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Post by crpitdad on Oct 5, 2022 11:08:50 GMT -6
Cedar Ridge High School Round Rock TX We are one of the smallest AAAA bands ... About 160 kids on the field including color guard which sounds big to me but compared to Vandegrift and CTJ it's a very small band. We have 18 volunteers on the pit crew and we spent over 100 hours making our props, and personally I think it's a great show but it's really hard on us pit parents 9 scaffolds with wheels that the Gargoyles are mounted to (and they are constantly breaking), 8 ladders that hold up moons (also constantly breaking), 3 towers we bought from CTJ, and a number of tarps. The directors of this band love each other and the kids love them, they work great together and the kids work incredibly hard to get better all the time. I moved here from California because my daughter wants to be a band director, I had NO idea this stuff was as big or as serious as it is. -S
We all have a lot of respect for the parent volunteers who donate so much of their time to managing all of the props. Yes, marching band is a very big deal in Texas and it is a great state to get a comprehensive music education. Back in my day a 160-member band was a pretty big band. I guess not so much these days, especially in Texas. Like most on these forums, I really got hooked on Cedar Ridge during their breakout season in 2013. Love what I have been seeing from this band in more recent years. I think Cedar Ridge is on their 5th director since 2013. I think the current one is going to last longer. He moved here from New Jersey to be a band director. I had hoped we'd go to Indy this year but we had a vote and too many people can't swing the fee.
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Post by peshbandkid on Oct 6, 2022 21:52:04 GMT -6
I currently live in Austin, TX (Hook em') and was a member of the Plano East Senior High School band from 2018-2022 (which is unique because Plano ISD senior highs used to carry only 11-12th grade until the addition of the IB program)
Plano East was opened in 1981 and had a band from the start. Was very small initially, but didn't take much for us to become one of the most consistent in our area. Since 1982, we have recieve sweepstakes at the UIL Region marching contest and have had the opportunity to advanced to Area every year (we did not in 2020 because of COVID.) The first major year of recognition was 1998, which was our first ever state appearance. We'd go back in 2000 and in 2002. We became a consistent Area finalist, but always fell 1 to 2 places shy of a state appearance. In 2006, long time director Mr. Thomas would step down and assisstant Mr. Vwould take over his duties.
2010 was a major turning point for our school as this would be our very first time competing in a BOA contest. We would place 14th at BOA San Antonio in our first ever try and miss state due to weather cancellation and our show getting ruined. In 2011, we would miss San Antonio finals by only 0.15 points, but it was clear that we were a very competitve band. 2012 is still referred to as the best year in school history. We would return to state after a 10 year hiatus (finished 19th) and get back into San Antonio finals (finished 12th.) Since 2012, we have been on a downward spiral, but the last few years show some semblance of fighting back. Mr V. retired in April 2020 after 40 years of teaching in Duncanville, Plano, Austin, and San Angelo and long time technitian and assisstant Mr. Brennen would take over. The memories I made in band cannot be matched! Although we weren't as successful as I hoped to be, the fun and friends I made really show what being in high school band is all about!
2021- Shimmer (9th in Area C Finals) 2020- Gameday (COVID Year) 2019- 1000 Cranes (Carrollton TOC Champions; 44th BOA San Antonio) 2018- Polar Opposites (2nd in Carrollton TOC, 12th Area B, 47th BOA San Antonio)
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Post by oldarmybandguy on Oct 19, 2022 12:37:38 GMT -6
I want to start off this story with the admission that my high school band's success was extremely short lived, from 1991-1999 they were competitive in Southern California, which is, interestingly the opening of the school. I have some great stories to tell, but since this is a BOA centric board, I will focus on our initial BOA experience. The 1993 regional was the first held in California since 1988. My band was in its 3rd year of field competition, but we had felt we were on the rise and the BOA judges would allow us the opportunity to compete against bands that we may otherwise lose out to, due to our newcomer status. What made this experience extremely interesting is that we were the very first competing band of that show, a step-off time of 8:30 in the morning. Given the driving distance to the venue and the need to get all the equipment ready, we had a show up time of 4:30 am. After performing 1st and putting on a good show despite the early hour, we then sat in the stands through 29 other bands...with the opportunity to see how we stacked up against them. There were only 10 finalists, so we did the cold calculation of guessing our relative competitiveness with all the bands that we saw. Eventually, the finalists were announced...in alphabetic order!! This may seem like not much of an issue, but my high school was Valley View high school. We were the last finalist announced, so we were under the impression that we didn't make it. (we actually placed 8th in prelims). Now that we had the good news, it was time to deal with the fact that we had another show to perform, something we had done only 1 time previously. By the time we did step off for the evening show, which I believe was around 7:45 pm, it was nearly 12 hours after our prelim show with a day that had started at 4:30 in the morning. Our finals performance was pretty bad, to be honest, and we ended up dropping nearly 7 points from our prelim performance, finishing 10th, yet retaining quite the experience. It was the first of a run of BOA success for the band, we ended up 8th the following year which was my senior year (I marched the first 4 years of the program). The school ended up with back to back 2nd place finishes later in the decade, but, again, by 2000, they were no longer regionally competitive. It was a great experience and the kind of thing that I always look back on as something that changed my life. The oldarmybandguy was in the Army Band because of high school band.
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Post by oldarmybandguy on Oct 19, 2022 19:39:20 GMT -6
I grew up in Washington State and marched 2002-2005 with the Evergreen High School Marching Band. It was among the best bands in the area for about a decade. Not a lot of BOA groups in the northwest, although back in the 80s and early 90s, it was more common to see groups compete. I marched Oregon Crusaders ‘06, Cascades ‘07, and Blue Devils from ‘08-‘10. I also taught the Troopers and Cascades for 5 years after aging out. I moved to Ohio in 2014 and have taught 8 groups in the state, and have written for a few others. Most notably, I was at Lakota East when they made semi finals in 2018. Loved Lakota East in 2018! Where at in Cincinnati are you? I have twins in junior high, getting ready for high school band in Fairfield. They’re a ways from being competitive but they should have a fun band experience.
