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Post by statechamp1239 on Jan 11, 2023 10:50:43 GMT -6
Nebraska: (top 15) 1. Millard West 2. Papillion La-Vista South 3. Bellevue West 4. Millard North 5. Gretna 6. Bellevue East 7. Westide 8. Kearney 9. Millard South 10. Elkorn 11. Elkhorn South 12. Lincoln Northeast 13. Lincoln Southeast 14. Papillion La-Vista 15. Elkhorn North
Out: Waverly
Next 5: Hasting Sr., Fort Calhoun, Norris, Omaha Burke, and Grand Island Sr.
Alabama: (top 25) 1. Bob Jones (108 members) 2. Thompson (185 members) 3. Sparkman (122 members) 4. Hoover (178 members) 5. James Clemens (174 members) 6. Muscle Shoals 7. Auburn 8. Saraland 9. Buckhorn 10. Enterprise. 11. Oak Mountain 12. Daphne ----------------------------- 13. Baker 14. Fairhope 15. Jasper 16. Pelham 17. Smiths Station 18. Tuscaloosa County 19. Springville 20. Spain Park 21. Corner 22. Oak Grove 23. Spain Park 24. Hazel Green 25. Opelika First Out: Helena
Next 5: Vestavia Hills, Russellville, Cullman, Jacksonville, and Mortimer-Jordan
Nevada: 1. Foothill 2. Green Valley 3. Arbor View 4. Valley 5. Ed W. Clark 6. Silverado 7. Pinecrest Academy Cadence of Nevada 8. Desert Oasis 9. Sierra Vista 10. Damonte Ranch 11. Liberty 12. Carson 13. Coronado 14. Robert McQueen 15. Spanish Springs 16. Edwards C. Reeds 17. Del Sol Academy 18. Rancho 19. Centennial 20. Elko 20. Legacy 21. Shadow Ridge 22. Desert Pines 23. Boulder City 24. Basic Academy 25. Cimarron-Memorial 26. Spring Valley 27. Galena 28. Bishop Gorman 29. Douglas 30. North Valleys
First Out: Palo Verde
Next 5: Fernley, Spring Creek, Faith Luthran, Churchill County, Las Vegas
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Post by ohioguy2 on Jan 12, 2023 15:07:08 GMT -6
Nebraska: ( top 15) 1. Millard West 2. Papillion La-Vista South 3. Bellevue West 4. Millard North 5. Gretna6. Bellevue East7. Westide 8. Kearney 9. Millard South 10. Elkorn 11. Elkhorn South 12. Lincoln Northeast 13. Lincoln Southeast 14. Papillion La-Vista 15. Elkhorn North Out: Waverly Next 5: Hasting Sr., Fort Calhoun, Norris, Omaha Burke, and Grand Island Sr. Alabama: ( top 25) 1. Bob Jones ( 108 members) 2. Thompson ( 185 members) 3. Sparkman ( 122 members) 4. Hoover ( 178 members) 5. James Clemens ( 174 members) 6. Muscle Shoals7. Auburn 8. Saraland 9. Buckhorn 10. Enterprise. 11. Oak Mountain 12. Baker ----------------------------- 13. Fairhope 14. Jasper 15. Pelham 16. Smiths Station 17. Tuscaloosa County 18. Springville 19. Spain Park 20. Corner 21. Oak Grove 22. Hueyville 23. Spain Park 24. Hazel Green 25. Opelika First Out: Helena Next 5: Vestavia Hills, Russellville, Cullman, Jacksonville, and Mortimer-Jordan I’m curious, is there a rhyme or reason to the order of states you’re ranking?
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Post by statechamp1239 on Jan 14, 2023 9:57:58 GMT -6
I’m curious, is there a rhyme or reason to the order of states you’re ranking? The order is all random.
