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Post by statechamp1239 on Nov 20, 2022 14:26:25 GMT -6
New York: (top 30) 1. Cicero-North Syracuse 2. Arlington 3. Baldwinsville 4. Mineola 5. West Genesee ------------------------------ 6. New Hartford 7. Liverpool 8. Victor 9. Medina 10. Roslyn 11. Hicksville 12. Port Chester 13. Lancaster 14. East Irondequoit 15. Kingston 16. Brentwood 17. Lindenhurst 18. Phoenix 19. Westmoreland 20. Division Ave 21. Garden City 22. Jamestown 23. West Seneca 24. Malverne 25. Central Square 26. Webster 27. Tottenville 28. Corning-Painted Post 29. Huntington 30. Orchard Park
Out: Johnson City
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Post by N.E. Brigand on Nov 25, 2022 13:25:57 GMT -6
I'll try Ohio! 1. William Mason . 2. Centerville . 3-5. Lakota East, Lakota West, Miamisburg . 6-9. Dublin Coffman, Forest Hills, Grove City, Worthington Kilbourne . 10-14. Beavercreek, Fairfield, Hilliard Bradley, Hilliard Darby, Milford . 15-18. Central Crossing, Dublin Jerome, Hilliard Davidson, Kettering Fairmont . 19-22. Archbishop Alter, Brunswick, Norton, West Clermont . 23-25. Hoover, Louisville, Thomas Worthington . Honorable Mentions: Amherst Steele, Berne Union, Medina, Teays Valley, South Point, Van Buren: All of these bands don't make the above list due to very OMEA-centric show design but are scoring at a very high level in local Ohio competitions this year. I am not very comfortable with this list. An extensive amount of shifting could reasonably occur after #5. I think a lot of my hesitation comes from the different show styles in OMEA and BOA, because it's difficult to compare bands from different circuits with performances designed for different judges. Oh well, I still had fun. Ohio- 1. William Mason . 2. Centerville . 3. Lakota West . 4. Grove City . 5. Lakota East . 6. Miamisburg . 7. Beavercreek . 8. Dublin Coffman . 9. Worthington Kilbourne . 10. Milford I won't be able to put my own list together until much later, but I think these are two very reasonable lists, even if I have an almost allergic reaction against the performance style of one of the bands in the top ten. Broadly speaking, I would express my belief that despite some of these bands having changed styles in recent years, they were just as good five or ten years ago. They haven't gotten better, they've just gotten different. But that's a discussion for another day. Ohio is super fun this year so I’ll try to do one for it! 1. Mason - - - - - 2. Centerville - - - - - 3. Beavercreek ... 4. Grove City ... 5. Lakota East ... 6. Miamisburg ... 7. Lakota West ... 8. Dublin Coffman - - - - - 9. Kings ... 10. Milford - - - - - 11. Hilliard Darby ... 12. West Clermont ... 13. Hilliard Bradley ... 14. Forest Hills ... 15. Fairfield ... 16. Kettering Fairmont Definitely think most of these could change. Ohio top 10 are all super close right now in my opinion and then it has been quite the scuffle for the spots below that. 3 and 4 could go either way, they were very close score wise at Ohio State Last night. Two bands I think could go even higher are West Clermont and Kings. Both have certainly been gaining momentum so It’ll be cool to see how they look at state finals! Pretty reasonable, but some points worth considering are: (a) Has West Clermont appeared at an OMEA event? I think they usually stick to MSBA. If so, they won't be at "state finals," but if you meant MSBA finals (on Nov. 5), then carry on. (b) Norton got a higher score than Fairfield yesterday at OSU. (c) Also yesterday, Archbishop Alter made Finals at the BOA Johnson City regional, placing 7th with a score of 76.35. And three weeks ago, they beat Kings by three places and more than five points at the BOA Toledo regional. I realized I messed that up right after I posted, but I figured the point came across anyway, Ah well! Hmm, seems my love for Kings overrode my senses, lol. Am also just remembering they were beaten by Milford at a fairly recent MSBA event (Campbell maybe? I forget already). I’m not nearly as familiar with some of these bands as I should be. I’d probably stick Alter in 9th (for now), knock Kings below Milford… and then whereever Hilliard Bradley ends up after all that I’d stick Norton perhaps a bit ahead. Alter is where I am most tentative: are they on par with bands such as Miamisburg and the Lakotas? I knew they were quite a solid program, I didn’t know they 5-pointed Kings, though, sooo… once again I am not knowledgeable enough for this 😦 This year I saw 241 performances by 144 Ohio competition bands in person, and then I saw another 38 performances by 32 competing Ohio bands (including 13 bands I hadn't seen live) on the Grand Nationals stream, and then I watched other online video of four further Ohio bands who had decent scores in Mid-States competitions. I'd also seen miscellaneous additional videos during the season of some of the bands I subsequently saw in person or on the Grand Nationals stream (e.g., Lakota West at BOA Obetz). Despite having thus seen 300+ performances by 161 competition bands (not to mention another 20 performances by festival bands, including Pickerington North), I don't feel entirely comfortable choosing my top Ohio bands. Nonetheless, here's my list at this time: 1. William Mason 2. Centerville 3. Lakota West 4. Grove City 5. Lakota East 6. Beavercreek 7. Kettering Fairmont 8. Miamisburg 9. Kings 10. Milford 11. Dublin Coffman 12. Hilliard Darby 13. Archbishop Alter 14. Berne Union 15. Forest Hills 16. Hilliard Davidson 17. West Clermont 18. Bellbrook 19. Hilliard Bradley 20. Dublin Jerome 21. Amherst Steele 22. Olentangy 23. Finneytown 24. Fairfield 25. Licking Heights