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Post by hewhowaits on Oct 20, 2022 5:59:22 GMT -6
Loved Lakota East in 2018! Where at in Cincinnati are you? I have twins in junior high, getting ready for high school band in Fairfield. They’re a ways from being competitive but they should have a fun band experience. marimba11 isn't in the Cincinnati area. Remember - folks from all around the country have access to performances of these bands, not just those who are local. Fairfield has a great music program (concert bands are excellent) so your kids will have a wonderful experience.
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Post by Allohak on Oct 20, 2022 6:17:57 GMT -6
Where at in Cincinnati are you? I have twins in junior high, getting ready for high school band in Fairfield. They’re a ways from being competitive but they should have a fun band experience. marimba11 isn't in the Cincinnati area. Remember - folks from all around the country have access to performances of these bands, not just those who are local. Fairfield has a great music program (concert bands are excellent) so your kids will have a wonderful experience. oldarmybandguy was asking thestraightestlegs , just quoted the followup instead of the original post
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Post by thestraightestlegs on Oct 21, 2022 6:08:21 GMT -6
Loved Lakota East in 2018! Where at in Cincinnati are you? I have twins in junior high, getting ready for high school band in Fairfield. They’re a ways from being competitive but they should have a fun band experience. That’s awesome! I live in Over the Rhine right now, but we’re moving to Avondale next month. And I agree that your kids should have an excellent experience doing band at Fairfield!
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Post by banddad101 on Oct 24, 2022 18:54:42 GMT -6
1. Texas, DFW area
2. Hebron high school band parent from 2013-2022. Supported 3 sons who all did marching band all 4 years (Trombone ‘13-‘17; Trumpet ‘16-‘20; Percussion ‘18-‘22)
3. None did drum corps (as of yet). The last one is wanting to try it at some point, but he’s a freshman in college and still has time.
At this point I want to mention that I’m personally a graduate of a marching band (Thomas Jefferson in Dallas 1983-1987 - yes the same TJ that was destroyed by a tornado several years ago and is currently under construction). My wife is also a marching band kid (Newman Smith HS in Carrollton/Farmers Branch 1984-1988) . That being said, Neither one of us had any experience with BOA until our kids’ time with Hebron. Although my wife’s band was heads and tails better than mine.
I want to just say that I admire the kids of today…all the hard work they put into each and every show! Each and every one of them deserves praise and respect! It’s not easy and I wish every marching band kid could experience what mine have.
Honestly we were lucky to be zoned for Hebron HS, and yes it takes a lot of financial investment, which we think has been worth every penny.
Good luck to every kid who puts in the hard work to succeed in this endeavor! Know that there is a (now former) Hebron band parent rooting you all on, no matter what school you attend. You are all winners in our book!
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Post by srv1084 on Oct 24, 2022 19:36:35 GMT -6
1. Texas, DFW area 2. Hebron high school band parent from 2013-2022. Supported 3 sons who all did marching band all 4 years (Trombone ‘13-‘17; Trumpet ‘16-‘20; Percussion ‘18-‘22) 3. None did drum corps (as of yet). The last one is wanting to try it at some point, but he’s a freshman in college and still has time. At this point I want to mention that I’m personally a graduate of a marching band (Thomas Jefferson in Dallas 1983-1987 - yes the same TJ that was destroyed by a tornado several years ago and is currently under construction). My wife is also a marching band kid (Newman Smith HS in Carrollton/Farmers Branch 1984-1988) . That being said, Neither one of us had any experience with BOA until our kids’ time with Hebron. Although my wife’s band was heads and tails better than mine. I want to just say that I admire the kids of today…all the hard work they put into each and every show! Each and every one of them deserves praise and respect! It’s not easy and I wish every marching band kid could experience what mine have. Honestly we were lucky to be zoned for Hebron HS, and yes it takes a lot of financial investment, which we think has been worth every penny. Good luck to every kid who puts in the hard work to succeed in this endeavor! Know that there is a (now former) Hebron band parent rooting you all on, no matter what school you attend. You are all winners in our book! Love this post for so many reasons. Welcome! Hope your son has a fantastic rest of his senior year!
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Post by banddad101 on Oct 24, 2022 20:52:42 GMT -6
1. Texas, DFW area 2. Hebron high school band parent from 2013-2022. Supported 3 sons who all did marching band all 4 years (Trombone ‘13-‘17; Trumpet ‘16-‘20; Percussion ‘18-‘22) 3. None did drum corps (as of yet). The last one is wanting to try it at some point, but he’s a freshman in college and still has time. At this point I want to mention that I’m personally a graduate of a marching band (Thomas Jefferson in Dallas 1983-1987 - yes the same TJ that was destroyed by a tornado several years ago and is currently under construction). My wife is also a marching band kid (Newman Smith HS in Carrollton/Farmers Branch 1984-1988) . That being said, Neither one of us had any experience with BOA until our kids’ time with Hebron. Although my wife’s band was heads and tails better than mine. I want to just say that I admire the kids of today…all the hard work they put into each and every show! Each and every one of them deserves praise and respect! It’s not easy and I wish every marching band kid could experience what mine have. Honestly we were lucky to be zoned for Hebron HS, and yes it takes a lot of financial investment, which we think has been worth every penny. Good luck to every kid who puts in the hard work to succeed in this endeavor! Know that there is a (now former) Hebron band parent rooting you all on, no matter what school you attend. You are all winners in our book! Love this post for so many reasons. Welcome! Hope your son has a fantastic rest of his senior year! Thank you! We actually have two in college and one who has graduated and working: Oldest is 23 and got his Bachelors of Music in worship arts from Ouachita Baptist University and is currently working at our church managing the audio and visual stuff in the sound booth (including the live stream. Sometimes he gets the chance to sing and play guitar and sometimes he gets to play trombone still. Middle is almost 21 and is a junior at the University of North Texas and is studying jazz trumpet performance. He’s currently in his second year in the one o’clock lab band. Youngest is almost 19 and a freshman at Texas A&M - Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) majoring in percussion performance. So all 3 are still involved in music but only one still marching… which is fun for us because we still get to see him perform in exhibitions at BOA and state marching competitions! So glad to have found this forum finally and to be able to contribute! We’ve been through it all, including one who wanted to quit. But perseverance builds character and character helps to shape the rest of your life. Music will live in their hearts forever!