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Post by srv1084 on Jan 14, 2023 21:39:55 GMT -6
VermontThat's it. That's the whole list. Vermont does not have any active competitive marching bands. In fact, during my entire time in New England and all the research I've done over the years, I cannot find proof of another band that has produced a marching band field show. There has also never been a drum corps, winter guard, or winter percussion ensemble formed in Vermont. If anything, I would expect that maybe a school on the southern border would have had some MA/NH influence to produce a field show, but the only record I can find is of Mount Mansfield Union, which is in the northern part of the state and pretty close to the Canadian border. It looks like they perform at three football games each year, so no competitive/exhibition performances apart from that. There are hints of Mount Anthony Union having produced a field show for similar reasons in the past, but I can't seem to find proof of it. Dartmouth's current director also spent a number of years as a band director at Bellows Free Academy in Vermont while working as a freelance show designer, so I'm actually a bit surprised to not see them field a marching band, if even for exhibitions/football games. Other schools, like Brattleboro Union, have produced successful parade bands, but nothing beyond that. Brattleboro has performed in Macy's a few times. But that's pretty much it. If we're hoping to see all 50 states one day represented in BOA competitions, Vermont will likely be the most difficult state to make that a reality. There's just no history to build from, and seemingly no desire to produce a band in the state.
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Post by srv1084 on Jan 14, 2023 22:44:35 GMT -6
Continuing on our trip through New England and my ramblings on history, up next is the state I’m most familiar with: Massachusetts. By my count, there were approximately 50 performing bands in Massachusetts in 2022. This is only counting bands that either performed in competition or in exhibition at marching band competitions. There are a few others who are football halftime bands only. The majority of Massachusetts bands come from the eastern half of the state. Very few bands from west of Worcester (what many consider the “middle” of the state) compete, and only one band from Cape Cod competes regularly (three until recently). Dating back to the 90s when I first became involved, there have always been approximately 50-60 active bands in the state. There are several that have launched programs in the 2000s, and 15-20 which I know have dissolved their program. A lot of people don’t know this about Massachusetts, but many bands in the area were challenging the status quo of the activity in the 80s in the pre-electronics era. We simply never had any national exposure to show the rest of the country what was happening in our little bubble. Don’t get me wrong, there were never any bands that would be challenging for a BOA title (not even close), but certainly a few that I could see challenging for GN finals in the 80s. The drum corps and color guard scene runs very deep in Massachusetts. Lots of designers and judges in the activity got their start in MA groups in the 60s-80s. The Eastern Massachusetts Circuit (EMASS) produced several community bands, drum corps, and winter guards in the 60s-80s, often at the forefront of the marching arts (27th Lancers, Boston Crusaders, North Star, East Coast Jazz, Blessed Sacrament, Emerald Marquis, Sacred Heart, St. Ann’s, Avilaros, St. John’s of Beverly, St. Brendan’s, Quasar, and many others). Many of these performers became designers, and several schools in the area benefited from that. Those high schools served as experiment grounds for their creative endeavors to then take into the drum corps and winter guard world. Several schools in the 80s were producing new and interesting visual designs that were ahead of their time, with many of those drum corps connections working on their craft with local high schools. Drum Corps Museum lists 229 historical drum corps from the state of Massachusetts. With 2141 total US drum corps listed on the website, Massachusetts accounts for nearly 11% of all historical drum corps. The Cadets, Boston Crusaders, and Crossmen had a consistent channel of membership coming from Massachusetts at least until the early 2000s, and then Carolina Crown for a portion of the 2000s and 2010s, as well. A quick peak through the Massachusetts Judge’s Association website will give you a great idea of the number of folks you commonly see on DCI and WGI recaps that hail from Massachusetts. Over the years, funding for programs and local interest started waning. The most talented members and younger designers/educators started moving out of the area and into other areas of the country with more funding, stability, and consistency. Sadly, Massachusetts programs never evolved alongside the rest of the country as we moved into the 90s and beyond, and programs eventually started falling behind or dissolving entirely. Eventually, EMASS disbanded and only a few local folks who came up through the ranks remain in MA to continue maintaining and building a few select programs. New Bedford, Norwood, Billerica Memorial, and several others produced shows that felt very progressive during this time. These three bands were all at one time either in the top 5 in the state or very much on the cusp. New Bedford and Norwood in particular have won state championships in the past. There is a video of