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Post by phantomeuph on Nov 30, 2022 11:47:00 GMT -6
2022 Illinois Rankings
1. O'Fallon 2. Morton 3. Lincoln Way 4. Normal 5. Prospect 6. Lockport 7. Marian Catholic* 8. Edwardsville 9. John Hersey 10.Victor J. Andrew
This is based on GN and state placements *MC could be as high as 4
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 3, 2022 16:19:04 GMT -6
Maryland: (top 30) 1. Governor Thomas Johnson (45 members) 2. Tuscarora (44 members) 3. Liberty 4. Thomas S. Wotton (50 members) 5. Mountain Ridge (68 members) ----------------------------------- 6. Urbana 7. Linganore 8. Calvert Hall College 9. Clarke County 10. Parkside 11. Great Mills 12. Leonardtown 13. Fort Hill 14. Southern Garrett 15. Northern 16. Atholton 17. Chopticon 18. Clarksburg 19. Old Mill 20. Broadneck 21. James M. Bennett 22. Marriotts Ridge 23. Walkersville 24. Annapolis Area Christian School ------------------------------------------- 25. Huntingtown 26. Quince Orchard 27. La Plata 28. Rising Sun 29. Arundel 30. North Hagerstown ------------------------------------------- 31. Boonsboro
Next 10: Calvert, Middletown, Francis Scott Key, Century, Perryville, Brunswick, Patuxent, Chesapeake, Oakdale, Westminster
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 4, 2022 8:18:36 GMT -6
Delaware: 1. Appoquinimink 2. Cab Calloway School for the Arts 3. Caesar Rodney 4. Concord 5. Odessa -------------------------------------- 6. Middletown 7. Newark 8. Lake Forest 9. Laurel 10. William Penn 11. Caravel Academy 12. Salesianum School
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Post by srv1084 on Dec 9, 2022 12:14:25 GMT -6
I'm going to do this for the New England schools, starting from the furthest north. Since not many people outside New England know much about these bands, I've decided to also include a bit of history, fun facts, and extra details throughout. To the extent that I was able to, I included membership (current, pre-Covid, and 10-20 years ago based on what I remember/which videos I can find). I chose to do this to both illustrate how small the activity is up here, as well as the impact Covid has had on smaller bands and the region in general. New Hampshire, Vermont (yep), Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut to follow at a later time. Feel free to move this to another thread if it's more history-oriented, but this is primarily about the rankings of current bands with a lot of extra flavor and information on them historically. As of 2022, there were only seven active marching bands in Maine. My rankings are below, and after the "fun facts" I'll post a list of all other competing bands from Maine since the 90s (to the best of my knowledge):
Fun Facts about MBDA/Membership Sizes: - MBDA has been around for decades, and while it is primarily for bands from Maine, they do have a history of including New Hampshire (and sometimes Massachusetts) bands. Finals are in Biddeford, Maine, which is very close to the New Hampshire border, with Massachusetts only 20 miles further.
- The combined membership of all seven Maine bands in 2022 is smaller than most GN finalist bands. There was a maximum of 250 members on the field from Maine bands in 2022 MBDA finals (I say maximum as there is a tidbit on the Marshwood Somersworth band below that reduces this number by an unknown amount).
- As far as I know, Westbrook is the only Maine marching band to have eclipsed 100 members since at least 1990 (1995 Citrus Bowl video says they have 115 members). At the 1991 awards ceremony (on Youtube) they are named the only band in Division IV (the largest division) with membership in the 90s. The largest band in Division III (the second largest division) had membership somewhere around 60 (thanks to a guard of nearly 30), so the membership hurdle to get into Division IV wasn't particularly high. Within a few years they reduced it down to three divisions due to dwindling membership numbers in both participating bands and membership within each band.
- MBDA used to provide scores at their events, but with the landscape of the activity changing in the Northeast, they eventually adopted their neighboring states' approach to State-sponsored events (like MICCA in Massachusetts). They now offer only festival awards, awarding star ratings for each category, followed by an overall medal rating for each band.
Fun Facts about bands in Maine: - ~80% of schools in MBDA history are from suburbs of Portland, ME, which is in the Southern part of the state. There are a few from north of Augusta with Zip Codes closer to Canada than Portland (including Lawrence, who is currently the furthest north), but Lee Academy was by far the most isolated competing band in the state. They are a private boarding school 50 miles from the New Brunswick border, and as far as I know, they are most the most eastern school in the US to ever field a competitive marching band.
- If I was to compile this list as of 2019, Westbrook would not have been as clear of a winner as they are this year. Old Orchard Beach (a staple in the Maine band scene) had a great year in 2019, fielding a much more modern show than is typically seen in the state. They have since fallen on hard times. South Portland would frequently swap out with OOB for second, but have also lost half their membership since pre-Covid.
