2019 BOA San Antonio

[PLC137]

  On 11/2/2019 at 7:25 PM, BandDad4 said:

Keller ISD does the same thing. I would have to say for Flower Mound and Marcus the cost per student that is required to be spent is far and above surrounding highschools. Even the Lewisville HS band fee is quite a bit less. Part of Marcus and Flower Mound success is rich folks spending lots of money. 

 

I have to agree there are two things the most successful bands have in common:

1) upper-middle and upper class school district

2) heavy parental involvement

 

I think there's a point where throwing in more money stops helping, but there's also a point below which you can't get even the basic transportation, equipment, teachers, etc. 

 

Speaking for the Cedar Park area, it is a pretty wide range.  Definitely it can be quite a burden on some parents, especially younger parents with multiple kids.

 

I'm going to make a mistake here and add things up...

 

Private lessons - $800/year, 7 years = $5600

Basic marching fees - $1200/year, 4 years = $4800

Donations and fundraisers - varies considerably, say $500/year, 4 years = $2000

"Nice" instrument - varies considerably, say $1500 

T-shirts - $10 each, 5/year, 4 years = $200

Lifelong friendships, memories, and character building -priceless!

 

So probably $10k-$15k investment over seven years, about a semester or year of college.  I guess it seemed like more when writing checks for two and three kids.  For some people this is a huge sacrifice, for others it is round-off error in their checking account or the difference between getting the Model 3 or Model S.

[ReedBreaker]

  On 11/1/2019 at 7:53 PM, FloMoParent said:

 

is there something wrong with the turf? Twice now I've seen a Keller performer fall

I was asking about that earlier. It felt super thick and even uneven in places yesterday. I know tons of people ,including myself, tripped during our show.

[Band2013]

LD Bell isn't as visually clean as I expected. Which has surprised me finals placements will be interesting.

[PLC137]

  On 11/2/2019 at 8:03 PM, VMHSBandDad said:

Greetings everyone! I’ve been lurking in the sidelines following everyone’s comments and the topic of band fees is a subject that is near and dear to me, having spent 12 years as the President of the Vista Murrieta boosters. To put things in perspective, in Calif it’s illegal to charge any band fees or fees for travel, plus there is almost no funding from the schools or districts. Plus, all staff except the Director, is paid by the boosters. So when you see a Vista Murrieta or Ayala (for the most part the only two bands in the state that travel) 100% of their operating costs (travel, music, instruments, uniforms, staff, etc) are covered by donations and fundraising. Just a trip to GN or San Antonio is a $275,000 expense, plus normal operating costs.

 

For us, trips like this are all about providing our kids with positive life experiences, and we couldn’t be more impressed with the wonderful hospitality of everyone in San Antonio! Thank you!!!

 

That's really unfortunate that our largest state by population and (almost) largest by state income tax rate can't fund programs like these.  Glad you made it here.  We here are glad to have the out-of-staters come and keep us honest.  

[gr8n8]

LD BELL.

 

[paulhhs]

  On 11/2/2019 at 8:05 PM, ReedBreaker said:

I was asking about that earlier. It felt super thick and even uneven in places yesterday. I know tons of people ,including myself, tripped during our show.

New turf this year. Lots of bands have had issues yesterday/today.

[LostChoirGuy]

I think LD Bell might have my favorite music program this year. That stuff is catchy! Kind of like Ronald Reagan's show last year where the music just felt right and flowed so naturally. I think the arrangements help a lot.

[BandFan59]

A solid performance from LD Bell. Would have liked to have had more ensemble moments, but the ending of the show was very nice. They will be a solid contender to make finals.

[lost]

  On 11/2/2019 at 8:03 PM, VMHSBandDad said:

Greetings everyone! I’ve been lurking in the sidelines following everyone’s comments and the topic of band fees is a subject that is near and dear to me, having spent 12 years as the President of the Vista Murrieta boosters. To put things in perspective, in Calif it’s illegal to charge any band fees or fees for travel, plus there is almost no funding from the schools or districts. Plus, all staff except the Director, is paid by the boosters. So when you see a Vista Murrieta or Ayala (for the most part the only two bands in the state that travel) 100% of their operating costs (travel, music, instruments, uniforms, staff, etc) are covered by donations and fundraising. Just a trip to GN or San Antonio is a $275,000 expense, plus normal operating costs.

 

For us, trips like this are all about providing our kids with positive life experiences, and we couldn’t be more impressed with the wonderful hospitality of everyone in San Antonio! Thank you!!!

Thanks for coming down to San Antonio. We’re very happy to have you and hope y’all are having a good time

[A Testing Trumpet]

L.D. Bell performed the show really well. I had a hard time finding much dirt in it, but there was a few visual things. They have a decent shot. 