New Bedford 1986 online which I feel shows some of the risks/new drill concepts bands were exploring in the 80s in New England. The opening drill set was a bit of a surprise given we were just getting past the era of symmetric drill design. What felt unique about the state’s performing arts is that they NEVER produced large bands. The average “successful” band in Massachusetts would usually field somewhere between 80-120 members. Today, anything over 80 members is an extreme rarity, with the average being somewhere in the 45-65 range. There are two main circuits competing for attention in Massachusetts: New England Scholastic Band Association (NESBA) and US Bands. There are also state events for the Massachusetts Instrumental & Choral Conductors Association (MICCA), but nobody views this as the state championship/circuit as the majority of bands in the state elect to not perform in MICCA and view NESBA as the state championship event. In the past, a few bands have also competed in the now-defunct Eastern Marching Band Association in Connecticut. NESBA is still the most well-attended circuit for Massachusetts bands. Of the 30 competing MA bands in NESBA finals this year, only five competed in US Bands finals events. Conversely, there are four Massachusetts bands that compete exclusively in US Bands rather than NESBA: King Philip, Dennis-Yarmouth, Stoughton, and Bridgewater-Raynham, along with two others only in exhibition at US Bands events. In the late 90s, King Philip stopped competing in NESBA and they have not returned since. From what I have heard, they were the first band to compete outside the Massachusetts bubble, electing to do so as they felt like they “graduated” from the NESBA band scene and needed more regional/national exposure with more competition (note: I debate this as fact, as there is record of Westport Academy HS, a now defunct program, having regularly competed in USSBA in the early/mid 1990s). After a few years of winning in US Bands, they then tested the waters in BOA for a few years, becoming the first MA band to both compete in BOA and also win a regional title, winning over Norwin in their second BOA appearance in 2000. Blackstone-Millville did the same in the late 90s and only recently returned back to NESBA in addition to US Bands. They were the second MA band to compete in a BOA regional, but missed out on finals. Wakefield and Dartmouth are the third and fourth MA bands to compete in a BOA regional, and only the second and third to make finals at an event. At MICCA Championships this year, there were 21 performing bands, of which 12 perform only in MICCA festivals, including the state’s formerly largest band, Acton-Boxborough Regional HS. MICCA used to be a bigger deal and had all the top bands in the state, but a lack of evolution in the MICCA scene drove many bands away. MICCA offers only festival ratings by caption and overall band on a five-star ratings system. To put it bluntly, there are many in the area who currently view MICCA as a bit of a joke, but play the game given their connections on the concert and choral side of the activity. Only two of my top 20 bands were MICCA-only bands, and they are ranked 18th and 19th. Until recently, Norwood competed regularly in NESBA, so Acton-Boxborough is the only true MICCA-only band on this list. They have never competed outside MICCA to my knowledge. Quincy Combined Schools (Quincy HS and North Quincy HS) is in a densely populated suburb right on the southern border of Boston. They only recently launched their program prior to the pandemic, and they are already at roughly 135 members and the largest band currently in the state. I would have never imagined a city like Quincy fielding a band program, but here we are… I’m keeping an eye on them over the coming years and curious to see how seriously and how far they take this program. No Boston public school has ever fielded a marching band. However, Roland Hayes School of Music competed in WGI concert class for a few years in the early 2000s. Roland Hayes School of Music is the music department of a few schools in the Boston Public School System, including Madison Park Vocational High School and the John D. O'Bryant School of Math and Science. More on that later. Of the bands in my top 5, Oliver Ames is the most unknown outside of the state. They were a great small band in the 90s/early 2000s, then kind of disappeared for a while. A couple of years ago they seem to have made a comeback, now fielding roughly 70 members and competing in NESBA more regularly, often with Jazz shows. They perform very simple “easy to execute” shows often bordering on show band territory compared to others in their division who try to be a bit more modern and flashy. Their execution is what has helped them secure some wins over others (see: BMR) in recent years. I personally would have King Philip and BMR ahead of Oliver Ames in 3rd and 4th, but the spread at NESBA finals is tough to ignore. Looking back to 2019, they performed in finals that year with no uniforms (just something that looked like a bowling shirt and jeans), so without more information, I’m assuming a lot of their absence until recently may have had to do with funding issues. New Bedford was one of the top 5 bands in the state for several decades, often taking the top spot even into the 90s. Norwood was also consistently in the top 5 through the 90s and early 2000s, but have since faded as a program, fielding on 35 members and taking a step back from NESBA events this season. Shepherd Hill was also a known drum corps feeder