- To my knowledge, Westbrook and South Portland are the only Maine bands to venture outside of the state. Thinking back all the way to the mid-90s when I was involved, Westbrook was the only band from Maine I can think of that would regularly compete in NESBA or US Bands events, but I am nearly positive South Portland has on occasion. In the late 90s, Westbrook upset quite a few established Massachusetts bands on several occasions.
- In an effort to keep programs afloat, Old Orchard Beach and Biddeford High School combined into one band in 2022, now competing as the Seacoast Marching Band. The interesting thing here is that the high schools are in separate school districts. If they were to venture outside of MBDA, they would not be allowed to compete. This was the only way for both schools to continue fielding a band due to dwindling membership. Pre-Covid, they had a combined 80 members between them. As a combined band, they have only 32 members.
- Likewise, in 2021, Marshwood and Somersworth combined into one band, now competing as Marshwood Somersworth Marching Band. As if OOB and Biddeford combining wasn't strange enough, Marshwood and Somersworth High Schools are not even in the same state. Somersworth High School is from New Hampshire, right on the border of Maine, and Marshwood High School is from Maine, right on the border of New Hampshire. Pre-Covid, they had a combined 55 members between them. As a combined band, they have only 38 members.
- Old Orchard Beach is the smallest high school in Southern Maine. They have roughly 200 students, and pre-Covid they were maintaining a band of 50-60 members. Pretty impressive.
- The drum corps scene was never big in Maine, likely as a result of the marching band scene not providing the foundation necessary to field a successful drum corps. Only four drum corps have ever been formed in Maine, with two competing in DCI in the 80s. Still, there have been plenty of Maine students over the years participating in drum corps and winter guard, specifically with the Boston Crusaders, Spartans, East Coast Jazz, and the Cadets.
- Only one independent percussion ensemble has ever been formed in Maine. Southern Maine Youth Performance Ensemble (SMYPE) was a very successful Independent Open percussion ensemble in the late 90s/early 2000s. They were formed out of Portland, Maine with ties to the South Portland band and other surrounding bands. They won the WGI PIO gold medal in 1999.
- There have only been a few competing independent winter guards formed in Maine. To this day, only one remains in Regional A class: Maine Attraction. They are the 1982 WGI independent A class silver medalists.
- Below is a list of all remaining bands from Maine that have competed since the 90s (to the best of my knowledge). At its peak, Maine had 21 competing bands. Only seven remain.
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 14, 2022 15:44:07 GMT -6
California: (top 30) 1. Chino Hills 2. Vista Murrieta 3. James Logan 4. San Marcos 5. Rancho Bernardo 6. Ruben S. Ayala 7. Homestead 8. Arcadia 9. Clovis North Educational Center 10. Gahr 11. Clovis 12. Amador Valley 13. Upland 14. Mt. Carmel 15. Clovis East 16. Great Oak 17. Trabuco Hills 18. Cerritos 19. Fountain Valley 20. Woodbridge 21. Chino 22. Buchanan 23. Etiwanda 24. Mira Mesa 25. Saratoga 26. Rancho Cucamonga 27. Scripps Ranch 28. The King's Academy 29. Millikan 30. Laguna Creek
First Out: Golden West
Next 10: Colony, Cupertino, Foothill, Redondo Union, Arroyo, Santa Teresa, Frontier, Damien, Sunny Hills, Liberty (Bakersfield)
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 17, 2022 20:00:57 GMT -6
Iowa: (top 30) 1. Pella Community 2. Waukee. 3. Davenport Central. 4. MOC-Floyd Valley 5. Johnston 6. Ankeny Centennial. 7. Ankeny. 8. Waukee Northwest. 9. Bondurant-Farrar 10. Southeast Polk 11. West Des Monies-Valley 12. Linn-Mar Community ---------------------------------------- 13. Cedar Rapids Prairie. 14. Independence. 15. North Polk. 16. Dowling Catholic. 17. Mount Vernon 18. Oskaloosa. 19. Spirit Lake 20. Winterset 21. Mount Pleasant 22. Clinton 23. Xavier 24. Cedar Rapids Kennedy 25. Urbandale 26. West Lyon 27. Cedar Falls 28. Treynor 29. Sibley-Ocheyedan 30. Sheldon
First Out: Council Bluffs-Abraham Lincoln
Next 5: Fort Dodge Sr., Sioux City North, West Marshall, IKM-Manning, La Mar-Community
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 26, 2022 15:05:49 GMT -6
Hawaii: 1. Mililani 2. Maui 3. Moanalua 4. James Campbell 5. Kamehameha Schools 6. Theodore Roosevelt 7. Kailua 8. Kaiser ---------------------------------------- 9. Kalani 10. Pearl City 11. Aiea-Raford Combined Schools 12. Iolani 13. Punahou School 14. Leilehua 15. Kapolei 16. Castle
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 26, 2022 16:46:02 GMT -6
Louisiana: (Top 25) 1. Central Lafourche 2. Lafayette 3. St. Amant 4. Dutchtown 5. Terrebonne 6. West Monroe 7. South Lafourche 8. Southside 9. H.L. Bourgeois 10. Mandeville 11. Fontainebleau 12. Airline ------------------------------ 13. Denham Springs 14. Parkway 15. Sulphur 16. Haughton 17. Thibodaux 18. North Vermilion 19. Alred M. Barbe 20. Erath 21. South Terrebonne 22. E.D. White Catholic 23. New Iberia Sr. 24. Vandebilt Catholic 25. Destrehan
First Out: Slidell
Next 5: Comeaux, South Beauregard, Morgan City, East Ascension, Hahnville,
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Post by ilikeguard on Dec 26, 2022 22:07:56 GMT -6
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Post by jmike16 on Dec 26, 2022 23:47:28 GMT -6
Louisiana: ( Top 25) 1. Central Lafourche 2. Lafayette 3. St. Amant4. Dutchtown 5. Terrebonne6. West Monroe 7. South Lafourche 8. Southside 9. H.L. Bourgeois 10. Mandeville 11. Fontainebleau 12. Airline 13. Haughton 14. Parkway 15. Sulphur 16. Thibodaux 17. North Vermilion 18. Alred M. Barbe 19. Erath 20. South Terrebonne 21. E.D. White Catholic 22. New Iberia Sr. 23. Vandebilt Catholic 24. Destrehan 25. Slidell First Out: Comeaux Next 5: South Beauregard, Morgan City, East Ascension, Hahnville, and Delcambre Is Denham Springs not what they used to be? I thought they used to be pretty good and would rank above bands like Barbe and Sulphur.
