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Post by clarinetistkai05 on Mar 2, 2024 23:25:43 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! it’s the bananas 😝 but in all seriousness, THANK YOU! our show this year was phenomenal as well. if you want to check it out, it’s on YouTube.
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Post by averagetpt on Apr 2, 2024 20:41:12 GMT -6
- I currently live in Illinois.
- I am a current member of the Lincoln-Way Marching Band and when all is said and done, I will have marched these shows... - 2021: "Metamorphosis" - 2022: "On The Contrary" - 2023: "Interstellar" - 2024:
- I do intend on participating in DCI after graduation.
- The Lincoln-Way Marching Band is a combination of the three Lincoln-Way schools in the district and formed when the 4th school (Lincoln-Way North) closed down in 2016. Since 2016, the band has accomplished...
- BOA Clarksville, TN Class 4A Champion (2021) - BOA Waukee, IA Class 4A Champion (2022) - BOA Regional Finals appearances (19, 21, 22) - BOA Regional Finals 2nd Place Overall (21, 22) - BOA Super Regional Finals appearances (17, 18, 19, 22) - BOA Grand Nationals Semi-Finals appearance (2022) - Illinois State Championships Class 6A Champion (16, 17, 18, 21) - Illinois State Championships Overall Grand Champion (18, 19, 21) - Marched in the 2019 Tournament of Roses Parade (And will march the 2025 TOR Parade as well) - Marched in the 2021 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
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Post by kyle on Apr 21, 2024 0:55:41 GMT -6
After looking back at jakeymam12 's post about MM, I decided to give some history on American Fork, where I march now. Brief Summary of the BeginningsIn 1935 the band, choir, and orchestra teacher, Kenneth James Bird, founded the American Fork High School Marching Band. The first Drum Major was a Senior violin player named Gwen Richan, she was the Drum Major for her senior year and the next few years to follow as well. Don Peterson unkown-1984 Don Peterson (a former director of bands at BYU) was the director of the American Fork Band Program before BOA hall of fame member John Miller and was in charge of selecting Miller as a candite for his replacement. John Miller 1985-2015 John Miller is the most respected name at American Fork even today as he brought our program to the top of the state. Not only was John Miller the Director, but he was also the one that the kids in the program could trust, while he ended up making the band state champions, that was never his goal, it was always to put character first and ensure that every person in the program walked away being a better person. He heavily encouraged and participated in shouts for other bands as they took the field, such as "AF LOVES DAVIS!!!" or Bingham, or Westlake, it didn't matter, what mattered was that everyone loved and supported everyone else. When the band traveled out of state, they would continue to cheer, something that other bands aren't very accustomed to. One California band director said (paraphrase cause I don't remember the exact quote) 'It was weird, we had never heard of another band hoping that we do our best, let alone cheering us as if they hoped we would win'. Over the course of John Millers legacy, the program grew into a position to become the powerhouse it is today, that was because of the three principles that he instilled: Tradition - The traditions of always doing our best and always supporting others. Integrity - Always doing the right thing, especially when no one is watching and when you don't want to. Excellence - Maintaining a higher standard and being the role model of how to treat others right. Tradition, Integrity, and Excellence are now the core foundation of what we do today and are written of the wall of the band room, always behind us, always there to fall back on. Nate Seamons 2015-2018 Seamons was chosen by John Miller to fill the role of American Fork Director of Bands when he retired. Orien Landis 2019-Now Landis is the current Director at American Fork, before working at AF he worked with Tooele as the Director there for a few years. In 2019 he had the band perform the show The White Queen, this show began his era at American Fork off with a bang, scoring 89.35 at his first BOA event. After losing the opportunity to go to Grand Nationals with the show Stary Stary Night, inspired by the life of Vincent Von Gogh in 2020, the 2021 show The Making of A Captain was preparation for the next year's show The Wonderful World of Warhol, this time inspired by the artist Warhol, famous for breaking the 'rules' of art, as such the band broke many fashion rules with their uniforms, such as combining polka dots and stripes, having yellow uniforms for the colorguard, and putting a face on the yellow uniforms, they even went as far as to have the drumline drum on giant soup cans and having the front ensemble off of the front sideline purely for the sake of breaking the norms. He has pushed us to become even better and was essential in helping us shatter our all-time high score for any BOA event with a 92.1 at the BOA St. George competition in 2023. 2023 will serve as a launching point for us coming into this 2024 season and help us to reach an even higher score and hopefully a place in Grand Nationals Finals for the first time since 1995.
