2021 BOA San Antonio Super Regional (Nov. 5 & 6)

[BandFan59]

Really enjoyed Leander! Not the flashiest production but it certainly is very fun to watch. The opener is one of my favorites and their trumpets are excellent.

[Parkwoodmom]

We need more “fun” shows like Leander and TWHS  😊

 

[Origin]

LEANDER THAT WAS SO GOOD!!! At the beginning of the season, I was verrrry skeptical about their chances on making finals here, but the show has just transformed in the best way. There is SO MUCH character through the show, and every performer is clearly putting their heart into everything they do. Kudos to the guard especially for improving an astounding amount since Austin. Leander just set the bar super high. 

[MikeKyu]

  On 11/7/2021 at 12:14 AM, anon54 said:

I never said the judges were villains? When I said Vista Ridge got screwed here, I meant that their prelims draw was also bad not because of scoring, but because performing early in the morning is hard for anyone (especially when bands have football games the night before)! 

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No, you said that the judges were reserving higher scores for later because they aren't accomplished enough to accurately judge a performance without setting a low score baseline for excellence. 

 

If this were the case why wouldn't music for all just have the top 6 go first in finals so that they wouldn't need to harshly judge early competitors to save room for higher scores? 

[Nny14]

Leander has my favorite music selections of the year and easily my favorite ballad, Woods in the starry sky is so sweet! I'll be honest I didn't think this show had much legs at the beginning of the season but they really improved to give us that fun Leander production we all love.

[Vidal28]

I don’t think it’s arguable that SA is the tougher overall competition pretty much every year, the difficulty of getting into finals is arguably more difficult and not at the same time, only really ‘cause there’s two less spots to go around. There’s around a 15-29 place battleground every year with so many bands deserving of finalist spots in nearly any other competition besides probably only grand nats for those near the bottom end of that range. It’s always a deeper contest, and for me the difficulty of making finals on the lesser number of spots alone is not the only metric for the actual difficulty of the contest.

[TRBbaritone]

Leander and Vista just killed it! Also loved Pecos’s exhibition show (I have a soft spot for extra small bands).

[Origin]

Awesome show Vista Ridge!! The beginning where the whole band is marching facing the end zone is so difficult, I don’t know how they do it so well! The percussion feature into the brass feature was so epic, the show just flows perfectly. The soloists in the ballad created a beautifully cinematic atmosphere. There’s still even more room for the show to grow, which is good because they have a week left! 

[BandFan59]

Vista Ridge laid it down!! They have an incredible brass section and the visual program is so much cleaner now than it was a few weeks ago. Really starting to enjoy this show now that I have an understanding of what it's about.

[Origin]

Ugh, Rouse, that was too good. This is just one of those truly special shows. All of the soloists were superb. The ballad (and the whole show) is a season highlight for me. What a way to end their season. 

[anon54]

  On 11/7/2021 at 12:43 AM, MikeKyu said:

No, you said that the judges were reserving higher scores for later because they aren't accomplished enough to accurately judge a performance without setting a low score baseline for excellence. 

 

If this were the case why wouldn't music for all just have the top 6 go first in finals so that they wouldn't need to harshly judge early competitors to save room for higher scores? 

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I don’t know how else to clarify. I think that the BOA judges are amazing for doing what they do, and it wasn’t my intention to say that they are “reserving” certain scores. I’m echoing a point that I’ve heard about all competitions, not just BOA and not just marching band, in an attempt to answer a question about why people were worried about VR’s performance slot. I’m sorry that it came off to you as me doubting the legitimacy of the judging. 😕

[principalagent]

I loved that Pearland made finals in 2019, but their show stood out for being waaay easier than the rest of the field come finals. This year’s show took a massive step up in visual and especially music demand, and the band worked hard and rode it into finals again.  
 

They’re the first band from Houston, outside of TWHS, to back-to-back in San Antonio since Spring a decade ago. I hope they ride this wave for a long while. They’ve arrived as far as I’m concerned, and cemented themselves as Houston’s clear #2. 

[Origin]

Congrats to Pearland on making finals consecutively! This is a hard show, they clearly didn’t take any steps back since 2019. I didn’t want the show to end! Please come to Nats!

[BandFan59]

Incredible performances from both Rouse and Pearland, both being relative newcomers to the top bands of Texas. Super strong sounds from both! Can't believe this is just the bottom half.

[Nny14]

I think it would be really funny if this Mandarins prop showed up in San Antonio finals for the next 20 years 

[Band2021]

Very interesting Kim Shuttleworth is directing Coppell. She was one bowie's head director. 

[Origin]

Since 2018, I’ve been waiting for Coppell’s break-out moment, and it’s finally here this year!! They are such a well rounded program. The flute solo in the ballad is one of my favorite things from the whole season. This show is fun and flashy but still tasteful. What a treat!

[lhbenlee]

  On 11/7/2021 at 1:39 AM, Band2021 said:

Very interesting Kim Shuttleworth is directing Coppell. She was one bowie's head director. 

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I don’t think she was head there. She was head at Glenn in LISD. 

[BandFan59]

  On 11/7/2021 at 1:40 AM, lhbenlee said:

I don’t think she was head there. She was head at Glenn in LISD. 

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Shuttlesworth was at Bowie before Glenn for about seven years and had a lot of success there.

[Band2021]

She was the head band director of bowie in 2014 when I worked as a tech there. 

[BandFan59]

Coppell has such a beautiful production this year. They really nailed the aesthetics of the show and the music book is as good as it's ever been from them. Great show and I'm so happy to see them back in San Antonio finals.

[Band2021]

Under her direction Coppell is bound to get even better!

[BandFan59]

Keller's winds are absolutely phenomenal! Loved their rendition of Hallelujah, and while I'm still not super convinced by the visual design of the show, they're executing it super well. 

[Origin]

Keller was on fire tonight! Keller is the definition of a great marching band: phenomenal marching and playing. They prove that you don’t need all the bells and whistles. That opener was just so so so tight. I love how the musical themes repeat through the show. 

[Origin]

This “back-to-basics” approach for Cedar Park is really working! It’s really nice to see them back in finals! I could say the exact same things about them that I said about Keller. All you need is a strong set of fundamentals!