Review of 1A/2A/3A WBA Grand Championships for 2022

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airons0678
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Review of 1A/2A/3A WBA Grand Championships for 2022

Post by airons0678 » Sun Nov 20, 2022 9:55 pm

Hello? Is this thing on? HEY! [Dusting off the old World of Pageantry forums.] Today I had the pleasure of visiting Chaffey High School in Ontario, CA for the Western Band Association Grand Championships for combined 1A, 2A, and 3A bands. It was a lot of fun. A big thanks to all who made this happen. (Even the announcer, who struggled. HINT: It's Live Oak Emerald Regime. Reh-jshEEEEEm. Not "Regiment." All right. Whatever.)

I did a little commentary on the groups, including my scores and placements vs. the judges' scores and placements. All in all, everyone who performed did outstanding.

Bloomington H.S. - This was an imaginative show. "All hands on deck." I liked the moody introduction. The mallets in the front provided much of the firepower. Superb, meaty low brass sound.
My Score: 63.20
My Placement: 20th
Actual Score: 75.025
Actual Placement: 20th

Ann Sobrato H.S. - Nicely staged auxiliary on both sides of the field. Decent form control from all involved. Wow! Wonderful rhythmic and dynamic complexities. I was hooked! Baritone soloist--you sold it.
My Score: 65.90
My Placement: 18th
Actual Score: 77.150
Actual Placement: 19th

Don Antonio Lugo H.S. - Clever "classroom" set-up on the field with telling narrative on life. Excellent flag catch at the end of the first statement. Immature activity was displayed appropriately. The guard duet sparkled.
My Score: 65.50
My Placement: 19th
Actual Score: 77.925
Actual Placement: 18th

Chaffey H.S. - Colorful three-pronged auxiliary props. The one-foot pivot move to the kneel by the winds was done with finesse. I loved the human voice synth sound with the driving percussion. Epic! Very effects-laden show.
My Score: 68.80
My Placement: 17th
Actual Score: 78.950
Actual Placement: 17th

Los Alamitos H.S. - Beautifully demented showcase. Evil clown backdrops? Check. Spooky sound effects? Check. They executed consistently. Rifle toss NAILED. I <3 the theatrics. Jammin' trumpet solo. Yeah! Fun funhouse show.
My Score: 71.90
My Placement: 15th
Actual Score: 81.425
Actual Placement: 14th

Madera H.S. - Yee ha! This group had an American frontier themed presentation, complete with wheat props and cowboy hats. They had a hearty mello sound. The auxiliary provided nice background color. The battery percussion rocked.
My Score: 70.0
My Placement: 16th
Actual Score: 80.775
Actual Placement: 15th

Murrieta Valley H.S. - The musicians had spiffy, modern-looking uni's, sleek and sleeveless. The futuristic, dystopian atmosphere they created was sublime. The auxiliary saber work was quite syncronized. The huge pvc cube outlines staged performers well.
My Score: 72.10
My Placement: 14th
Actual Score: 79.713
Actual Placement: 16th

Modesto H.S. - Stellar flute soloist. Awesome intensity, brass, combined with synth hi hat zaps and booming bass drops. I loved the absence of intensity in a sudden, delightful woodwind melody. Spellbinding show! Lots and lots of intrigue.
My Score: 74.90
My Placement: 12th
Actual Score: 82.138
Actual Placement: 13th

Rowland H.S. - Pictures of Roman architecture created a curved, half-border on the field. Elegant auxiliary maneuvers and crisp, moody percussion equallyed a mature introduction. Whoa! Clarinets are on fire! Sturdy package, gang. Fabulous.
My Score: 74.50
My Placement: 13th
Actual Score: 85.500
Actual Placement: 12th

Clovis West H.S. - The drum majors had a total Daft Punk thing going on! Very cool! The circuit board backdrops were pretty hot. The auxiliary body angles to kick off this show were clean. I liked what they were brewing. Folding drumline craziness, YES! Mesmerizing product.
My Score: 81.30
My Placement: 9th
Actual Score: 86.175
Actual Placement: 9th

Oak Grove H.S. - Nine swirling cloud props were scattered on the right side of the field. Their pit was small but mighty. They had a very balanced and in-tune ensemble. The yellow kite was a nice touch to the wind segment.
My Score: 79.00
My Placement: 10th
Actual Score: 87.125
Actual Placement: 7th

Live Oak H.S. - This is a band you give points to just because of their name. Legends! Gorgeous artistry with the dancer soloist lifted up amongst the piano sounds from the synthesizer. They were quite engaging. Very touching.
My Score: 77.70
My Placement: 11th
Actual Score: 85.938
Actual Placement: 10th

Damien H.S. - Very cool beginning. These kids are coin-operated. The busy train station noises complimented, as did the rifle-exchanging guard. The jazz club saxophonist put an old west spin to this rock solid "rock concertesque" show.
My Score: 84.00
My Placement: 7th
Actual Score: 88.225
Actual Placement: 5th

Independence H.S. - The winds and percussion were dressed in comfy looking track suits with hoodies. Nice groundwork to the rain stick effect. Yey-aah! We've got some Eurhythmics action, here. Sizzling hot percussion show.
My Score: 83.50
My Placement: 8th
Actual Score: 85.600
Actual Placement: 11th

El Toro H.S. - Tree props with shades of blue to dark blue were rolled onto the field. The auxiliary looked very mystic-like witht their blue robes/cloaks. Way to draw me in, people. The low brass stoccato was perfecto. PRECISION control, yeah? Good stuff.
My Score: 85.80
My Placement: 6th
Actual Score: 86.625
Actual Placement: 8th

Kings Academy - A haunting trombone solo, and ghostly steam ignited this amazing production. The slight off-kilter-ness of some of the notes--intentional--gave this show an original appeal. The trumpet soloist can do a high rifle toss, too? Insane. One of my personal faves of the tournament.
My Score: 91.40
My Placement: 3rd
Actual Score: 89.225
Actual Placement: 3rd

Carlsbad H.S. - Bird movement preceeded grabbing of the instruments from the turf to make sweet music. Lofty low brass sound, well blended...nice work! They had lots of little cliffhangers. So much gracefulness and professionalism.
My Score: 89.50
My Placement: 4th
Actual Score: 87.359
Actual Placement: 6th

Santa Teresa H.S. - Ice-capped mountains were spread across the field as blizzard sounds were emitted from the speakers. Elegant movement was mixed with elevated sounds. I love that they really played up the theme of mountain climbing with the strings of flags and dynamite guard costumes. The guard really shined bright.
My Score: 88.80
My Placement: 5th
Actual Score: 88.500
Actual Placement: 4th

Fountain Valley H.S. - A sea of words on aged paper were on the backdrops. I was impressed by form spacing amongst the marchers, and negative space amongst the auxiliary. Excellent half-time march transition. These kids were goosebump-inducing.
My Score: 92.00
My Placement: 2nd
Actual Score: 93.075
Actual Placement: 2nd

Trabuco Hills H.S. - I love the tradition associated with this band. They have a great band director, too. They had interesting baracade-type props. Massive sound! Exquisite call and response, brass and woodwinds. Gorgeous show, top to bottom.
My Score: 92.50
My Placement: 1st
Actual Score: 93.900
Actual Placement: 1st

Congratulations, all!

-Alan I.

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