gotta see this thing live in the Dome.

[TWHSParent]

Has anyone received their BOA SA tickets in the mail yet that ordered them directly from MFA?

 

That would be for the expensive tickets. No, I have not received mine yet. I do have all my tickets from Ticketmaster for Grand Nationals.

[natertater21000]

It's interesting how where you watch the contest from can change your opinion greatly. From the 50 just above the press box last year that "artificial" gap between the top 7 and bottom 7 felt completely warranted to me.

[ctex1994]

LD Bell just made a strong case for San Antonio finals. 

 

The show is super well designed. My favorite since 2011 "The Circles Edge" - the last year LD Bell won the SA Super regional. 

 

 

Lake Travis......I love the show. It is still really dirty at this point. They started sooo strong - hoping they can clean it up the next 2 weeks before SA. WIll be a finalist tonight i bet. 

 

Missed coppell....

[LostChoirGuy]

I agree about LD Bell. I thought they performed well at DFW but wasn't sold on the show, but they blew me away today!

[Rubisco]

It's interesting how where you watch the contest from can change your opinion greatly. From the 50 just above the press box last year that "artificial" gap between the top 7 and bottom 7 felt completely warranted to me.

 

Maybe, but looking at the differences in the gaps between 7th and 8th place between prelims and finals is informative. Last year the gap expanded from .175 points to 2.5 points. In 2017, from .525 to 1.2 (although Reagan leapt up into the top 7, so this isn't the most damning thing in the world). In 2016, .3 points to 1.05 points. Looking quickly at 2015, 2014, and 2013, before the top half/bottom half rule was implemented, the gap between the top half and bottom half in finals was much more similar to the prelims gap.

 

You gotta make the trip down sometime. You gotta see this thing live in the Dome.

 

Oh, I've been many times. Just not in the past couple of years!

[TWHSParent]

Maybe, but looking at the differences in the gaps between 7th and 8th place between prelims and finals is informative. Last year the gap expanded from .175 points to 2.5 points. In 2017, from .525 to 1.2 (although Reagan leapt up into the top 7, so this isn't the most damning thing in the world). In 2016, .3 points to 1.05 points. Looking quickly at 2015, 2014, and 2013, before the top half/bottom half rule was implemented, the gap between the top half and bottom half in finals was much more similar to the prelims gap.

 

 

Oh, I've been many times. Just not in the past couple of years!

 

I tend to think that it is enough to ensure a top half finalist never goes first, and a bottom half finalist never goes last. Everything else is open to the draw order.

[Rubisco]

I tend to think that it is enough to ensure a top half finalist never goes first, and a bottom half finalist never goes last. Everything else is open to the draw order.

 

Maybe, but in that situation you might have the "should-be" champion performing 2nd and their nearest competitor performing 14th, right? I don't know how I feel about that, either. There might still be too much time between the two, and the main goal of a finals panel is to determine the "correct" champion.

 

I think the real solution is to just be aware as a judge that even though a bottom half group might perform first in finals, that group might be a lot closer in quality, or even better than, a group that performs in the last half, despite what the prelims panel said. Have more of a mind of your own, especially now that the wonky, two-panel prelims system is in place and we're throwing two different panels' scores together.

[TWHSParent]

Maybe, but in that situation you might have the "should-be" champion performing 2nd and their nearest competitor performing 14th, right? I don't know how I feel about that, either. There might still be too much time between the two, and the main goal of a finals panel is to determine the "correct" champion.

 

I think the real solution is to just be aware as a judge that even though a bottom half group might perform first in finals, that group might be a lot closer in quality, or even better than, a group that performs in the last half, despite what the prelims panel said. Have more of a mind of your own, especially now that the wonky, two-panel prelims system is in place and we're throwing two different panels' scores together.

 

Yeah, I thought about that too, and came up with a statistical weighting idea based on prelim order. It starts to get more complex than people probably want, but it avoids even the likely 2nd place finisher from going too early. So I don't know if there is a better/simpler solution than the top/bottom half. I do agree about the judges being better about viewing what is in front of them rather than viewing things through the lens of the previous panel.

[principalagent]

I personally like the DCI Regional system. Put the bands in groups of 3(-ish) and randomize within.

[LHSbandDad]

I just saw Vista in the Region 32 UIL contest today.  They looked and sounded great.  Much improved from BOA Austin and LISD Festival of Bands.  I think they are going to make it hard on the judges not to include them in SA finals.

[WILKINSON]

I went to the UIL Region 2 contest today and was able to see Hebron, Flower Mound, and Marcus. They were great! Not sure if Hebron performed their full show, they still had a minute and a half left on the clock. They ended their show with the movement where they play A Million Dreams. It just seems so short and like an unfinished product. Anyone have any insight? I was also able to record all of them. I would upload them to YT but I’m sure they’ll get taken down the minute it goes up.

 

Edit: typo