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Post by srv1084 on Oct 25, 2022 8:20:40 GMT -6
Love this post for so many reasons. Welcome! Hope your son has a fantastic rest of his senior year! Thank you! We actually have two in college and one who has graduated and working: Oldest is 23 and got his Bachelors of Music in worship arts from Ouachita Baptist University and is currently working at our church managing the audio and visual stuff in the sound booth (including the live stream. Sometimes he gets the chance to sing and play guitar and sometimes he gets to play trombone still. Middle is almost 21 and is a junior at the University of North Texas and is studying jazz trumpet performance. He’s currently in his second year in the one o’clock lab band. Youngest is almost 19 and a freshman at Texas A&M - Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) majoring in percussion performance. So all 3 are still involved in music but only one still marching… which is fun for us because we still get to see him perform in exhibitions at BOA and state marching competitions! So glad to have found this forum finally and to be able to contribute! We’ve been through it all, including one who wanted to quit. But perseverance builds character and character helps to shape the rest of your life. Music will live in their hearts forever! Ah, my mistake. Definitely read those dates wrong. Heck of a year to graduate!
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Post by banddad101 on Oct 25, 2022 11:43:23 GMT -6
Thank you! We actually have two in college and one who has graduated and working: Oldest is 23 and got his Bachelors of Music in worship arts from Ouachita Baptist University and is currently working at our church managing the audio and visual stuff in the sound booth (including the live stream. Sometimes he gets the chance to sing and play guitar and sometimes he gets to play trombone still. Middle is almost 21 and is a junior at the University of North Texas and is studying jazz trumpet performance. He’s currently in his second year in the one o’clock lab band. Youngest is almost 19 and a freshman at Texas A&M - Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) majoring in percussion performance. So all 3 are still involved in music but only one still marching… which is fun for us because we still get to see him perform in exhibitions at BOA and state marching competitions! So glad to have found this forum finally and to be able to contribute! We’ve been through it all, including one who wanted to quit. But perseverance builds character and character helps to shape the rest of your life. Music will live in their hearts forever! Ah, my mistake. Definitely read those dates wrong. Heck of a year to graduate! That is true! Youngest has something his brothers don’t have: a state championship! And, you can hear him on the YouTube videos of PENStriped yelling “dut dut dut dut” at the beginning as the center snare 🙂
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Post by mjans5 on Oct 22, 2023 17:01:08 GMT -6
I am a member of the Lincoln-Way Marching Band and will have marched from 2016-2019 when all us said and done. So far no drum corps for me, but I'm hoping to march after graduating high school. The Lincoln-Way Marching Band was formed in 2016 when one of the four schools in our district, Lincoln-Way North, closed. Since then, we have made Super Regional finals twice, won an Illinois "state championship", and marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade. I'm excited to get to know all of you on the forums! I live in Illinois. I am a member of LWMB as well, I will march 2023-2026. Also hoping to march drum corps after graduation. Since this post, we have added 2 more Illinois State Championships, 2 BOA Regional class championships, an appearance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and we will once again march in the Tournament of Roses Parade in 2025.
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Post by strangemelloplayer on Oct 29, 2023 11:11:17 GMT -6
I am a member of the Lincoln-Way Marching Band and will have marched from 2016-2019 when all us said and done. So far no drum corps for me, but I'm hoping to march after graduating high school. The Lincoln-Way Marching Band was formed in 2016 when one of the four schools in our district, Lincoln-Way North, closed. Since then, we have made Super Regional finals twice, won an Illinois "state championship", and marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade. I'm excited to get to know all of you on the forums! I live in Illinois. I am a member of LWMB as well, I will march 2023-2026. Also hoping to march drum corps after graduation. Since this post, we have added 2 more Illinois State Championships, 2 BOA Regional class championships, an appearance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and we will once again march in the Tournament of Roses Parade in 2025. Hey! I live in Illinois too. I’m in the OTHSMB and we went to your competition in 2021. At that time, y’all were doing some sort of butterfly show. I know you didn’t perform at that time, but maybe you’ve seen it? It was a great show
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Post by averageboafan on Nov 12, 2023 10:31:37 GMT -6
I live in Tennessee. I marched in the Elizabethton Betsy Band from 2020-2023, so this year was sadly my last I do not plan on marching DCI or pursuing any type of music after highschool. This is the fun part…the history of The Betsy Band. The Betsy Band is known as one of the best in Northeast Tennessee, obviously Dobyns-Bennett takes that title, they are undeniably the best band in the entire freaking state, Lol. Anyways, The Betsy Band started up in 1928, so we are closing in on the 100th anniversary of the band. Our band has a rich history within the state circuits and local competitions, and a good history with BOA dating back to the 90s. In 1995, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band made finals in 6th place with a score of 72.8. In 1996, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band made finals in 8th place with a score of 77.85. In 1997, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band became first time class champions and placed 4th with a score of 78.10. In 1999, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band became a two time class champion and made finals and placed 10th with a score of 71.8. In 2000, at the BOA Johnson City Regional, the Betsy Band made finals in 9th place with a score of 74.55. At some point, the BOA Johnson City Regional was shutdown and it ceased to be a thing until 2019, but in the meantime the Betsy Band was racking up their own championships and wins, gaining four state titles in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and clean sweeping almost any competition nearby that they could. When the BOA Johnson City Regional returned in 2019, the Betsy Band also made its return to the BOA world, but sadly, did not make finals, and even sadder placing 24th with a score of 66.25. After the 2020 covid year, long time Elizabethton band director, Perry Elliott, who was at Elizabethton for 31 years (!!!) had hung up the hat and retired. Shortly after this retirement the interview process began, and one came out on top…Jonathan Valentine. In Valentine’s three years at Elizabethton he has already accomplished so much. In 2021 the Betsy Band took a trip to WCU and beat Kennesaw Mountain and placed 2nd becoming the reserve grand champions (Dobyns-Bennett placed first). In 2022 the Betsy Band returned to BOA and broke a school record for score (81.8) and tied for placement (4th) and made a statement. Later in the season, the Betsy Band would capture their 5th State Championship. In 2023, the Betsy Band would attend the BOA Johnson City Regional and make finals in 11th place with a score of 77.8. Later in the season the Betsy Band would go back-to-back and capture their 6th state championship in 13 years. As a future alumni, I am so excited to see what this band has in store. I will always, “Love that Betsy Band!”