In Reverent Memory of Heather Christensen 2009 In 2009, the American Fork High School Marching Band performed their show The Greatest Generation, as a tribute to the generation that was raised during the great depression and hero's that fought in World War II, the show received a score of 88.35 in Prelims and 85.35 in Semis. Also in 2009, the American Fork High School Marching Band won all of their UMEA competitions and swept all captions at BOA St. George wining over second place Clovis West CA, with a gap of 3.6 points. Before their performance that night the band huddled up for a group talk before their final performance of 2009, everyone was quite as after the director talked, they said a student-led prayer asking for them to always remember Heather Christensen. Heather was the Woodwind Director who had a bright personality and always wore flip flops, everyone loved her, she would help anyone struggling with their marching, music, or just life in general if that's what they needed, she hadn't been a staff member at AF before, but everyone had grown to love her for her constant support of the students. During the bus ride back from their victory in Pocatello Idaho at ISU, one of the bus drivers suffered from a stroke and lost control of the bus, that bus being the woodwind bus carrying about 50 students, when they began to veer off course, the staff member on board noticed and sprang into action without hesitating and grabbed the steering wheel, trying to correct the bus's crash trajectory, they were able to decrease the angle of the bus and instead of crashing head on into a ditch, the bus rolled, many people received minor bruises and cuts, but there were no fatalities. Except for Heather, the heroic staff member who grabbed the wheel and saved the lives of the members on the bus. Greiving from the loss of a beloved companion to the students, they took her philosophy to heart, "Be positive". At the funeral services for Heather, the band gathered and played for her one last time, as she was put beneath the surface of the earth and covered up for good. While Heather was gone forever, the band would never let her memory go away. After the final performance of the season, everyone agreed that they absolutely would not let the show that Heather worked on end there, instead, on Sunday, the band made an announcement that they would perform at BOA Grand Nationals that Saturday and that they needed to raise money to send the band, although, at the beginning of the season they had decided against it due to financial restraints. As such, they band announced that they needed to raise money to perform at Grand Nationals, and they would need it by Tuesday in order to plan things out. And in two days, the community in American Fork UT, raised 231,000 dollars to send the program they love to perform in Indianapolis. This unplanned trip was miraculous, they secured housing, meals, flight tickets, and were able to talk to BOA and were let into Grand Nationals all less than a week before the event. There, they performed their show, once again honoring heroes, but this time, it was dedicated to a modern hero, Heather Christensen. Right now, the band still remembers Heather, even though she is long gone and none of us knew her. We have quotes from her hanging above the Directors Door, we have flip flop day, where we wear flip flops like she always would. And before competitions, during our quiet time where we mentally prepare and have an auditory run through of our show, the woodwinds play the songs For Good from Wicked, and Here's to the Heroes by the Ten Tenors in remembrance of Heather, because everyone who met her was changed for the good, and she was a true hero.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 21, 2024 15:15:53 GMT -6
This is a fantastic overview of American Fork. Thank you. I will also add that American Fork is the most successful Utah band in BOA History. Looking forward to see what you all have in store for 2024.
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Post by kyle on Apr 21, 2024 17:41:20 GMT -6
This is a fantastic overview of American Fork. Thank you. I will also add that American Fork is the most successful Utah band in BOA History. That reminds me, American Fork has a DVD only documentary about them called Champions of the West. Since it's not being sold anymore, I'll see if I can digitize it and put it on the history thread (Maybe Saturday)
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Post by lostinthebands on Apr 22, 2024 20:51:01 GMT -6
I typed up a whole thing and then it suddenly got deleted.
Anyhow, THANK YOU KYLE for sharing Heathers story; I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know of that monumental loss and the astounding effects imparted on the band. Insane that AF raised that much money for a last minute trip to grand nats, especially for a group of that caliber. Wishing AF all the best in their future endeavors- they have consistently represented the Western half of the country very well over the last few decades. Honored to see multiple of their performances in person, including their 2021 show at St George and 2022 show from the tunnels of Lucas Oil. (Maybe I’ll see them this year at Nats, too!) ☺️
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Post by bubbawethead on Apr 23, 2024 10:24:31 GMT -6
1. I currently live in upstate South Carolina
2. Alumni of The Travelers Rest HS Golden Regiment in Travelers Rest, SC. I marched from 2005-2009(graduated 2010). I came back around and started helping the band with props, equipment hauling etc., in 2022.
3. I was not in a Corps, I really didn't even know what DCI was until I was already 18 and "aged out"
4. 1)Notable former band directors: late 70s-early 80s THE Jay Bocook(Composer) and late 90s-early 00s Sue Alexander. 2) The band has been SCBDA 3A State champions twice in 1978 and 1980 and has made State finals in 1991(4A), 1996, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2022 and 2023. 3) Grand/Division champions include: 1997 Byrnes Grand(tie with Easley), 2005 Palmetto Grand, 2010 Mauldin division, 2011 Mauldin division, 2015 Woodmont division, 2022 Byrnes Division, 2023 Byrnes division 4) BOA participation includes Johnson City BOA in 1996(15th class, 25th overall), Atlanta in 1997(16th/28th), Atlanta in 1998(10th/24th), St. Louis Super in 1999(8th/13th, BARELY MISSING FINALS), Johnson City in 2000(7th/14th) and Conway in 2023(2nd place 2A and 9th finals) (I believe TR was 2A in the 90s/00s) 5) Outstanding Performance Award recipient (Highest award given to SC bands based off all aspects of a band program): 74-78, 80, 81, 93, 96, 98-00, 02, 06, 09, 11, 13-19 and 23.