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 27, 2022 13:22:13 GMT -6
Is Denham Springs not what they used to be? I thought they used to be pretty good and would rank above bands like Barbe and Sulphur. The problem is I couldn't find any video/scores on some of the Louisiana bands and Denham Springs is one of them and I forgot about them. In Addition, some schools have video in early season, so some are guesses. I thought Sulphur sounded phenomenal this year.
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Post by jmike16 on Dec 27, 2022 22:45:09 GMT -6
Is Denham Springs not what they used to be? I thought they used to be pretty good and would rank above bands like Barbe and Sulphur. The problem is I couldn't find any video/scores on some of the Louisiana bands and Denham Springs is one of them and I forgot about them. In Addition, some schools have video in early season, so some are guesses. I thought Sulphur sounded phenomenal this year. Ah ok. I feel like Louisiana is one of those states where the majority of people are not familiar with most of the bands, except maybe Lafayette and Comeaux.
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Post by srv1084 on Dec 28, 2022 0:26:32 GMT -6
I’m going to continue my (lengthy) rankings posts of the Northeast as time allows, moving next to New Hampshire. Similar to Maine, I’m also going to include some facts and historical information on New Hampshire bands as I’m sure most here have never seen one perform. Just like Maine, no New Hampshire band has ever competed in BOA. Below are my 2022 rankings. Note that with few exceptions, this is based on my opinion of these bands and their 2022 performances for reasons explained later in this post. Again, if this doesn’t belong here, I’m happy to move this to the history section upon request. New Hampshire Marching Band facts/history:New Hampshire is an interesting state to try to rank. The band scene is actually quite active, but with a very different approach to what we’ve come to expect from traditional competitive marching band. There are currently 23 active bands in New Hampshire by my count. Thinking back to when I first became involved in the activity in the 90s, there are really only a couple of bands I can think of that are no longer active when comparing to 2022’s list. While most are very small, I think there may actually be a few more active bands in 2022 than in the early 2000s, though several won’t last much longer, unfortunately. The activity is not about competition in New Hampshire; it’s 100% for fun and getting the chance to perform in front of an audience. Not to say bands in other states don’t have fun or do it for the performance experience, it’s just that there is absolutely no emphasis on direct competition in New Hampshire. There is no state sponsored marching band event. The performing arts are not widely supported in upper New England, so competition isn’t a priority. The majority of bands perform stand tunes as their performance, with several (most?) not even fielding a front ensemble. There are really only 3-4 bands that are currently equipped to take their units to any form of real competition as opposed to an exhibition event, and maybe only two of them would find their way out of the basement in local circuits. Most bands have very minimal rehearsal time (I’m sure you can tell by watching some videos – not a knock on them, as I’ve already explained their goals are very, very different). Up through the early 2000s, there were several New Hampshire bands that did compete in Northeast circuits (NESBA, MICCA, MBDA, even USBands on occasion). However, invitationals have been a staple in the state. There are a handful of weekend invitationals each year, and they are fully exhibition. As of 2022, only five bands venture out of state, all of which go to MBDA events for festival ratings. Dover hosts one of the annual NH invitations, and a program book can be found here for details on the type of music some of these bands play. Dover is the one of the few bands in New Hampshire that I could see making a somewhat successful attempt at competing out of state if they put in the effort, but they simply haven’t made an attempt apart from infrequent NESBA appearances in the past. They are one of the few bands in the state that try to create and perform a real competition-style show. However, I get the impression they do not have anywhere near the budget or resources they would need to be able to compete, not even to NESBA or USBands events. They are currently using uniforms from the 90s. The uniforms are falling apart, and the Booster organization has been trying to save $40,000 through fundraising for a new set of uniforms for several years now. It doesn’t appear they get much funding from the school district. Dover has also fielded a successful competitive Winter Guard in Scholastic A on several occasions in the mid-2000s and 2010s. They have attended a couple of WGI regionals along the way, easily winning one in New England over a Scholastic A championship finalist. They could have certainly made Scholastic A finals at WGI on a few occasions, but I am assuming the same budget constraints prevented them from doing so as they never made an appearance. Someone once told me as much during a NESBA winter guard competition. Salem is perhaps the only semi-known New Hampshire band due to their performances in WGI and the Fiesta Bowl. They have made WGI Scholastic A percussion finals, and WGI Independent A and Open guard finals several times prior to moving back to Scholastic. They competed in independent as they formerly accepted recent graduates and other local members. They became very well known on the WGI scene in the 2000s, making finals about 10 times by my count. They were most recently in IA 2016 finals and the video is on Youtube – very cool show. They've twice been the IA runner up by only .2, and I argue they should have won in 2009. To this day, that's still one of the most gorgeous shows I've had the opportunity to watch live (it's on Youtube). Along with the rise of their winter guard in the early-mid 2000s, they made an effort to improve the marching band program and eventually started competing more out of state, including two Fiesta Bowl appearances in both 2005 and 2012. I believe they just missed out on finals both times, coming within just a couple of points of Trumbull in 2012 and about a point behind Normal West, a band that I believe was scoring in the high 60s at BOA during that time. Videos of both years are up on Youtube. They weren’t at a nationally competitive level by any means, but it was night and day compared to just five years prior when they were struggling to stay in the 70s in NESBA competition as the biggest competing band (even then it was