Here are my personal rankings of the 99 performances, showing how I would score them. This is not a prediction. The judges will do what they will do. It's just my opinion.
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I was curious about how often my take (on the left) agreed with the judges' view (on the right). Bold indicates a band within two places, underline indicates a score within one point, and italics indicates a band not meeting those criteria but either within four places or within two points:
1.) 96.0 Carmel – “The Expanse” --- Judges:
2nd - 95.500 2.) 95.7 Avon – “Passing the Torch” --- Judges:
3rd - 95.400 3.) 95.2 Broken Arrow – “The Edge of Eternity” --- Judges:
1st - 97.500 4.) 95.0 Flower Mound – [The Band Show] --- Judges:
5th - 94.950 5.) 94.5 The Woodlands – “Life Is a Cabaret” --- Judges:
4th - 95.250 6.) 93.5 Claudia Taylor Johnson – “Opposites Attract” --- Judges:
7th - 93.200 7.) 93.0 Ronald Reagan – “The Path” --- Judges:
8th - 92.800 8.) 92.5 Marcus – “The Missing Piece” --- Judges:
6th - 93.200 9.) 92.0 Blue Springs – “212: Boiling Point” --- Judges:
12th - 91.150 10.) 91.5 Vista Ridge – “Vorca Rhe” --- Judges:
9th - 92.500 11.) 91.0 Dobyns-Bennett – “The Promise of Living” --- Judges:
10th - 92.050 12.) 90.5 Wando – “Cabinet of Curiosities” --- Judges:
11th - 91.900 13.) 90.0 Fishers – “Aquanova” --- Judges:
13th - 91.100 14.) 89.5 William Mason – “Top Gun” --- Judges:
14th - 89.450 15.) 88.0 Castle – “Menlo Park” --- Judges:
17th - 88.150 16.) 87.5 Round Rock – “The Shadow of Apollo” --- Judges:
15th - 89.250 17.) 87.0 Homestead – “This is Sparta” --- Judges:
23rd - 86.250 18.) 86.0 Mustang – “Shark World” --- Judges:
18th - 87.750 19.) 85.0 Lakota East – “Zodiac” --- Judges: 36th - 81.700
20.) 84.8 Centerville – “Be Heard” --- Judges:
20th - 86.800 21.) 84.5 O’Fallon Township – “Rewriting Reality” --- Judges:
21st - 86.750 22.) 84.2 Rockford – “Savage Beauty” --- Judges:
29th - 84.000 23.) 84.0 Brownsburg – “Fly Away” --- Judges: 16th - 88.500
24.) 83.8 Marian Catholic – “The Purple Thread” --- Judges:
24th - 86.075 25.) 83.7 Jenison – “Spirit of the Canyon” --- Judges:
27th - 84.950 26.) 83.6 Franklin – “Lucy” --- Judges: 19th - 87.525
27.) 83.5 Center Grove – “Of the Amazon” --- Judges:
33rd - 83.250 28.) 83.0 Lawrence Township – “Dancing With Ghosts: A New Orleans Tale” --- Judges:
40th - 81.150 (81.45 (=38th) before penalty)
29.) 82.5 Rosemount – “Out of the Shadows” --- Judges:
26th - 85.250 30.) 82.0 Miamisburg – “Caravana” --- Judges:
31st - 83.500 31.) 81.2 Plymouth Canton Educational Park – “A Matter of Taste” --- Judges:
28th - 84.000 32.) 80.5 Bentonville – “Opus 48” --- Judges:
32nd - 83.400 33.) 79.5 Lake Hamilton – “The Artist’s Journey” --- Judges:
35th - 81.900 34.) 78.5 Morton – “Hallelujah” --- Judges: 39th - 81.300
35.) 77.5 Norwin – “Harvest” --- Judges: 22nd - 86.750
36.) 76.0 Nixa – “Kaleido: A Scope of Glass and Light” --- Judges:
46th - 77.750 37.) 75.5 Milford – “Return of Saturn” --- Judges: 34th - 82.825
38.) 75.0 Bourbon Co. – “Atonement” --- Judges: 45th - 79.350
39.) 74.5 Columbus – “Evil, Inc.” --- Judges:
42nd - 80.600 40.) 74.0 Beechwood – “The Three Realms” --- Judges:
54th - 76.225 41.) 73.5 Greendale – “The Little Monster Symphony” --- Judges: 51st - 77.175
42.) 73.0 Huron Valley – “The Beauty of Chaos” --- Judges: 65th - 68.500
43.) 72.5 Nordonia – “Night Lights” --- Judges: 56th - 75.400
44.) 72.3 DeSoto Central – “Mad Whirled” --- Judges: 37th - 81.650
45.) 72.0 Greenfield Central – “Ramped Up” --- Judges:
41st - 81.750 46.) 71.8 Cleveland – “R&J ’21” --- Judges: 25th - 85.400
47.) 71.6 Signal Mountain – “Crossing Signal” --- Judges:
48th - 77.500 48.) 71.4 Archbishop Alter – “Feels So Good” --- Judges:
49th - 77.400 49.) 71.2 Russell Independent – “Second Star to the Right” --- Judges: 57th - 75.250
50.) 71.0 Easley – “Evergreen” --- Judges: 43rd - 80.450