school in the area in the Western part of MA, but has had a rough time after the pandemic. Billerica Memorial used to be one of the best bands in the state, even with just about 20-25 members in recent years. Sadly, I see no record of them fielding a marching band in 2022, so their declining membership numbers must have finally become a barrier towards fielding a band. Last year they had 20 total members: 10 musicians and 10 guard, and five of those musicians graduated. As it is, their winter guard, which has found recent success as Scholastic A finalists, fielded only members in 7th-11th grade last year, with several coming from other high schools in their district to perform as a “combined school” ensemble. A sad reality for a band that was once one of the best in the state. From roughly 1992-2006, there was little doubt that King Philip was the best band in the state. Since then, it has been Dartmouth with BMR popping up once or twice in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Dartmouth has been in the top 3 in the state since at least 1997, possibly a couple of years earlier, but have very much been towards the top since at least the 70s/early 80s. Lastly, the impact local units have had on WGI history has been tremendous, but interest has also faded over the years. There are very few units from the state that still compete nationally. Only four have ever made percussion world class finals (King Philip and Dartmouth HS in PSW, and King Philip, Roland Hayes, and Mansfield in PSCW). KPR and Dartmouth HS account for 6 of the 28 PSW championships in WGI’s history. Dartmouth has left with a medal in 18 of their 22 appearances (five of those 22 appearances were championships), having placed no lower than 5th on one occasion (an impressive track record for a school historically around ~1000 enrollment). On the guard side, Blessed Sacrament just celebrated 40 consecutive years in IW guard finals. There have also been several other world class winter guards (and countless others) appearing in WGI finals over the years, with a few others winning world class championships. The first ever WGI World Champion, Quasar, was from Massachusetts. Interestingly enough, there has never been a Scholastic World guard fielded in Massachusetts.
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Post by jelloclover on Jan 18, 2023 12:57:34 GMT -6
Continuing on our trip through New England and my ramblings on history, up next is the state I’m most familiar with: Massachusetts.
As an Oakmont graduate in 2022, I can tell you some things about the history of the Oakmont-Overlook Marching Spartans. As the competitive marching band activity in New England began to grow in the 1980s, so did Oakmont's band. We began competing in MICCA around the early to mid 80s. By the early 1990's, our band fielded over 120 members and we were becoming one of the better bands in Massachusetts. Back then, Oakmont's 7-12 enrollment was 1,000+. When Overlook Middle School opened in 1996, the band director retired and the assistant director went up to teach at Overlook where he would teach until 2012. When Overlook opened, that's when membership started to decline. The director they hired in '96 was an Oakmont graduate in 1988. He was the director from 1996-2000. He has taught at Westminster Elementary School since 2002. Oakmont hired their current director, Kris DeMoura, in 2000. DeMoura was a graduate of Reading Memorial High School. Oakmont fielded 82 members in 2000, which still stands as our largest band under DeMoura. When he was hired, we would begin to cement ourselves as one of the top marching bands in the state. Under DeMoura, we competed in MICCA and USSBA until 2012. From 2000 to 2012, we earned 5 stars overall and a gold medal at every MICCA Finals except for 2004. We were USSBA New England Group 3A champions in 2006 and New England Group 3 Open champions in 2010. We began competing in NESBA in 2011. We quit MICCA after 2012 because we felt like the "star" system was not competitive and competitions were only held in October. We quit USSBA after 2012 for unknown reasons. In NESBA, the successes of the band continued. In 2014, we were Division 3 champions, achieving a score of 96.0 and receiving awards for best music and best percussion. Since our first NESBA Finals in 2012, we have never placed lower than 3rd in our division at finals. Our membership did drop during the pandemic as many other marching bands did too. During the pandemic, we were worrying about the future of Oakmont's band and the music program in the district as a whole. At Overlook, they stripped the concert and select choirs and made concert band an extracirricular activity like jazz band. The band and choir at Briggs Elementary in Ashburnham had no more than 20 kids. We have begun the process of rebuilding the band and choirs at Briggs and Overlook. In 2021, the Marching Spartans had 57 members, which was DeMoura's smallest band, but thanks to a great recruiting system (fundraising, school tours), we rebounded to 73 members in 2022. Our guard had an undefeated fall season in 2021 followed by an undefeated fall for the percussion in 2022, who had the second highest percussion score out of every band at NESBA Finals, only behind Dartmouth's perfect score. Among the 73 in this year's Marching Spartans, 30 are first-year members and 22 are seniors! Almost half of the seniors are in guard and 4 out of the 8 in the battery are seniors! The Oakmont-Overlook Marching Spartans are in a good position right now, and we will continue to have success in the future!