rare that a band was unable to break at least 80 in the circuit). At one point in the 2000s us New Englanders were thinking they’d be the first band from New Hampshire to try competing in BOA. I don’t think there’s any possibility of that happening now. They seem to have lost membership interest and their quality has taken a major step back. However, they continue to try to give their kids an occasional competitive experience in both marching band and indoor and I commend them for doing so. Portsmouth had a very successful run as a concert percussion program in WGI for many years. Anyone involved with the activity would likely have either seen them, or at the very least their results. They’ve won two WGI gold medals and five WGI silver medals in Concert Open class. In my opinion, their band was the best band in New Hampshire for much of the 2000s. However, they rarely wanted to compete, usually only opting for MICCA festival ratings or sticking to their NH invitationals. It was a missed opportunity, in my opinion. They had a great concert program at one point and the foundation necessary for a good competing band. You could tell if they put some more effort into their marching band, they could have certainly made some waves throughout New England. The desire was just not there. Their program has fallen tremendously through the pandemic and now they’re fielding only 40 members. In 2021 they didn’t even have their historically strongest section on the field, leaving a front ensemble out of their production entirely. Londonderry used to field enormous bands, not just for New Hampshire, but for anywhere in the country. At some point in the 2000s they were numbering between 250-300 members, and most of that membership was musicians as they have rarely ever fielded a guard above ~10-15 members. However, they have never strived to be more than a show band/exhibition band. They often seek exhibition opportunities outside the state, including at Celtics games and other sporting events. Their marching band has never officially competed in anything to my knowledge, nor would they be successful in doing so as it’s just not their intent. I mentioned the interesting dynamics behind the Marshwood-Somersworth combined band in the Maine post, but it's worth repeating due to how unique the situation is. Marshwood HS and Somersworth HS are not only in separate school districts, they are in completely separate states. Marshwood HS is from Maine and Somersworth High School is from New Hampshire. Both bands are on the state border, and the only way they would continue to exist and give their members a marching band experience was to find a way to make a combined band program work. This likely would not have been the case if Somersworth HS did not already have a history of competing in MBDA state events. Drum Corps & WGI (not school affiliated) - Drum Corps Museum lists a few dozen historical NH drum corps, but to my knowledge only the Spartans have been active during the DCI era. The Spartans have been very successful in Open class (formerly Division II) and I've heard expressed on multiple occasions that they have no desire to field a World class drum corps. They value the experience they are able to offer their membership as an Open class corps, and with so much of their membership coming from New England it just makes sense. School is over in New England in late June, sometimes the last week of June if there are snow days to make up. A full touring World class corps just wouldn't make sense. Of course, with the drum corps activity suffering as a whole and the low fees Open class corps bring in from shows, I suppose anybody is subject to change their tune if the opportunity arises. **Side note: The Seattle Cascades face a similar late release school schedule in their region and made their move to World class in the early 2000s. They quickly found that early move-ins and touring wasn't a possibility for them if they weren't able to attract more talent outside the PNW due to late school releases. I'm sure the Spartans don't want to end up in the same boat, which is why they've always held firm.** Drum corps didn't stay relevant in NH entering into the DCI era, and I assume a lot of that had to do with lack of quality/interested membership from NH schools due to the high school marching band scene's lack of relevancy. However, the Spartans have such a long history that they were often able to attract a lot of Massachusetts and Connecticut talent, even when East Coast Jazz from MA was finding success in the late 90s/early 2000s. Many, many members of the Spartans have gone on to compete with World class corps, including a very steady stream of members marching with the Crossmen and the Cadets from the 90s-early 2010s. Last year, the Spartans launched an Independent Open indoor percussion group for the first time. They were very solid in their first year competing locally and are attending WGI finals for the first time this year. To my knowledge, both New Hampshire and Maine have only ever had one independent percussion ensemble and one independent winter guard (Salem HS's independent group, as mentioned above). Membership Numbers - As recently as the mid-late 2000s, there were roughly a dozen schools in the state of New Hampshire with bands numbering over 100 members. That’s pretty impressive for a state where the marching arts are not a focus or supported. Today, there is only one band well above 100 members (Londonderry) and two right at 100 (Concord & Pinkerton Academy). Schools were already losing membership leading into the pandemic, but some have been decimated since the pandemic started. Even as a state that focuses on exhibitions and the “experience,” almost all schools have taken a pretty dramatic hit, some losing approximately half of their already dwindling membership. The Marching Band scene in NH is slowly starting to mirror Maine’s decrease from the late 90s/early 2000s. It would not surprise me to see the quantity of bands cut in half over the next few years. Locations - Laconia and Prospect Mountain are the bands furthest north in New Hampshire. They are in the Lake Winnepesauke region, which is right in the center of the state. Almost all other marching bands are in the far southern region of New Hampshire by the bigger cities, all within 10-20 miles of MA's northern border and Maine's Southwestern border. It’s a bit surprising to me that even with so many of them close to MA, we’ve still not seen any others attempt to cross the border to compete. As far as I am aware, here are the remaining bands in the state. Not ranking them as it is nearly impossible beyond the top ~12. Lastly, and perhaps my favorite fact on New Hampshire: there is a town called Hebron, NH. Sadly, they do not have a marching band.