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Post by boahistorybuff on Nov 12, 2023 10:42:32 GMT -6
I live in Tennessee. I marched in the Elizabethton Betsy Band from 2020-2023, so this year was sadly my last I do not plan on marching DCI or pursuing any type of music after highschool. This is the fun part…the history of The Betsy Band. The Betsy Band is known as one of the best in Northeast Tennessee, obviously Dobyns-Bennett takes that title, they are undeniably the best band in the entire freaking state, Lol. Anyways, The Betsy Band started up in 1928, so we are closing in on the 100th anniversary of the band. Our band has a rich history within the state circuits and local competitions, and a good history with BOA dating back to the 90s. In 1995, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band made finals in 6th place with a score of 72.8. In 1996, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band made finals in 8th place with a score of 77.85. In 1997, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band became first time class champions and placed 4th with a score of 78.10. In 1999, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band became a two time class champion and made finals and placed 10th with a score of 71.8. In 2000, at the BOA Johnson City Regional, the Betsy Band made finals in 9th place with a score of 74.55. At some point, the BOA Johnson City Regional was shutdown and it ceased to be a thing until 2019, but in the meantime the Betsy Band was racking up their own championships and wins, gaining four state titles in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and clean sweeping almost any competition nearby that they could. When the BOA Johnson City Regional returned in 2019, the Betsy Band also made its return to the BOA world, but sadly, did not make finals, and even sadder placing 24th with a score of 66.25. After the 2020 covid year, long time Elizabethton band director, Perry Elliott, who was at Elizabethton for 31 years (!!!) had hung up the hat and retired. Shortly after this retirement the interview process began, and one came out on top…Jonathan Valentine. In Valentine’s three years at Elizabethton he has already accomplished so much. In 2021 the Betsy Band took a trip to WCU and beat Kennesaw Mountain and placed 2nd becoming the reserve grand champions (Dobyns-Bennett placed first). In 2022 the Betsy Band returned to BOA and broke a school record for score (81.8) and tied for placement (4th) and made a statement. Later in the season, the Betsy Band would capture their 5th State Championship. In 2023, the Betsy Band would attend the BOA Johnson City Regional and make finals in 11th place with a score of 77.8. Later in the season the Betsy Band would go back-to-back and capture their 6th state championship in 13 years. As a future alumni, I am so excited to see what this band has in store. I will always, “Love that Betsy Band!” Love this history. I for one was glad to see the Elizabethton Betsy Band make its BOA return. Hoping to seem more from them in the future.
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Post by averageboafan on Nov 12, 2023 10:54:19 GMT -6
]Love this history. I for one was glad to see the Elizabethton Betsy Band make its BOA return. Hoping to seem more from them in the future. Thank you very much! They will attend many more…Valentine has HUGE plans for this program. He will take them where they need to go.
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Post by treehous on Nov 16, 2023 15:37:25 GMT -6
I’m from Albuquerque, New Mexico I go to Volcano Vista HS. Volcano is a relatively small band compared to bands around us, currently 75~. We’ve improved year on year, going from 8th, to 4th, to 2nd most recently at the Zia (State) Marching Competition. Score wise, we’re 2nd behind Clovis (NM). We’ve gone to BOA Las Cruces every year it’s been hosted. I plan on marching drum corps next year. I’m incredibly proud of our achievements and I really believe that Volcano Vista can do really good within NM and outside in the future .
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Post by boahistorybuff on Nov 16, 2023 18:56:00 GMT -6
I’m from Albuquerque, New Mexico I go to Volcano Vista HS. Volcano is a relatively small band compared to bands around us, currently 75~. We’ve improved year on year, going from 8th, to 4th, to 2nd most recently at the Zia (State) Marching Competition. Score wise, we’re 2nd behind Clovis (NM). We’ve gone to BOA Las Cruces every year it’s been hosted. I plan on marching drum corps next year. I’m incredibly proud of our achievements and I really believe that Volcano Vista can do really good within NM and outside in the future . I have been enjoying more New Mexico bands in BOA the last few years. I also kind of think Volcano Vista is an awesome name for a high school. Certainly a better name for a school than the one I went to; Flushing LOL
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Post by ilikeguard on Nov 16, 2023 19:06:54 GMT -6
I’m from Albuquerque, New Mexico I go to Volcano Vista HS. Volcano is a relatively small band compared to bands around us, currently 75~. We’ve improved year on year, going from 8th, to 4th, to 2nd most recently at the Zia (State) Marching Competition. Score wise, we’re 2nd behind Clovis (NM). We’ve gone to BOA Las Cruces every year it’s been hosted. I plan on marching drum corps next year. I’m incredibly proud of our achievements and I really believe that Volcano Vista can do really good within NM and outside in the future . Yall should be very proud!! Please come further east soon!!