I love collecting marching scores and band achievements, mainly for TR but for SC bands as well (I literally have an Excel sheet for 2024 with all 195 SC bands sorted by class and where each band is going week to week for writing down their scores)
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Post by ilikeguard on Apr 23, 2024 10:34:03 GMT -6
- I currently live in Illinois. - I am a current member of the Lincoln-Way Marching Band and when all is said and done, I will have marched these shows... - 2021: "Metamorphosis" - 2022: "On The Contrary" - 2023: "Interstellar" - 2024: - I do intend on participating in DCI after graduation. - The Lincoln-Way Marching Band is a combination of the three Lincoln-Way schools in the district and formed when the 4th school (Lincoln-Way North) closed down in 2016. Since 2016, the band has accomplished... - BOA Clarksville, TN Class 4A Champion (2021) - BOA Waukee, IA Class 4A Champion (2022) - BOA Regional Finals appearances (19, 21, 22) - BOA Regional Finals 2nd Place Overall (21, 22) - BOA Super Regional Finals appearances (17, 18, 19, 22) - BOA Grand Nationals Semi-Finals appearance (2022) - Illinois State Championships Class 6A Champion (16, 17, 18, 21) - Illinois State Championships Overall Grand Champion (18, 19, 21) - Marched in the 2019 Tournament of Roses Parade (And will march the 2025 TOR Parade as well) - Marched in the 2021 Macy's Thanksgiving Day ParadeOne or my best friends marched baritone with LWC. He graduated in 2020 (I am still a baby). I love cheering yall on at shows! Keep up the great work!
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Post by jakeymam12 on Apr 23, 2024 18:14:09 GMT -6
I typed up a whole thing and then it suddenly got deleted. Anyhow, THANK YOU KYLE for sharing Heathers story; I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know of that monumental loss and the astounding effects imparted on the band. Insane that AF raised that much money for a last minute trip to grand nats, especially for a group of that caliber. Wishing AF all the best in their future endeavors- they have consistently represented the Western half of the country very well over the last few decades. Honored to see multiple of their performances in person, including their 2021 show at St George and 2022 show from the tunnels of Lucas Oil. (Maybe I’ll see them this year at Nats, too!) ☺️ My band director was really close with Heather because he was a clarinetist for AF when she was teaching. He's made it a tradition to tell his band about her and the influence she had on his life the night before our state performance every year.
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Post by averagetpt on Apr 23, 2024 19:54:53 GMT -6
- I currently live in Illinois. - I am a current member of the Lincoln-Way Marching Band and when all is said and done, I will have marched these shows... - 2021: "Metamorphosis" - 2022: "On The Contrary" - 2023: "Interstellar" - 2024: - I do intend on participating in DCI after graduation. - The Lincoln-Way Marching Band is a combination of the three Lincoln-Way schools in the district and formed when the 4th school (Lincoln-Way North) closed down in 2016. Since 2016, the band has accomplished... - BOA Clarksville, TN Class 4A Champion (2021) - BOA Waukee, IA Class 4A Champion (2022) - BOA Regional Finals appearances (19, 21, 22) - BOA Regional Finals 2nd Place Overall (21, 22) - BOA Super Regional Finals appearances (17, 18, 19, 22) - BOA Grand Nationals Semi-Finals appearance (2022) - Illinois State Championships Class 6A Champion (16, 17, 18, 21) - Illinois State Championships Overall Grand Champion (18, 19, 21) - Marched in the 2019 Tournament of Roses Parade (And will march the 2025 TOR Parade as well) - Marched in the 2021 Macy's Thanksgiving Day ParadeOne or my best friends marched baritone with LWC. He graduated in 2020 (I am still a baby). I love cheering yall on at shows! Keep up the great work! Thank you, it's the alumni that made this band what it is. Hoping to put on another great show for my senior season.
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Post by kyle on Apr 27, 2024 18:34:50 GMT -6
This is a fantastic overview of American Fork. Thank you. I will also add that American Fork is the most successful Utah band in BOA History. That reminds me, American Fork has a DVD only documentary about them called Champions of the West. Since it's not being sold anymore, I'll see if I can digitize it and put it on the history thread (Maybe Saturday) I put the link to the documentary on the history thread, but I'll also put it here since it's where I originally brought it up drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iM1tbLdaX__Q3zohYabNGwgomk2HjUTj?usp=sharing
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Post by macwinlin on Apr 27, 2024 20:07:22 GMT -6
That reminds me, American Fork has a DVD only documentary about them called Champions of the West. Since it's not being sold anymore, I'll see if I can digitize it and put it on the history thread (Maybe Saturday) I put the link to the documentary on the history thread, but I'll also put it here since it's where I originally brought it up drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iM1tbLdaX__Q3zohYabNGwgomk2HjUTj?usp=sharingNot the modified THX Deep Note at the beginning 🙃😆 Thank you for this, though! Excited to watch it.
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Post by kyle on Apr 27, 2024 20:17:44 GMT -6
Not the modified THX Deep Note at the beginning 🙃😆 Thank you for this, though! Excited to watch it. FYI it is more about the 2013 season than anything else and feels more like a promo vid to me
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