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 28, 2022 12:20:06 GMT -6
The problem is I couldn't find any video/scores on some of the Louisiana bands and Denham Springs is one of them and I forgot about them. In Addition, some schools have video in early season, so some are guesses. I thought Sulphur sounded phenomenal this year. Ah ok. I feel like Louisiana is one of those states where the majority of people are not familiar with most of the bands, except maybe Lafayette and Comeaux. Agreed. I think it's mostly that many Louisiana bands doesn't traveling that far in popular competition other than Lafayette who rarely goes to GN and Parkway who travel yearly to TX for USBands. I saw 2017 Lafayette and fell in love, so I started watching other bands and Louisiana has great talented schools wish them some time in the spotlight like E.D. White Catholic just amazing small Band who did beat Parkway last year and Vandebilt Catholic who has some talent in their percussion program this year placing 3rd overall at Showcase, and Central Lafourche who definitely could have made semifinals in GN and demolished every competition this year, but it does suck how Lafayette is decreasing in power and size however, they are little bit larger than 2021. Fontainebleau had great show that I love watching from 2016-2019, and St. Amant is another group who has been climbing up the ranks that I would love to see at Jacksonville Regional.
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Post by bigtrombone on Dec 28, 2022 14:41:41 GMT -6
South Dakota 2022 Rankings (Top 10)
1. Sioux Falls Lincoln 2. Brandon Valley 3. Mitchell 4. Brookings 5. Bishop O'Gorman 6. Sioux Falls Roosevelt 7. Sioux Falls Washington 8. Aberdeen Central 9. Sioux Falls Jefferson 10. Harrisburg
Honorable Mention: Lennox
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 28, 2022 18:03:42 GMT -6
South Dakota 2022 Rankings (Top 10)1. Sioux Falls Lincoln 2. Brandon Valley 3. Mitchell 4. Brookings 5. Bishop O'Gorman 6. Sioux Falls Roosevelt 7. Sioux Falls Washington 8. Aberdeen Central 9. Sioux Falls Jefferson 10. Harrisburg Honorable Mention: Lennox North Dakota Next!
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 29, 2022 14:22:13 GMT -6
Florida: (top 30) 1. Tarpon Springs (180 members) 2. Timber Creek (221 members) 3. Stoneman Douglas (147 members) 4. Windermere (145 members) 5. West Broward (113 members) 6. University 7. Pace 8. Fleming Islands 9. Seminole 10. J.W. Mitchell 11. Oakleaf 12. Cypress Creek ----------------------------------- 13. Oviedo 14. Palmetto Ridge 15. Fort Walton Beach 16. Choctawhatchee Sr. 17. Buchholz 18. J.M. Tate 19. Sebastian River. 20. Joe E. Newsome. 21. Somerset Academy. 22. Tocoi Creek 23. Wiregrass Ranch 24. Gainesville. 25. Sandalwood 26. Wesley Chapel 27. Hialeah 28. Jupiter 29. Cooper City 30. Robinson
First Out: East Lake
Next 5: North Fort Myers, Cypress Bay, Sunlake, Lakewood Ranch, and Charles W. Flanagan
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Post by mk72 on Dec 29, 2022 14:39:57 GMT -6
Florida: ( top 30) 1. Tarpon Springs2. Timber Creek3. Stoneman Douglas4. Windermere5. West Broward6. University 7. Fleming Islands 8. Seminole 9. J.W. Mitchell 10. Oakleaf 11. Cypress Creek 12. Oviedo 13. Palmetto Ridge 14. Choctawhatchee Sr. 15. Pace 16. Fort Walton Beach 17. Buchholz 18. J.M. Tate 19. Sebastian River. 20. Joe E. Newsome. 21. Somerset Academy. 22. Tocoi Creek 23. Wiregrass Ranch 24. Gainesville. 25. Sandalwood 26. Wesley Chapel 27. Hialeah 28. Jupiter 29. Cooper City 30. Robinson First Out: East Lake Next 5: North Fort Myers, Cypress Bay, Sunlake, Lakewood Ranch, and Charles W. Flanagan Crazy how most, if not all, of these schools have noteworthy guard programs, specifically winter guards. I know that's not marching band related, but holy moly, Florida has an insane amount of fantastic guards.