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Post by dbbandalum on Nov 16, 2023 19:26:08 GMT -6
I live in Tennessee. I marched in the Elizabethton Betsy Band from 2020-2023, so this year was sadly my last I do not plan on marching DCI or pursuing any type of music after highschool. This is the fun part…the history of The Betsy Band. The Betsy Band is known as one of the best in Northeast Tennessee, obviously Dobyns-Bennett takes that title, they are undeniably the best band in the entire freaking state, Lol. Anyways, The Betsy Band started up in 1928, so we are closing in on the 100th anniversary of the band. Our band has a rich history within the state circuits and local competitions, and a good history with BOA dating back to the 90s. In 1995, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band made finals in 6th place with a score of 72.8. In 1996, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band made finals in 8th place with a score of 77.85. In 1997, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band became first time class champions and placed 4th with a score of 78.10. In 1999, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band became a two time class champion and made finals and placed 10th with a score of 71.8. In 2000, at the BOA Johnson City Regional, the Betsy Band made finals in 9th place with a score of 74.55. At some point, the BOA Johnson City Regional was shutdown and it ceased to be a thing until 2019, but in the meantime the Betsy Band was racking up their own championships and wins, gaining four state titles in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and clean sweeping almost any competition nearby that they could. When the BOA Johnson City Regional returned in 2019, the Betsy Band also made its return to the BOA world, but sadly, did not make finals, and even sadder placing 24th with a score of 66.25. After the 2020 covid year, long time Elizabethton band director, Perry Elliott, who was at Elizabethton for 31 years (!!!) had hung up the hat and retired. Shortly after this retirement the interview process began, and one came out on top…Jonathan Valentine. In Valentine’s three years at Elizabethton he has already accomplished so much. In 2021 the Betsy Band took a trip to WCU and beat Kennesaw Mountain and placed 2nd becoming the reserve grand champions (Dobyns-Bennett placed first). In 2022 the Betsy Band returned to BOA and broke a school record for score (81.8) and tied for placement (4th) and made a statement. Later in the season, the Betsy Band would capture their 5th State Championship. In 2023, the Betsy Band would attend the BOA Johnson City Regional and make finals in 11th place with a score of 77.8. Later in the season the Betsy Band would go back-to-back and capture their 6th state championship in 13 years. As a future alumni, I am so excited to see what this band has in store. I will always, “Love that Betsy Band!” Just now seeing this post. I'm so glad Elizabethton is finally getting some recognition. For the last decade or so, its been obvious to me that you guys were one of the best bands in TN, and much better than the bigger bands in our area like Science Hill and Tennessee High. Unfortunately, I feel like Elizabethton's accomplishments and quality have always been unfairly overshadowed by DB, and even Science Hill to a degree, but after you guys beat Kennesaw and had some impressive placements at JC, that unfair veil has finally been pulled off of you guys. Now you should convince that new director of yours to attend the Contest of Champions at MTSU so you can show those Nashville area schools the power of east TN.
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Post by dbbandalum on Nov 16, 2023 22:03:47 GMT -6
Also I forgot to add that Elizabethton was the best marching band in Northeast TN in the 80s and early 90s. Yes, even better than DB. DB was more geared towards concert band in those years and only competed a handful of times in BOA, and only made finals once in 1995. We only started to beat Elizabethton in 1998 at JC, only to be beat again by them in 1999. We have Mr. Cook to thank for where DB is today. After he took over in 1997, the marching band improved drastically.
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Post by averageboafan on Nov 18, 2023 19:58:52 GMT -6
I live in Tennessee. I marched in the Elizabethton Betsy Band from 2020-2023, so this year was sadly my last I do not plan on marching DCI or pursuing any type of music after highschool. This is the fun part…the history of The Betsy Band. The Betsy Band is known as one of the best in Northeast Tennessee, obviously Dobyns-Bennett takes that title, they are undeniably the best band in the entire freaking state, Lol. Anyways, The Betsy Band started up in 1928, so we are closing in on the 100th anniversary of the band. Our band has a rich history within the state circuits and local competitions, and a good history with BOA dating back to the 90s. In 1995, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band made finals in 6th place with a score of 72.8. In 1996, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band made finals in 8th place with a score of 77.85. In 1997, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band became first time class champions and placed 4th with a score of 78.10. In 1999, at the BOA Johnson City Regional the Betsy Band became a two time class champion and made finals and placed 10th with a score of 71.8. In 2000, at the BOA Johnson City Regional, the Betsy Band made finals in 9th place with a score of 74.55. At some point, the BOA Johnson City Regional was shutdown and it ceased to be a thing until 2019, but in the meantime the Betsy Band was racking up their own championships and wins, gaining four state titles in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016 and clean sweeping almost any competition nearby that they could. When the BOA Johnson City Regional returned in 2019, the Betsy Band also made its return to the BOA world, but sadly, did not make finals, and even sadder placing 24th with a score of 66.25. After the 2020 covid year, long time Elizabethton band director, Perry Elliott, who was at Elizabethton for 31 years (!!!) had hung up the hat and retired. Shortly after this retirement the interview process began, and one came out on top…Jonathan Valentine. In Valentine’s three years at Elizabethton he has already accomplished so much. In 2021 the Betsy Band took a trip to WCU and beat Kennesaw Mountain and placed 2nd becoming the reserve grand champions (Dobyns-Bennett placed first). In 2022 the Betsy Band returned to BOA and broke a school record for score (81.8) and tied for placement (4th) and made a statement. Later in the season, the Betsy Band would capture their 5th State Championship. In 2023, the Betsy Band would attend the BOA Johnson City Regional and make finals in 11th place with a score of 77.8. Later in the season the Betsy Band would go back-to-back and capture their 6th state championship in 13 years. As a future alumni, I am so excited to see what this band has in store. I will always, “Love that Betsy Band!” Just now seeing this post. I'm so glad Elizabethton is finally getting some recognition. For the last decade or so, its been obvious to me that you guys were one of the best bands in TN, and much better than the bigger bands in our area like Science Hill and Tennessee High. Unfortunately, I feel like Elizabethton's accomplishments and quality have always been unfairly overshadowed by DB, and even Science Hill to a degree, but after you guys beat Kennesaw and had some impressive placements at JC, that unfair veil has finally been pulled off of you guys. Now you should convince that new director of yours to attend the Contest of Champions at MTSU so you can show those Nashville area schools the power of east TN. I’ll be sure to tell him on Monday!