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Post by mtnxdrew on Jan 18, 2023 19:42:42 GMT -6
Early 2023 Michigan Rankings
1. Jenison 2. Rockford 3. Walled Lake 4. Lake Orion 5. Plymouth-Canton 6. Reeths-Puffer 7. Novi 8. DeWitt 9. Grandville 10. Byron Center
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Post by yayband914 on Jan 18, 2023 19:54:42 GMT -6
Early 2023 Michigan Rankings 1. Jenison 2. Rockford 3. Walled Lake 4. Lake Orion 5. Plymouth-Canton 6. Novi 7. DeWitt 8. Grandville 9. Byron Center 10. Grand Blanc No Puff?
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Post by mtnxdrew on Jan 18, 2023 20:02:54 GMT -6
Early 2023 Michigan Rankings 1. Jenison 2. Rockford 3. Walled Lake 4. Lake Orion 5. Plymouth-Canton 6. Novi 7. DeWitt 8. Grandville 9. Byron Center 10. Grand Blanc No Puff? Can’t believe I missed them. Updated
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Post by jakeymam12 on Jun 13, 2023 22:38:39 GMT -6
Was Utah ever put on this list? I was looking through it and never found it. My top ten are American Fork Davis Westlake Farmington Green Canyon Skyridge Cedar Valley Lehi Brighton Maple Mountain First out: Lone Peak
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came
Senior Member
Posts: 51
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Post by came on Jul 11, 2023 9:53:05 GMT -6
Early 2023 Michigan Rankings 1. Jenison 2. Rockford 3. Walled Lake 4. Lake Orion 5. Plymouth-Canton 6. Reeths-Puffer 7. Novi 8. DeWitt 9. Grandville 10. Byron Center DeWitt at 8
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Post by srv1084 on Sept 11, 2023 19:56:38 GMT -6
After a bit of an absence from the forums, I’m looking back through some threads and realizing I never finished my rankings trip through New England. Previous posts on Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts can be found within the thread, but now I'll try to wrap things up with Rhode Island and Connecticut. Given I started this after the 2022 season, these rankings are as of last year. It is important to note Portsmouth is not listed on any competition schedules this year. Only Westerly (multiple US Bands shows) and Cranston East (2-3 NESBA shows) are entering competition this year. Being the smallest state (by area) in the US, it should come as no surprise that the marching band scene in Rhode Island has never been particularly large. For as long as I can remember, I don’t recall there ever being bands numbering in the double digits in Rhode Island. Currently, there are only two marching bands in the state that actively compete or perform in exhibition at competitions: Cranston East and Westerly. A third band, Portsmouth, occasionally shows up at competitions, including multiple US Bands shows last year. Cranston East took a few years off from competition and performed only in exhibition, while Westerly used to only perform in exhibition and now competes in Group III-A in US Bands. Cranston East was Rhode Island’s best band for multiple decades, and it wasn’t even close. There was a period of time in the late 90s/early 2000s when they were competing in Group V-Open in USSBA with just over 100 members, and folks in the area agreed that they were a major up-and-comer in New England. Beginning in the mid-2000s, they started losing membership. Up until roughly 2015-2017, they were still the top band in Rhode Island, but they had shrunk down to Group II-Open size by then (30-50 members). Since then, they have shrunk even further in size, first down to Group I-A and then electing to perform only in exhibition with membership numbering in the 20s. As mentioned, Westerly only recently started competing regularly in US Bands. Prior to that they would only show up to competitions occasionally. They are the Southwestern most town in the state, on the CT border. For as long as I can remember, approximately half the band’s size is drill team/flag line (more on that in the tidbits section below). For instance, in a video from 2014 there was approximately 70 total members, 40 of which were flag line and drill team. Below is a list of all other known Rhode Island bands, whether competition bands or football only. While this list may be incomplete, these are the only other Rhode Island bands I’ve ever known, bringing the list of bands to an even 10. Four of these bands previously competing in either NESBA or USSBA, including Bishop Hendricken, Cranston West, East Providence, and Tiverton. All four of them stopped competing or performing in exhibition in the 2011-2013 time frame. Bishop Hendricken is an all-male catholic school. I believe members of the color guard and cheer team are from St. Mary Academy – Bay View, in East Providence. Given the two cities' separation across the Providence River, it's actually a bit of distance to have to travel between the two schools. They used to do well in NESBA, both in marching band and indoor percussion, but numbers eventually faded. Cranston West has transitioned into only a football school over the past decade. They march a traditional drill team and flag line, no front ensemble, and the band marches with sheet music now. East Providence is the one band that I’ve always wished I could find more information. Apparently, they were a fairly successful band in New England in the 1980s. They used to host competitions that many bands from MA would attend during the 1980s. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to any information from that time. Other tidbits:
