The Recap
The band was incredible. The energy level was high, the band was more powerful, we had a great performance, clearly a peak for this band and our entire program. Electric! The best performance by any Roslyn Band. Pure and simple!
The Scoop
The two General Effect Judges buried us. They didn't understand or like the show. A complete departure from the last show in which all six judges loved it and were overcome by the show, complimenting us in every way. One of the judges is a famous winter guard judge who absolutely loved the guard for Mineola and rewarded them for it by putting them 1.4 points above us on his sheet. To put that in perspective, he had us about 12 points below Mineola. The Ensemble visual judge, sitting 5 feet to his right, had us down .6 of a point. These are two captions that we beat Mineola in the show before. The general effect music judge had us up a tiny bit, he didn't get the show either. We should have the highest general effect scores with our show. Last night it didn't happen. They loved Mineola, they have a right to, they are the judges! As we went through the post contest judges meeting they started to understand the show, remember, this was a first read for all of them. I could even hear them start to get it on the tapes. Another read would have popped us, I am sure. Sometimes, as the judges look at the show again and again, they grow to love it. We have that kind of show. Our show will also play well in the dome. We were up on three judges sheets and down on four. In music we beat Mineola by a pretty large margin, however, those two visual numbers really sent our score tumbling down.
There is another issue which I have touched on before. I am very conflicted in how to say this. After thinking about it overnight I think I can state it in a very conservative way. Anyone who sat through that show knows how great our band did. There were other bands who didn't do quite as well and shall we say, are having more difficult a year than they had in the past ten years of so. The scoring, in my opinion, was, safe scoring. You can draw your own conclusions from that. Some of the scores were traditional. We have only been on the field for six years, which is an infancy in this activity. When I directed Mineola, in the 90's, through their famed ascent from a score of 39 in 1990 to it's 1st place, highest scores on Long Island in '96 and '97, there were three years in there when we still had some of the lowest scores at each show, beating maybe one band. There were mind boggling results, with parents from all the bands walking out of the stadium in a daze over the scoring. Last night, I was thrilled that we beat six bands. We are definitely on the move upward. Are we getting the scores we deserve. Yes! And you know why? Because the judges have a right to their opinions. They are professionals and we must respect them to respect the activity. This activity that we all love! Remember, these judges will someday crown us champions! We are on the move! Aim high, be patient!
The Weekly Goal
We must work on marching, there are too many interval problems, people out of step, and a lack of clarity in our horn pops and starts and stops. We must keep working on the music to make it masterful and perfect. We must continue our quest to be the best we can be and push forward. We must blow the judges away at the Whitman Show in two weeks. Our scores, in the low 70s will put both Mineola and Roslyn at the bottom of the class in the state. Although we keep an eye on those numbers, they really mean very little when we finally get to the Championship. There anything can happen. There are 13 judges, they double the judging slate, and when all the bands are in the same venue on the same day anyone can win. Everyone should try to rest this next weekend because the last three weeks of the season are intense and a real push. We have 6 shows in 2 1/2 weeks. This is a marathon and we must be ready for the last few miles! Get rest, sleep, eat right, and prepare yourself mentally and physically for the last push. While all the other bands burn out and don't pace themselves properly, we will reign! Get ready for the big push! We can do it. Our goal is still to win the dome, to peak just right and do the show of our lives at the Championships. It is a lofty goal, but I feel, especially after last night's peformance, a reachable one!