[lost]

Aledo, first in the alphabet last but not least in performance

[aspenmoonlight]

  On 11/2/2019 at 8:03 PM, VMHSBandDad said:

Greetings everyone! I’ve been lurking in the sidelines following everyone’s comments and the topic of band fees is a subject that is near and dear to me, having spent 12 years as the President of the Vista Murrieta boosters. To put things in perspective, in Calif it’s illegal to charge any band fees or fees for travel, plus there is almost no funding from the schools or districts. Plus, all staff except the Director, is paid by the boosters. So when you see a Vista Murrieta or Ayala (for the most part the only two bands in the state that travel) 100% of their operating costs (travel, music, instruments, uniforms, staff, etc) are covered by donations and fundraising. Just a trip to GN or San Antonio is a $275,000 expense, plus normal operating costs.

 

For us, trips like this are all about providing our kids with positive life experiences, and we couldn’t be more impressed with the wonderful hospitality of everyone in San Antonio! Thank you!!!

Wow! Welcome to Texas! Best of luck to you and your band and safe travels back to CA!

[abbytheflute]

Wow I think that's the first time I've seen (what looked like from wayyyy up here) a bass flute solo in a show! Loved it!

[A Testing Trumpet]

  On 11/2/2019 at 8:03 PM, VMHSBandDad said:

Greetings everyone! I’ve been lurking in the sidelines following everyone’s comments and the topic of band fees is a subject that is near and dear to me, having spent 12 years as the President of the Vista Murrieta boosters. To put things in perspective, in Calif it’s illegal to charge any band fees or fees for travel, plus there is almost no funding from the schools or districts. Plus, all staff except the Director, is paid by the boosters. So when you see a Vista Murrieta or Ayala (for the most part the only two bands in the state that travel) 100% of their operating costs (travel, music, instruments, uniforms, staff, etc) are covered by donations and fundraising. Just a trip to GN or San Antonio is a $275,000 expense, plus normal operating costs.

 

For us, trips like this are all about providing our kids with positive life experiences, and we couldn’t be more impressed with the wonderful hospitality of everyone in San Antonio! Thank you!!!

Glad to have you in TX! Vista Murrieta's performance was really unique, and I genuinely hope they make finals tonight. Ya'll certainly have the chops to!

[ReedBreaker]

  On 11/2/2019 at 8:11 PM, paulhhs said:

New turf this year. Lots of bands have had issues yesterday/today.

ahh makes sense

[A Testing Trumpet]

Aledo closing Prelims in style, great energy! 

[LostChoirGuy]

I do not envy these judges. There were so many great performances that deserve to be in finals.

[BenedictCucumberpatch]

Aledo just played Africa right? I wasn’t hallucinating or anything right?

[A Testing Trumpet]

I wish we could have more then 14 bands in finals, honestly. 

[A Testing Trumpet]

  On 11/2/2019 at 8:24 PM, BenedictCucumberpatch said:

Aledo just played Africa right? I wasn’t hallucinating or anything right?

Sure did. 

[BlueCircle]

  On 11/2/2019 at 8:24 PM, A Testing Trumpet said:

I wish we could have more then 14 bands in finals, honestly.

It’s definitely a possibility, and with the strength of the bubble, a tie would be warranted.

[7BlackBoo]

Aledo seems to be getting better every year

[BandFan59]

Going to be very difficult to place all the bands...I'll take a shot at some groupings. All of the gaps between the groupings are going to be pretty small.

 

Ronald Reagan

Flower Mound

--------------------

Vandegrift

Hebron

Leander

--------------------

Claudia Taylor Johnson

Vista Ridge

The Woodlands

Marcus

--------------------

Keller

Bowie

Coppell

LD Bell

--------------------  <----- this gap is probably a centimeter wide

Cedar Park

Cedar Ridge

Westwood

Westlake

Rouse

 

Have probably forgotten some bands, but these are my general bubbles for rankings.

[Aardvark in NB]

Number one thing I learned today?  San Antonio *needs* semifinals.  So many astounding bands that deserve another performance

[PSHSMom]

  On 11/2/2019 at 8:03 PM, VMHSBandDad said:

Greetings everyone! I’ve been lurking in the sidelines following everyone’s comments and the topic of band fees is a subject that is near and dear to me, having spent 12 years as the President of the Vista Murrieta boosters. To put things in perspective, in Calif it’s illegal to charge any band fees or fees for travel, plus there is almost no funding from the schools or districts. Plus, all staff except the Director, is paid by the boosters. So when you see a Vista Murrieta or Ayala (for the most part the only two bands in the state that travel) 100% of their operating costs (travel, music, instruments, uniforms, staff, etc) are covered by donations and fundraising. Just a trip to GN or San Antonio is a $275,000 expense, plus normal operating costs.

 

For us, trips like this are all about providing our kids with positive life experiences, and we couldn’t be more impressed with the wonderful hospitality of everyone in San Antonio! Thank you!!!

 

First, welcome to Texas, and I'm so glad you made the trip!  

 

I have three kids that went thru, or are going thru the music programs here in Texas.   The first meeting when I found out about the band fees, I was overwhelmed!   But then I realized that the experience was priceless! 

 

I grew up Wisconsin, and came from a very good music program there.  We often had the most, or close to the most kids make it to the State Honors band.  Now, due to lack of funding, and parent involvement, that band is almost

non-existent today, which is very hard to see.  So I can really appreciate all that our education system and band boosters do for us here.   

 

Thank you for your involvement in your bands program and for helping those kids have an experience they will never forget!