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 29, 2022 15:18:14 GMT -6
Mississippi: (top 30) 1. Germantown 2. Hernando. 3. Grenada. 4. South Jones. 5. DeSoto Central. 6. Ocean Springs. 7. Pearl 8. Lewisburg 9. Clinton 10. Gautier 11. West Harrison 12. Oak Grove ------------------------------- 13. Harrison Central. 14. Pascagoula 15. Northwest Rankin 16. Gulfport 17. Olive Branch 18. Petal 19. Columbia 20. Stone 21. Tupelo 22. Bay 23. Satillo 24. D'Iberville 25. Pontotoc 26. Ripley 27. West Jones 28. Oxford 29. Booneville 30. Starkville
First Out: Warren Central
Next 5: South Pontotoc, Senatobia, Southaven, New Albany, and North Pontotoc
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Post by hewhowaits on Dec 30, 2022 6:45:45 GMT -6
Crazy how most, if not all, of these schools have noteworthy guard programs, specifically winter guards. I know that's not marching band related, but holy moly, Florida has an insane amount of fantastic guards. Guard is certainly marching band related. And yes, compared to many states, Florida is quite prolific in the guard arena.
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 30, 2022 12:13:03 GMT -6
Arkansas: (top 30) 1. Bentonville (228 members) 2. Van Buren Sr. (157 members) 3. Cabot (169 members) 4. Lake Hamilton (166 members) 5. Fayetteville (164 members) 6. Bentonville West 7. Springdale Har-Ber 8. Bryant 9. Siloam Springs 10. Paragould 11. Marion 12. Arkadelphia --------------------------------- 13. Greene County Tech 14. Jonesboro 15. Pottsville 16. Lakeside 17. Alma 18. Pocahontas 19. Conway 20. Rivercrest 21. Westside 22. Rogers 23. Fouke 24. Brookland 25. Mountain Home 26. Benton 27. Greenwood 28. Rogers Heritage 29. Springdale 30. Sheridan
First Out: Prairie Grove
Next 5: Berryhill, Gurdon, Searcy, Clinton, and Sylvan Hills
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Post by srv1084 on Dec 30, 2022 12:13:23 GMT -6
Florida: ( top 30) 1. Tarpon Springs2. Timber Creek3. Stoneman Douglas4. Windermere5. West Broward6. University 7. Fleming Islands 8. Seminole 9. J.W. Mitchell 10. Oakleaf 11. Cypress Creek 12. Oviedo ----------------------------------- 13. Palmetto Ridge 14. Choctawhatchee Sr. 15. Pace 16. Fort Walton Beach 17. Buchholz 18. J.M. Tate 19. Sebastian River. 20. Joe E. Newsome. 21. Somerset Academy. 22. Tocoi Creek 23. Wiregrass Ranch 24. Gainesville. 25. Sandalwood 26. Wesley Chapel 27. Hialeah 28. Jupiter 29. Cooper City 30. Robinson First Out: East Lake Next 5: North Fort Myers, Cypress Bay, Sunlake, Lakewood Ranch, and Charles W. Flanagan Great job on this list. Florida is deceptively hard to rank with dozens (hundreds?) of bands who only compete in FSMA events for festival ratings, including the largest bands in the state (Gulf Coast was at one point pushing 400 members). Glad to see a couple of FSMA/MPA groups appearing on this list as they're often unknown. It's also really interesting to see the differences between BOA Orlando and FMBA in terms of final rankings. I think there are a few more FSMA-only bands that could also slot in somewhere in the 10-30 region, but it's so hard to figure out where given they only ever receive festival ratings so makes sense why they're not on there. Some of the ones I'm thinking of are West Orange and Dr. Phillips, though I'm sure there are some others - just too damn many to be familiar with them. William Boone I think could also be somewhere in the 15-30 range depending on year, probably towards the bottom this year. In previous years I would have probably included Escambia, but no longer. They had some really BOA-friendly shows, but their performance levels have unfortunately dropped quite a bit. Shame they never tried BOA. Also, Pace is a band that could break out at any time if they put in the work. I've been really impressed with them lately. Silly side note, but there's a second, lesser-known Seminole high school in Florida. They're not exactly competing to be on this list, but they have a very large, talented dance line that leans very traditional (think: formations, pom & high-kick routines). I highly recommend anyone interested watch this video, especially the intro formation and the high-kick routine in the middle of the show:
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Post by statechamp1239 on Dec 30, 2022 13:07:00 GMT -6
Great job on this list. Florida is deceptively hard to rank with dozens (hundreds?) of bands who only compete in FSMA events for festival ratings, including the largest bands in the state (Gulf Coast was at one point pushing 400 members). Glad to see a couple of FSMA/MPA groups appearing on this list as they're often unknown. It's also really interesting to see the differences between BOA Orlando and FMBA in terms of final rankings. I think there are a few more FSMA-only bands that could also slot in somewhere in the 10-30 region, but it's so hard to figure out where given they only ever receive festival ratings so makes sense why they're not on there. Some of the ones I'm thinking of are West Orange and Dr. Phillips, though I'm sure there are some others - just too damn many to be familiar with them. William Boone I think could also be somewhere in the 15-30 range depending on year, probably towards the bottom this year. In previous years I would have probably included Escambia, but no longer. They had some really BOA-friendly shows, but their performance levels have unfortunately dropped quite a bit. Shame they never tried BOA. Also, Pace is a band that could break out at any time if they put in the work. I've been really impressed with them lately. I was debating on putting more of those FSMA bands I literally had Niceville, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Coast, and Crestview, and more on my list, but I deleted them and Pace who has been doing great at South Alabama Championships twice in a row so I had to give them some recognition. Also, I placed William R. Boone in 41th place.