Drum Corps Museum has a record of 27 Rhode island drum corps, but it looks like only three have competed in the DCI era. Funnily enough, none of them actually competed in DCI. Two were DCA all-age corps and one competed in the World Open. Drum Corps and indoor percussion/guard were never very popular beyond drum corps’ roots in the mid-1900s as community groups. Today, there is one active indoor percussion ensemble in Rhode Island. Cranston East and Cranston West combined to form the Cranston Combined percussion ensemble, competing in PSA. I believe there is a winter guard from Rhode Island, but I’m fairly certain it is a middle school group. There has never been a winter percussion ensemble finalist from the state of Rhode Island, but there have been a few WGI guard finalists from Rhode Island in the early 1980s, including Woonsocket High School, which won the Independent A class gold medal in 1983. The winter guard activity has not seen any Rhode Island participants at finals since at least the early 1990s, nor do I recall any other winter ensembles since that time, apart from those I mentioned. Looking at schedules for this year, it appears Cranston East is listed as a NESBA division III band, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-60 members. This is promising for a group that dipped down to membership in the 20s as of just last year. Unfortunately, it looks like they are currently the only band registered for their event… Lastly, I mentioned flag lines and drill teams above. For those who are familiar with Family Guy, there are some pretty crude references to Meg being a Flag Girl in one of the early seasons. Seth MacFarlane used his Rhode Island upbringing to create an episode on the concept. While Rhode Island doesn’t have many marching bands, the Flag Girl concept is prevalent for the football bands. It is common for football bands to have a “Flag Line” and a “Drill Team” with members wearing old cadet-style uniforms with white boots. The flag line performs very rudimentary flag work, the most complex of which is drop spins. There are never tosses. Cranston West has a combined flag and dance team of roughly 50 members when compared to their full band membership of ~120 members, and Westerly has over half their band in the flag line/drill team.
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Post by srv1084 on Sept 16, 2023 6:07:11 GMT -6
And for the final installment of the New England rankings, here are all the details I have for Connecticut. Let's get 2023 started! Since CT isn't that active of a state, I'm listing all known bands below along with my rankings: Quick Facts:
- I have records showing 55 total high school bands hailing form Connecticut dating back to at least the 1990s. Today, approximately 40 of those bands remain active in the state. Of the 14 I know of who are no longer active, two of them are former BOA participants (Jonathan Law and Waterford, the latter of which has attended GNs on one occasion). 12 of the 14 bands who I know are no longer active were active as recently as the late 2010s - it appears they didn't recover from COVID. Apart from those, the full roster of CT bands has been fairly consistent for decades.
- All bands listed compete in US Bands. There is a lot of history with marching band circuits in the state of Connecticut dating from the 1980s through the 2015 competition seasons, but now US Bands offers the only real competition open for Connecticut bands. More on circuit history later.
- I have no record of any CT band having over 100 members during the 2021-2022 competition seasons. I believe this is the first time that has happened since at least the 1970s. Of the ~40 bands I have on the list above, I have records of at least 15 being above 100 members at some point in the 2000s.
- East Lyme and Norwalk used to be the largest bands in the state, both numbering around 200 during the 80s and 90s.
- For nearly two decades, Norwalk was really in a class of their own in state competition. Trumbull challenged on occasion but never came all that close to touching them.
