Northwest Marching Band Circuit

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The Northwest Marching Band Circuit, or NWMBC, is a collective of Pacific Northwest high school marching bands founded in 1997[1]. The NWMBC's mission is[2]:

... to promote, enrich and foster growth in the musical educational of students through the activities of marching band, winter guard and winter percussion.

Contents

[edit] Participants

The NWMBC draws from high schools from various states across the Pacific Northwest. The following high schools participate in the NWMBC as of 2006[3]

[edit] California

[edit] Idaho

[edit] Oregon

[edit] Washington

[edit] Classification

The bands of the NWMBC are classified by total number of performers.[4] Bands may not compete in a class below their size, but may choose to compete up a class. For example, in 2006 North Salem competed in Open class with 75 members, though they qualfied as a Class A band based on size (see below).

[edit] Novice

For bands with no previous competitive marching experience.

[edit] A Class

Bands with up to 90 members.

[edit] AA Class

Bands with 90-130 members.

[edit] Open Class

Bands with 131+ members. Bands can also choose to be open class if they believe they are ready. Bands from this classification are often the highest scoring, as their numbers allow for a higher general effect score.

[edit] Exhibition

Bands that perform in Exhibition are evaluated by judges and given scores, but do not compete. Typically bands that host a competition choose to perform in Exhibition, though there is no requirement that they do so. Century, Evergreen, Sprague, and Sunset have chosen this option in the past.

[edit] Events

The following events are held annually, in varying order:

  • The University of Oregon Festival of Bands
  • Sunset Classic (hosted by Sunset High School)
  • McKenzie Classic (hosted by Evergreen High School)
  • Pride of the Northwest (hosted by Grants Pass High School)
  • Oregon State University Marching Band Competition
  • Pacific Coast Invitational (hosted by Sprague High School)

The following events were added in 2006:

  • Century Showcase (hosted by Century High School)
  • Spokane Thunder (hosted by the Greater Spokane Drum Corps Assn.)

One of these competitions is chosen as the season's final event, and is held as the NWMBC Championships. The following events hosted the Championships in the given year:

  • 2004: University of Oregon
  • 2005: Oregon State University
  • 2006: Sunset Classic
  • 2007: Oregon State University

[edit] Reigning Champions

[edit] 2007 A Class Champion

Hockinson

[edit] 2007 AA Class Champion

Sunset

[edit] 2007 Open Class Champion

Southridge

[edit] Competition Procedures

NWMBC events consist of two rounds of competition. In Preliminary competition, bands compete within their size classification. Awards are then presented within each class. In the Finals round of competition, all bands compete in a single class, with another set of awards given based on the finals scores.

Each event can set a maximum number of bands that can appear in the Finals round. Typically this limit is between 12 and 15 bands. If more bands enter the event, then the Preliminary round scores are used to select the bands that will advance to Finals. The qualification procedures can vary from event to event. In one typical method, the two highest scoring bands in each classification will automatically qualify for finals, along with the next-highest scoring bands until the limit is reached. For example, a 16-band finals round may be made up of the top two in each classification plus the next 10 highest scoring bands.

Bands perform in Finals in increasing order of scores from the preliminary round (lowest to highest).

[edit] Scoring

Scoring in the NWMBC is based on eight captions. The final score is the sum of the eight caption scores, minus any penalties. The eight scoring captions and their maximum values are:

  • General Effect Music - 20 points
  • General Effect Visual - 20 points
  • Music Performance - Individual - 10 points
  • Music Performance - Ensemble - 10 points
  • Percussion - 10 points
  • Visual Performance - Individual - 10 points
  • Visual Performance - Ensemble - 10 points
  • Auxiliary - 10 points

Each caption has its own adjudicator, requiring eight adjudicators for each contest.

In case of a tie, the first tie-breaker is the combined General Effect scores. If the total GE scores are identical, the second tie-breaker is the combined Music Performance scores. For example, in 2006 in the finals of the circuit championships, Evergreen and Southridge had identical scores of 93.70. Since Evergreen had a higher combined General Effect score (37.9 to 37.8), Evergreen was awarded first place.

[edit] Caption Awards

For each round of competition, five caption awards are given. These caption awards are determined by combining the eight caption scores in the following manner:

  • High General Effect- The sum of the two General Effect scores
  • High Music - The sum of the Individual and Ensemble Music Performance scores
  • High Visual - The sum of the Individual and Ensemble Visual Performance scores
  • High Percussion - The value of the Percussion caption
  • High Auxiliary - The value of the Auxiliary caption

[edit] Placement Awards

For each round of competition, in addition to the caption awards, placement awards are given for at least the top three total scores.

[edit] Governance

The NWMBC is governed by a Board of Directors, consisting of the four elected officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) and the Immediate Past President. Officers are elected to two-year terms. Elections are held in February, with the President and Secretary elected in even-number years, and the Vice President and Treasurer elected in odd-numbered years. All band directors and show sponsors that are in good standing are eligible to hold elected office. The Board of directors meet four times per year, with each member having one vote.

The current president is Rob Sullens of Union High School.

Four general membership meetings are held per year. Band director members each cast one vote in all deliberations. Show sponsors only vote if they are elected officers. Voting may be by voice vote, written ballot, or by email, at the discretion of the President.


The Current Vice President is Jim Dunlop, Director of Bands at Century High School The Current Treasurer is Noelle Hamblin, Diredtor of Bands at St. Helen High School The Current Secretary is Emily Winchip, Assistant Director of Bands at Sprague High School

[edit] External links