SCSBOA Mayfair FST Personal Recap

Topics and polls that cover the overall marching band activity

Moderators: Trumpet Man 05, malletphreak, Hostrauser, instrumental director

Post Reply
NotPopular
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2014 9:33 pm

SCSBOA Mayfair FST Personal Recap

Post by NotPopular » Thu Nov 05, 2015 9:33 pm

Hey everybody, so my job required me to be in Norwalk all day Wednesday and I got off just around 4:30pm and I decided to attend the Maryfair Tournament to help support the program and boosters. It was a dark chilly night which is perfect weather for field shows IMO.
Here is my recap/opinion of the bands that attended.
My Score (actual score)
1A
Southeast HS-N/A(62.4) *Sorry guys, but I was purchasing my ticket just as they were finishing up their performance.

Bell HS-55.1(52.2) Bell performed a latin themed show. There were many intonation issues throughout the show. Drill was very safe and just involved a lot of stopping and playing.

Hawthorne HS-38.4(44.9) Now I don't mean to bash on student performers who are still learning to perfect their skills, but boy was this a rough show. From the first note of the performance to the ending chord I was unable to locate the melody. Severe tuning problems and the cold weather did not help. Body movement and horn angles were everywhere. What stood out to me the most was the solo piccolo player that overpowered their entire brass section :shock:
However they are still learning and I applaud them for it. keep working hard Hawthorne.

2A
Bellflower HS-77.0(75.9) Bellflower was the first band of the night to keep my full attention throughout the entire performance (Having ADHD doesn't help either, but that's a whole other story). Bellflower's show was called "Infection" which was perfectly suited since the band and guard were all dressed up in scrubs and lab coats. I thought the instrumentation would affect their overall sound since they did not march trombones and 3/4 of the winds were all brass instruments. However they were very well balanced and displayed great control. The guard did very well with a upper intermediate repertoire. There were some tuning problems but nothing too major. Big props to the trumpet soloist playing while lying down in a hospital bed :yeah:

Canyon HS- 70.3(66.0) Canyon's show is called "Into the Light"...I think? Anyways it was a fun show. There were lots of color changes and bright moments (pun intended). Visually it was a strong performance but they were held back by tuning and balance which really became apparent when sections played individually.

Cabrillo HS-51.4(46.1) Another latin themed show, which are starting to become so cliche. Anyways Cabrillo was definetly the largest of the 2A bands that night but ironically it was pretty hard to hear them sometimes because of marching in all directions on the field. The pit was stationed right in the center of the field and made things too cluttered for my liking. Cabrillo played some of my favorites such as Malagueña and Aztec Fire (Ole!) so big ups to them for that. In the middle part of the show they did a drum break/dance feature that literally lasted For about two whole minutes, which I thought was overkill. With some practice and proper horn directions this could be a pretty entertaining show.
-Judges Break- meaning I get to fill up on delicious hot chocolate, kettle corn and tacos. Thanks Mayfair Band Boosters!
3A
Santa Fe HS-49.8(56.3) Santa Fe, like most of the bands of the night, fell victims to the cold weather making the instruments go out of tune. Now combine that with trombone players blasting and sticking out like a sore thumb :td: you don't have to play loud to sound good people. The visual book was lacking for a 3A band and kind of made the entire show very slow paced. If they add some visuals and work on balancing they should progress.

5A

Arroyo HS-85.0(83.7) Now I have already seen Arroyo perform twice before tonight but yet they still impressed. Their tribal themed showed called Deity was well created, big hats off to the visual staff and the director too. They were the first band of the night to actually really put an emphasis on Dynamics, which made impacts points in the show even more....Awesome! Very well balanced sound. There was some phasing issues with the French horns in the closer but that can be forgiven. The woodwind feature was impressive. They sounded like one big instrument which is not an easy thing to do. Visually, I felt they were leagues away from all other bands that night. The visual book demonstrated a broad range of styles and expertise Arroyo marched a very large colorguard which suited the larger size of the band very well. There was some minor mistakes but it was easy to go unnoticed with so much going on.
Here is a link of Arroyo's Perfomance http://youtu.be/eVdPVOvZXoY

Mayfair HS-79.2(Host Band)Back to the Future Show! Very nostalgic performance for me. This is was a very fun show that included all the iconic sights and sounds from the movie. Musically they were well balanced and well controlled. The woodwinds had some intonation issues, primarily the clarinet section (chicken squeaks) but nothing a little practice couldn't fix. Well done Mayfair, loved the show :yeah:

6A
South HS-79.9(77.9) The show was entitled "To Be Immortal" but I had a hard time seeing that theme anywhere in the performance. South was the largest band of the evening and they had a really big brass section that I felt was holding back. The percussion section was at an advanced level especially the battery which was hands down best in show that night. The drill book was pretty clean but nothing that was out of the ordinary. I felt the guard was too small especially for the size of the band. They had a few wow moments in the closer which gave the audience a glimpse of their musicality and skill. Overall it was a good show. Nice job South.
Here is a link for South's performance http://youtu.be/TRZ_GkvPGZ8
Auxillary-Arroyo (Arroyo)
Percussion-South (if there had been a percussion judge, they would have taken this caption)
Visual Effect-Arroyo(Arroyo)
Visual Performance-South(Arroyo) This was a big shocker for me. Like I said earlier, I felt that Arroyo's visual technique and repertoire was leagues away from the other bands that night.
Music Effect-Arroyo(Arroyo)
Music Performance-Arroyo(Arroyo)
Sweepstakes Band-Arroyo(Arroyo)

Once again I want to thanks all the bands that participated that night and a special thanks to Mayfair HS for hosting a great tournament.

lo123
New Recruit
New Recruit
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:58 pm
Location: Berkeley, California

Re: SCSBOA Mayfair FST Personal Recap

Post by lo123 » Fri Nov 06, 2015 12:50 am

Thanks for sharing! And congratulations to Arroyo :D !

trumpetdiva
New Recruit
New Recruit
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 10:11 am
Location: Downey

Re: SCSBOA Mayfair FST Personal Recap

Post by trumpetdiva » Tue Nov 24, 2015 7:25 pm

Bell HS-55.1(52.2) Bell performed a latin themed show. There were many intonation issues throughout the show. Drill was very safe and just involved a lot of stopping and playing.

Bell performed selections from the Opera "Carmen" written in 1875 by French composer, Georges Bizet. The opener "Habanera" and closer "Toreador" are two of the most well known and beloved arias in Opera. Bell wasn't performing another "Latin show".

Post Reply