- Up until the mid-2000s, Trumbull was essentially in Norwalk's shadow dating back to the mid-1980s. Eventually, they overshadowed Norwalk and achieved a level of success in the 2010s close to or above what Norwalk had seen in the late 90s/early 2000s. They are the first Connecticut band to compete at Grand National in the early 1980s (thank you to others for pointing this out), and also started competing in regionals in 1997, one year prior to Norwalk.
- Per my records, there are 14 Connecticut bands that have competed in BOA. This is by far the most state representation from New England. Trumbull holds the only BOA regional title won by a Connecticut band in 2016.
Drum Corps & WGI:
- While not quite to the degree of their New England neighbors in Massachusetts, Connecticut has had a large amount of drum corps. Drum Corps Museum lists 421 historical drum corps, which represents approximately 3% of all historical drum corps listed on the site. It is important to note that a very large portion of these drum corps were not junior drum corps and it included many VFW, church, and troop supported units that acted more like community bands.
- Today, two drum corps remain in CT: 7th Regiment (DCI Open Class) and the Hurricanes (DCA Open Class)
- The Winter Guard activity has been present in CT since the 1970s, though not as popular as it has been in other states. There have never been more than a handful of CT ensembles at championships in any given year. The Skylarks were a very successful Independent World Class winterguard, winning the WGI championship in 1984 after a few silver medals. They essentially disappeared after that season, however. In addition to the Skylarks, Alter Ego was another successful Independent World guard from CT (though I believe they recently folded). There have been a few other independent guards over the years, including the currently active Sacred Heart University guard. Additionally, there have been a couple of independent percussion ensembles, including a one-and-done group in 2000 named IceStorm - the others have been lesser known ensembles or high schools that have gone independent.
- Trumbull has by far been the most successful indoor program from CT, both their guard and percussion ensemble. Trumbull's winter guard began their ascent in 2004 making Open Class finals for the first time after missing for many years prior. They won the Open Class bronze medal in 2006 and then spent all but two seasons in World Class finals from 2007-2019, earning a silver medal in 2018. They have since lost their directors and have been in decline along with the rest of the band program, though they are both rebuilding. The Trumbull percussion ensemble was also in Open Class finals for a record 14 straight years from 2006-2019 (note: while an impressive record, folks always wondered why they never challenged themselves with the move to World Class, especially after earning two silver medals in the class).
- Norwalk has also had plenty of success in WGI, making A and Open Class finals in guard from 1994-2000, as well as Open Class percussion finals for nine seasons starting in 2011, earning two silver medals and two bronze medals.
- As of this past winter, there were approximately 14 winter percussion ensembles and 25 winter guards from the state of Connecticut. Bethel High School, a 2021 Open Class finalist, has a strong feeder program and has been progressing nicely. No other groups are currently on a nationally competitive level.
Circuit History:
- EMBA (the Eastern Marching Band Association) used to be the main competition circuit in Connecticut starting in the 1981 season. They used to market themselves as "Connecticut State Championships," but after several bands from New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts began competing and winning, they eventually ended up naming state champions from each state in addition to overall champions, in an effort to recognize the "state champion" even if they were leaving without a win.
- In the 20 year history of EMBA, Norwalk won 14 times, including a 12 year consecutive win streak dating from 1989 to 2000, EMBA's final year under its old structure.
- Norwalk was winning so consistently in EMBA that they began venturing outside of Connecticut for competition in the mid-90s, first with a brief dip into NYSFBC given how strong the NY band scene was in the 80s and 90s and their proximity, and then with BOA participation. They started testing the waters with eastern NY in-season competitions in 1994 against Arlington and Liverpool and winning both competitions, and then began attending championships in 1995.
- Their first year at championships in 1995 they were quite humbled, finishing in 6th place. The next year they finished 2nd behind West Genny, following it up by tying them for the championship in 1997 (beating Webster, who later made GN finals). This was a shock as West Genessee had their own state championship streak dating back to the same year Norwalk began their state championship run in Connecticut (1989). In 1998, Norwalk went back to NYSFBC again and finished in a tie for 3rd place. While this is hearsay, the message boards at the time had a number of Norwalk students mentioning they wouldn't be back in 1999 as they felt they were being unfairly treated in the circuit as an outsider based on the 1998 results and "only" receiving a tie in 1997. In 1998, they began competing in BOA as their alternate circuit, following the lead of Trumbull who found success at the regional in 1997. They made finals in their first appearance and continued to make regional finals for several years following, including GN semifinals appearances on multiple occasions. Their highest GN finish was 23rd in 2000 and their highest regional finish was 2nd in 2003 (after a massive come from behind victory by Westminster). They stopped competing in BOA after 2003.