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Post by LeanderMomma on Nov 19, 2023 15:04:54 GMT -6
Also I forgot to add that Elizabethton was the best marching band in Northeast TN in the 80s and early 90s. Yes, even better than DB. DB was more geared towards concert band in those years and only competed a handful of times in BOA, and only made finals once in 1995. We only started to beat Elizabethton in 1998 at JC, only to be beat again by them in 1999. We have Mr. Cook to thank for where DB is today. After he took over in 1997, the marching band improved drastically. I love the Betsy Band! I really want to see them live someday soon. 🥰
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Post by jakeymam12 on Nov 22, 2023 1:36:05 GMT -6
I am jakeymam12 from Utah, and I am a current marcher for Maple Mountain High School. MM competes mainly in the UMEA Circuit, and is making it a tradition to attend BOA St. George every year from now on. Unfortunately next year will be my last, so that's a little hard to think about. But hey, it can't last forever. Pre-H. (H is our current band director) Our band wasn't great. They never placed and was just another tiny not so good Nebo School District band. H Era. H became the band director of Maple Mountain High School in 2017. He was a former marcher for American Fork, and he was a staff member for multiple bands across Utah County before becoming the band director of MM. Maple Mountain went on to win state in their division in 2017. Unfortunately, that was our last title we have, as every year since then, we've faced off against one or more superior bands. We have however placed within the top three at every state competition since then. I started marching my freshmen year, 2021, and our show was entitled "House of Mirrors" using music from Chino Hills' 2014 show "The Puppet Master". We started off the season strong, had most of our show on the field by the first competition, and placed 2nd behind Cedar Valley. We continued to place behind CV and Lehi for one or two more comps after that, but then we beat cedar valley twice in a row, coming in 2nd. The last competition before state, the top three were within .6 of each other, and we were hoping for something big to happen at state. Unfortunately we got third place by a 4 point margin at state, but it was alright. My sophomore year, 2022, seemed as a transition year for us. We had a ton of production errors that year, and we only had our first full run through less than three weeks before state. Due to that, we kept placing pretty low at our competitions, losing to Brighton, Lehi, Cedar Valley, and newcomer from 4A, Green Canyon at those comps. I'll just say it, our drill writer sucked. I remember one day during band camp, we went through a total of 4 different dot sheets. Our percussion writer also sucked, giving us our last movement percussion music just a month before state. Somehow, through it all, we ended up pushing all the way through, and took third at state, continuing our top-3-in-our-division streak. That was also our first year attending BOA. We really didn't do very hot, getting 3rd in AAA and 16th overall. Junior year, 2023. It was promised since the end of our last season that things would be changing. And they really did. H hired a program coordinator, to make sure that things went smoothly, and overall taking a lot of the load off of H. He also hired a new drill writer, along with a new percussion writer. The drill writer he hired is a very reliable writer in the state of Utah. He writes AF's drill and is a staff member at AF if I'm correct. The percussion writer got our percussion to us with good time, so that's good. Early season, we were still behind, only having 3/5 of our show done by the first competition, but the week after we had about 4/5 of our show on the field. By the competition 2 weeks later, we had our whole show on the field, which was a lot better timing than the year before. That meant we had the rest of the season to clean up to get it as good as possible for the St. George competitions. This season, 2 of our main competitors from the past two years moved up to 6A. That meant that throughout the season, we only placed 2nd. I was worried that Alta or Brighton would take our spot at some competitions, but we held onto it throughout the entirety of the season. However, the gap between us and our top competitor, Green Canyon, changed vastly from competition to competition. It went from like 2 points to 4 points to 7 points. At state however, we closed it down to a 1.52 point gap, which was a huge victory for us. And Green Canyon didn't end up sweeping thanks to our friends at Alta . But the day after was what our season had been building up to. BOA St. George. After not doing so hot the previous year, our band's goal was to make finals. Part of the reason I joined forums was to keep an eye on who we would be competing against. After seeing all the bands from in state and out of state being confirmed, I knew our chances were slim. H kept telling us that we were one of 10 bands that were fighting for a single spot in finals, as the rest of the finalist spots were pretty much reserved by top bands in Utah, along with other bands from different states. We ended up getting 2nd in AAA, with a caption snag from Fort Mill, and we ended up reaching our main goal of the season, to make finals. And in finals we placed 11th, and weirdly enough, placing ahead of Fort Mill who had previously taken the AAA 1st place award. Makes me wonder what would've happened if we had won them in prelims as well... Next season is promising. Expected growth in the program, as well as ideas H is brewing up with to have more productive and less talkative rehearsals. I can't wait to see what next year has in store for us. TL;DR Maple Mountain High School's marching band is decently cool.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Nov 22, 2023 4:09:36 GMT -6