51.) 70.0 Central Hardin – “Change Me Now” --- Judges:
47th - 77.650 52.) 69.8 Davenport Central – “Snow” --- Judges:
61st - 69.900 53.) 67.5 Central Crossing – “Dreamspective” --- Judges: 58th - 75.200
54.) 67.3 Munster – “Looking In” --- Judges:
52nd - 77.050 55.) 67.0 Estill Co. – “Cages” --- Judges:
53rd - 76.375 56.) 66.7 Murray – “The Ecstasy of Gold” --- Judges: 30th - 83.700
57.) 66.5 Chattahoochee – “Welcome to the Jungle” --- Judges:
59th - 71.100 58.) 66.0 Springboro – “The Summit” --- Judges:
60th - 70.850 59.) 65.8 Anderson Co. – “The Endless Echo” --- Judges: 44th - 80.375
60.) 65.6 Hardin Valley Academy – “These Four Walls” --- Judges: 38th - 81.350
61.) 65.4 Pulaski Co. – “The Midas Touch” --- Judges:
64th - 68.800 62.) 65.0 Christian Co. – “Catching Shadows” --- Judges:
63rd - 69.300 63.) 64.5 Collinsville (OK) – “Let It Ring” --- Judges: 55th - 76.050
64.) 64.0 Pinecrest Academy of Nevada Cadence – “Icarus” --- Judges:
72nd - 65.650 65.) 63.8 Grayson Co. – “Constricted” --- Judges:
62nd - 69.850 (71.05 (=60th) before penalty)
66.) 63.6 St. Clairsville – “NOLA 21” --- Judges:
84th - 62.500 67.) 63.4 Logan Elm – “If I Only” --- Judges: 93rd - 57.900
68.) 63.2 Neosho – “Outlaw Wanted” --- Judges: 76th - 74.650
69.) 63.0 Norton – “Please Be Seated” --- Judges:
66th - 68.050 70.) 62.8 Collinsville (IL) – “Loop” --- Judges:
82nd - 63.850 71.) 62.5 Lake Central – “The Road Less Traveled” --- Judges: 50th - 77.200
72.) 62.4 Tippecanoe – “Kitty Hawk” --- Judges: 65th - 64.750
73.) 62.2 Monrovia – “Luminary” --- Judges:
85th - 62.200 74.) 62.0 Hollister – “Royal” --- Judges:
77th - 64.550 75.) 61.7 Hamilton – “Alexander” --- Judges:
74th - 64.950 76.) 61.3 Greenon – “The Slope’s Edge” --- Judges:
90th - 59.875 77.) 61.0 Piqua – “It Takes 2” --- Judges:
89th - 60.550 78.) 60.8 Owen Co. – “Phi” --- Judges:
81st - 63.850 79.) 60.7 Carroll – “Swipe off/Look up” --- Judges: 73rd - 65.150 (65.25 before penalty)
80.) 60.6 John Hardin – “Electric Jungle” --- Judges:
88th - 61.250 81.) 60.5 Indian Hill – “Phoenix Rising” --- Judges:
79th - 64.150 82.) 60.4 Christian Academy of Louisville – “Lamp Unto My Feet” --- Judges:
80th - 63.900 83.) 60.3 Meade Co. – “Under the Stars” --- Judges: 70th - 66.60
84.) 60.2 University – “Corazon Partido” --- Judges:
86th - 62.125 85.) 60.1 Boyle Co. – “We Are … Made” --- Judges: 67th - 67.600
86.) 60.0 Carlisle – “The Game” --- Judges:
92nd - 58.500 (59.10 (=91st) before penalty)
87.) 59.5 Northmont – “Line, Form, Color” --- Judges: 69th - 67.025 (67.325 (=68th) before penalty)
88.) 59.0 Walter E. Stebbins – “Warriors!” --- Judges:
87th - 61.400 89.) 58.5 Milton Union – “In the After” --- Judges: 71st - 65.850
90.) 58.0 East Clinton – “Too Close to the Sun” --- Judges:
94th - 57.750 91.) 57.7 Talawanda – “Strength and Honor” --- Judges:
91st - 59.100 92.) 57.5 Mt. Pleasant – “Twisted” --- Judges: 83rd - 62.925
93.) 57.0 Warren Local – “Rise” --- Judges:
97th - 54.700 94.) 56.5 Fairborn – “The Sons of Cronos: Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus” --- Judges: 78th - 64.550
95.) 56.0 Lebanon – “Alone Together” --- Judges: 68th - 67.300
96.) 55.5 Clinton-Massie – “Dia de los Muertos” --- Judges:
95th - 57.750 97.) 53.0 Danville – “Man Vs. Machine: The Story of John Henry” --- Judges:
96th - 56.400 98.) 51.0 Bishop Fenwick – “Rach of Ages” --- Judges:
98th - 54.400 99.) 41.0 Mark Twain – “Class Is in Session” --- Judges:
99th - 51.800We were largely in agreement for most of the top 25 and often in agreement near the bottom. Setting aside sheer differences of opinion, or places where either I or they just got it wrong, what stands out to me is that for most of the bands, I would have given lower scores. I had 38 bands above 75. The judges had 58 bands above 75. And I have to say that based on some of the performances that scored that high, half the bands in OMEA state finals deserve a 75 in OMEA. Which I don't believe for a moment.