- Beginning in the mid-90s, bands started following Norwalk's lead and exploring more in other circuits, namely USSBA. It is clear some bands were not happy with the management and politics of EMBA and they began separating from the circuit, much to the circuit chief's dismay and VERY public criticism. Many bands moved over to USSBA exclusively, with the biggest names being Cheshire, Southington, and Norwich Free Academy. A few others dipped their toes into NYSFBC competitions following Norwalk's lead. Newtown was the one notable band, attending NYSFBC finals from 2001-2003 but finishing in last place each year and ultimately moving back to competing within CT in the newly formed circuit.
- Beginning with the 2001 season, certain member schools of EMBA elected to leave and start their own circuit, the Musical Arts Conference (MAC). There were several reasons for this, which I will describe further below.
- Norwalk was the first official MAC champion in Division 5, winning in the inaugural season of 2001 and then in 2002. Arlington High School from New York won in 2003 and 2004, then a combination of Trumbull and Norwalk would win all the remaining Division 5 championships until the circuit stopped offering outdoor competitions in 2015.
- Trumbull is the first official MAC champion in Division 4 during the 2001 season. They moved to Division 5 within a few seasons.
- MAC no longer exists as a marching band circuit. They now only sponsor winter events. Connecticut has no official marching band circuit as of the 2016 season.
The EMBA/MAC Drama:
- EMBA went through one of the ugliest public downfalls I've ever seen in the marching band world. A few key EMBA folks and directors went public with their desire to create another circuit without dictatorial leadership and more qualified judging. There was a lot of dialogue surrounding the former EMBA chief essentially running the show to the point where he would manipulate and strong-arm judges, among many other claims, including how he was simply power-hungry and treated the circuit like his playground without any input from others. He required everyone to call him "The Chief" and his online username was JoeTheChief. He would insist on giving speeches at every championship event, and I remember them vividly. He was very rough around the edges and an "I say it like I see it" type, which is just code for "speaking without thought or consideration." This point is easily observed through his still public message board postings from this era, including various personal attacks.
- It was around the time of the split that the EMBA director became startlingly unhinged. His outbursts and unprofessionalism (a polite way of describing it) is well documented on the old Google message boards. There were allegations of him e-mailing not only former EMBA directors who defected, but also him messaging students and parents posting on message boards about MAC, often in aggressive and threatening ways. I don't think Doxing was a term back then, but that's the type of material it bordered on. The MAC launch was spearheaded by a former Trumbull educator, who was the primary target for the EMBA director's vitriol, including frequent public heckling and criticism of the new MAC circuit.
- Another EMBA employee and long-time partner of the EMBA director was a defendant and apologist of his for years following the MAC split until the 2006 season. He often tried to be the more professional voice of reason on the message boards, but apparently had enough in 2006 when he posted the message below. EMBA (under its new, much smaller structure, with very few bands participating) officially folded after this message. This is still online under a public post, so I don't think there's any harm in posting it. Nevertheless, I will redact the names. This was essentially the nail in the coffin for EMBA and transformed the landscape for the activity in Connecticut for the years to come.
"[REDACTED] Mar 21, 2006, 7:11:10 AM
I would to announce that I, [REDACTED] has resigned from my position of Winter Coordinator of MAA/EMBA due to differences between MAA/EMBA CEO [REDACTED] and myself as to which direction that organization should go in the future. Mr [REDACTED]'s Vision and mine were on opposite sides of the spectrum which would have made a smooth working relationship impossible. Mr [REDACTED] has received my resignation letter with the reasons listed.
I, along with the remaining units that were former members of the All American Association have decided that it would be best that we sever all ties with All American and Mr [REDACTED] and form an Independent Organization based in New Jersey without Mr [REDACTED] to avoid any conflicts in the future.
I wish Mr [REDACTED] well and the best for the future."
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