I am jakeymam12 from Utah, and I am a current marcher for Maple Mountain High School. MM competes mainly in the UMEA Circuit, and is making it a tradition to attend BOA St. George every year from now on. Unfortunately next year will be my last, so that's a little hard to think about. But hey, it can't last forever. Pre-H. (H is our current band director) Our band wasn't great. They never placed and was just another tiny not so good Nebo School District band. H Era. H became the band director of Maple Mountain High School in 2017. He was a former marcher for American Fork, and he was a staff member for multiple bands across Utah County before becoming the band director of MM. Maple Mountain went on to win state in their division in 2017. Unfortunately, that was our last title we have, as every year since then, we've faced off against one or more superior bands. We have however placed within the top three at every state competition since then. I started marching my freshmen year, 2021, and our show was entitled "House of Mirrors" using music from Chino Hills' 2014 show "The Puppet Master". We started off the season strong, had most of our show on the field by the first competition, and placed 2nd behind Cedar Valley. We continued to place behind CV and Lehi for one or two more comps after that, but then we beat cedar valley twice in a row, coming in 2nd. The last competition before state, the top three were within .6 of each other, and we were hoping for something big to happen at state. Unfortunately we got third place by a 4 point margin at state, but it was alright. My sophomore year, 2022, seemed as a transition year for us. We had a ton of production errors that year, and we only had our first full run through less than three weeks before state. Due to that, we kept placing pretty low at our competitions, losing to Brighton, Lehi, Cedar Valley, and newcomer from 4A, Green Canyon at those comps. I'll just say it, our drill writer sucked. I remember one day during band camp, we went through a total of 4 different dot sheets. Our percussion writer also sucked, giving us our last movement percussion music just a month before state. Somehow, through it all, we ended up pushing all the way through, and took third at state, continuing our top-3-in-our-division streak. That was also our first year attending BOA. We really didn't do very hot, getting 3rd in AAA and 16th overall. Junior year, 2023. It was promised since the end of our last season that things would be changing. And they really did. H hired a program coordinator, to make sure that things went smoothly, and overall taking a lot of the load off of H. He also hired a new drill writer, along with a new percussion writer. The drill writer he hired is a very reliable writer in the state of Utah. He writes AF's drill and is a staff member at AF if I'm correct. The percussion writer got our percussion to us with good time, so that's good. Early season, we were still behind, only having 3/5 of our show done by the first competition, but the week after we had about 4/5 of our show on the field. By the competition 2 weeks later, we had our whole show on the field, which was a lot better timing than the year before. That meant we had the rest of the season to clean up to get it as good as possible for the St. George competitions. This season, 2 of our main competitors from the past two years moved up to 6A. That meant that throughout the season, we only placed 2nd. I was worried that Alta or Brighton would take our spot at some competitions, but we held onto it throughout the entirety of the season. However, the gap between us and our top competitor, Green Canyon, changed vastly from competition to competition. It went from like 2 points to 4 points to 7 points. At state however, we closed it down to a 1.52 point gap, which was a huge victory for us. And Green Canyon didn't end up sweeping thanks to our friends at Alta . But the day after was what our season had been building up to. BOA St. George. After not doing so hot the previous year, our band's goal was to make finals. Part of the reason I joined forums was to keep an eye on who we would be competing against. After seeing all the bands from in state and out of state being confirmed, I knew our chances were slim. H kept telling us that we were one of 10 bands that were fighting for a single spot in finals, as the rest of the finalist spots were pretty much reserved by top bands in Utah, along with other bands from different states. We ended up getting 2nd in AAA, with a caption snag from Fort Mill, and we ended up reaching our main goal of the season, to make finals. And in finals we placed 11th, and weirdly enough, placing ahead of Fort Mill who had previously taken the AAA 1st place award. Makes me wonder what would've happened if we had won them in prelims as well... Next season is promising. Expected growth in the program, as well as ideas H is brewing up with to have more productive and less talkative rehearsals. I can't wait to see what next year has in store for us. TL;DR Maple Mountain High School's marching band is decently cool. Thanks for the detailed history. Nice to see how American Fork is influencing other band programs. Utah has a ton of great bands and they are getting stronger. Sounds like we will be hearing more from Maple Mountain.