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Post by srv1084 on Dec 30, 2022 14:24:30 GMT -6
Great job on this list. Florida is deceptively hard to rank with dozens (hundreds?) of bands who only compete in FSMA events for festival ratings, including the largest bands in the state (Gulf Coast was at one point pushing 400 members). Glad to see a couple of FSMA/MPA groups appearing on this list as they're often unknown. It's also really interesting to see the differences between BOA Orlando and FMBA in terms of final rankings. I think there are a few more FSMA-only bands that could also slot in somewhere in the 10-30 region, but it's so hard to figure out where given they only ever receive festival ratings so makes sense why they're not on there. Some of the ones I'm thinking of are West Orange and Dr. Phillips, though I'm sure there are some others - just too damn many to be familiar with them. William Boone I think could also be somewhere in the 15-30 range depending on year, probably towards the bottom this year. In previous years I would have probably included Escambia, but no longer. They had some really BOA-friendly shows, but their performance levels have unfortunately dropped quite a bit. Shame they never tried BOA. Also, Pace is a band that could break out at any time if they put in the work. I've been really impressed with them lately. I was debating on putting more of those FSMA bands I literally had Niceville, Gulf Breeze, Gulf Coast, and Crestview, and more on my list, but I deleted them and Pace who has been doing great at South Alabama Championships twice in a row so I had to give them some recognition. Also, I placed William R. Boone in 41th place. Yeah, that makes sense. Some of those bands seem to play and move well enough, but their shows are dated about 30 years and the demand isn't anywhere near others on the list. It would be really interesting to see what could happen if any of those Panhandle bands made an effort to field modern shows and compete. Some seem to have some really strong community support. Choctawhatchee, Tate, and Pace really stand out in that region.
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Post by oldarmybandguy on Dec 31, 2022 8:35:57 GMT -6
Crazy how most, if not all, of these schools have noteworthy guard programs, specifically winter guards. I know that's not marching band related, but holy moly, Florida has an insane amount of fantastic guards. Guard is certainly marching band related. And yes, compared to many states, Florida is quite prolific in the guard arena. I would liken it to how prolific Southern California is with competitive drum lines. It speaks to the level of talented instructors in a given area-all who would have gotten their first exposure to that art through marching band.
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Post by statechamp1239 on Jan 1, 2023 19:03:47 GMT -6
West Virginia: (top 30) 1. Cabell Midland (107 members) 2. Musselman (95 members) 3. Hurricane (38 members) 4. Greenbrier East (59 members) 5. Parkersburg South (91 members) 6. Tyler Consolidated 7. Philip Barbour 8. Princeton 9. Huntington 10. Capital 11. Paden City 12. North Marion ---------------------------------------- 13. Lincoln County 14. Hedgesville 15. Shady Springs 16. Williamstown 17. Charles Town Washington 18. Poca 19. Pikeview 20. Buckhannon-Upshur 21. Martinsburg 22. Nitro 23. St. Mary 24. St. Albans 25. Wayne 26. Woodrow Wilson 27. Ravenwoods 28. Spring Mills 29. Elkins 30. Scott
Out: Barbour
Next 5: Sissonville, James Monroe, Roane County, Kanawha County, and Bluefield
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Post by statechamp1239 on Jan 4, 2023 19:55:26 GMT -6
Kansas: (top 30) 1. Blue Valley 2. Blue Valley Southwest 3. Buhler 4. Olathe Northwest 5. Blue Valley West 6. Olathe East 7. Derby 8. Topeka Washburn Rural 9. Shawnee Mission Northwest 10. Olathe South 11. Blue Valley North 12. Olathe North 13. Topeka West 14. Shawnee Mission South 15. Shawnee Mission East 16. Maize South 17. Valley Center 18. Shawnee Mission North 19. Goddard 20. De Soto 21. Olathe West 22. Spring Hill 23. McLouth 24. Blue Valley Northwest 25. Seaman 26. Shawnee Mission West 27. Eisenhower 28. Arkansas City 29. Maize 30. Wichita East
First Out: Shawnee Mission Heights
Next 5: Wichita North, McPherson, Wichita Southeast, Basehor Lindwood, and Garden City
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Post by statechamp1239 on Jan 8, 2023 15:47:21 GMT -6
Idaho: (top 30) 1. Eagles (67 members) 2. Timberline (85 members) 3. Mountain View (76 members) 4. Owyhee (52 members) 5. Borah (79 members) 6. Boise 7. Nampa 8. Columbia 9. Kuna 10. Vallivue 11. Caldwell 12. Centennial ----------------------------------------- 13. Highland 14. Skyview 15. Burley 16. Ridgevue 17. Cole Valley Christian School 18. Fruitland 19. Middleton 20. Meridian 21. Rocky Mountain 22. Idaho Falls 23. Century 24. Madison 25. High Desert Combined Marching Band 26. Weiser 27. Thunder Ridge 28. Jerome 29. Emmett 30. Bishop Kelly
First Out: Capital.
Next 5: Mountain Home, Blackfoot, Payette, Shelley, and Canyon Ridge
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