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Post by WoodlandsMom4ever on Nov 22, 2023 13:14:52 GMT -6
I am jakeymam12 from Utah, and I am a current marcher for Maple Mountain High School. MM competes mainly in the UMEA Circuit, and is making it a tradition to attend BOA St. George every year from now on. Unfortunately next year will be my last, so that's a little hard to think about. But hey, it can't last forever. Pre-H. (H is our current band director) Our band wasn't great. They never placed and was just another tiny not so good Nebo School District band. H Era. H became the band director of Maple Mountain High School in 2017. He was a former marcher for American Fork, and he was a staff member for multiple bands across Utah County before becoming the band director of MM. Maple Mountain went on to win state in their division in 2017. Unfortunately, that was our last title we have, as every year since then, we've faced off against one or more superior bands. We have however placed within the top three at every state competition since then. I started marching my freshmen year, 2021, and our show was entitled "House of Mirrors" using music from Chino Hills' 2014 show "The Puppet Master". We started off the season strong, had most of our show on the field by the first competition, and placed 2nd behind Cedar Valley. We continued to place behind CV and Lehi for one or two more comps after that, but then we beat cedar valley twice in a row, coming in 2nd. The last competition before state, the top three were within .6 of each other, and we were hoping for something big to happen at state. Unfortunately we got third place by a 4 point margin at state, but it was alright. My sophomore year, 2022, seemed as a transition year for us. We had a ton of production errors that year, and we only had our first full run through less than three weeks before state. Due to that, we kept placing pretty low at our competitions, losing to Brighton, Lehi, Cedar Valley, and newcomer from 4A, Green Canyon at those comps. I'll just say it, our drill writer sucked. I remember one day during band camp, we went through a total of 4 different dot sheets. Our percussion writer also sucked, giving us our last movement percussion music just a month before state. Somehow, through it all, we ended up pushing all the way through, and took third at state, continuing our top-3-in-our-division streak. That was also our first year attending BOA. We really didn't do very hot, getting 3rd in AAA and 16th overall. Junior year, 2023. It was promised since the end of our last season that things would be changing. And they really did. H hired a program coordinator, to make sure that things went smoothly, and overall taking a lot of the load off of H. He also hired a new drill writer, along with a new percussion writer. The drill writer he hired is a very reliable writer in the state of Utah. He writes AF's drill and is a staff member at AF if I'm correct. The percussion writer got our percussion to us with good time, so that's good. Early season, we were still behind, only having 3/5 of our show done by the first competition, but the week after we had about 4/5 of our show on the field. By the competition 2 weeks later, we had our whole show on the field, which was a lot better timing than the year before. That meant we had the rest of the season to clean up to get it as good as possible for the St. George competitions. This season, 2 of our main competitors from the past two years moved up to 6A. That meant that throughout the season, we only placed 2nd. I was worried that Alta or Brighton would take our spot at some competitions, but we held onto it throughout the entirety of the season. However, the gap between us and our top competitor, Green Canyon, changed vastly from competition to competition. It went from like 2 points to 4 points to 7 points. At state however, we closed it down to a 1.52 point gap, which was a huge victory for us. And Green Canyon didn't end up sweeping thanks to our friends at Alta . But the day after was what our season had been building up to. BOA St. George. After not doing so hot the previous year, our band's goal was to make finals. Part of the reason I joined forums was to keep an eye on who we would be competing against. After seeing all the bands from in state and out of state being confirmed, I knew our chances were slim. H kept telling us that we were one of 10 bands that were fighting for a single spot in finals, as the rest of the finalist spots were pretty much reserved by top bands in Utah, along with other bands from different states. We ended up getting 2nd in AAA, with a caption snag from Fort Mill, and we ended up reaching our main goal of the season, to make finals. And in finals we placed 11th, and weirdly enough, placing ahead of Fort Mill who had previously taken the AAA 1st place award. Makes me wonder what would've happened if we had won them in prelims as well... Next season is promising. Expected growth in the program, as well as ideas H is brewing up with to have more productive and less talkative rehearsals. I can't wait to see what next year has in store for us. TL;DR Maple Mountain High School's marching band is decently cool. Great information about MM! Coincidentally I was visiting a friend this last August and drove past the highschool there and saw you guys outside practicing! I love hearing about the Utah schools and their growth.
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Post by treehous on Nov 23, 2023 3:07:10 GMT -6
Seeing the massive novel written above made me want to talk about my band more
Volcano Vista got a new director in 2021. We’re his first band ,though he has experience in Texas. He was an assistant director at Westlake around 2015-2016(im not 100% sure) and he taught at some level at Vandegrift and other Texas bands.
We are a multiple state concert band runner up and are the reigning state concert band champions. We outscored Pecos and Legscy HS at BOA Las Cruces and outscored Eastlake HS by the end of the season.
This year, we went to the NAU Band Day in Flagstaff, placing first in class and scoring highest out of all bands with a gap of 9~ points.
I can only see VVHS going up and up. We have a great team of staff and directors, and a promising group of students.
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Post by clarinetistkai05 on Feb 29, 2024 0:08:38 GMT -6
1. Texas 2. Forney High School Band (2020-2024)as a student, but as a spectator (2015-now). 3. I have never been in DCI 4. As for Forney, I have been around for almost 10 years, my sister attended Forney. Although we don’t like to brag, we are 3x Area C champions (2020, 2022, 2023). Freshman Year (2020) we were only Area C Champions, but I forgot the rest. My sophomore year (2021), we were: 11th place finalist at BOA Bedford 2021, 4th place at HEB Marching Contest, 2nd Place at 5A Area C, and 8th Place at UIL 5A State. My junior year (2022) we were 8th place at HEB Marching Contest, 9th place at BOA Prosper 2022, Area C Champions, and 32nd at BOA San Antonio Super Regionals. This year (Senior year) was our best year OVERALL. We were 5th place at HEB Marching Contest, 13th place at BOA Bedford ( ), 8th place at BOA Prosper, Area C Champions, and 4th at UIL State Marching Contest.
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Post by ilikeguard on Mar 1, 2024 7:27:46 GMT -6
1. Texas 2. Forney High School Band (2020-2024)as a student, but as a spectator (2015-now). 3. I have never been in DCI 4. As for Forney, I have been around for almost 10 years, my sister attended Forney. Although we don’t like to brag, we are 3x Area C champions (2020, 2022, 2023). Freshman Year (2020) we were only Area C Champions, but I forgot the rest. My sophomore year (2021), we were: 11th place finalist at BOA Bedford 2021, 4th place at HEB Marching Contest, 2nd Place at 5A Area C, and 8th Place at UIL 5A State. My junior year (2022) we were 8th place at HEB Marching Contest, 9th place at BOA Prosper 2022, Area C Champions, and 32nd at BOA San Antonio Super Regionals. This year (Senior year) was our best year OVERALL. We were 5th place at HEB Marching Contest, 13th place at BOA Bedford ( ), 8th place at BOA Prosper, Area C Champions, and 4th at UIL State Marching Contest. Love Forney! Yall have a sort of magic that has always stuck out to me. I watched the 2022 show live in San Antonio. It’s one I think about a lot!
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