The Western Band Association (WBA) is a
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that promotes
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
music education in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
and
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. Specifically, the WBA organizes many
marching band
A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...
competitions for high school students. Its championships event is considered to be the second-largest single marching contest in the country.
In addition to marching band events, WBA also organizes
concert band
A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...
festivals, symposia, and musical and leadership clinics. In 2008, over 12,000 students in 133 bands performed in WBA events in multiple competitions hosted throughout the state.
History
The Western Band Association was started in 1979 by marching band directors from five Northern and Central California high schools: Mike Rubino (
Live Oak High School), Ramiro Barrera (James Logan High School), Dan Smith (
Independence High School), Gary Runsten (
Modesto High School
Modesto High School is a public high school in Modesto, California, United States. It offers the International Baccalaureate Program and the Avid program, Performing Arts Program and was the first public school to do so in the Central Valley of ...
) and Mel Stratton (
Clovis High School).
In 1984, Gary Gilroy (
Moreau High School
Moreau Catholic High School is a college preparatory Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic secondary school sponsored by the Moreau Province of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. It is located in Hayward, California, within the Roman Catholic Di ...
) coined the name "WSMBC" Western States Marching Band Conference, which would later be shortened to WBA by Ramiro Barrera (James Logan High School) in 2002. The first WSMBC Championship was held in conjunction with the 1984 Music Bowl Prelims at
James Logan High School
James Logan High School (also known as JLHS or Logan) is a public high school located in Union City, California. It is part of the New Haven Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Awards
In 1994 and 1998, Logan was recognized as ...
. In 1995, John Hannan (
Mission Viejo High School
Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive education, comprehensive State school, public secondary education in the United States, high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unif ...
) helped expand the organization's efforts to include
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
bands as well.
In recent years, bands have also competed under the "WBA" banner from nearby states, including
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, and
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. The scoring system also grew to become a two-tiered criteria based curriculum designed for bands of various size memberships, assuring that the small band would have the same opportunity as the large band to achieve a high score measuring their unique orchestration and design options.
In 2006, the competition schedule has grown to offer consecutive contests in each of the three Regions (Northern, Central and Southern California) helping to alleviate the costs of travel for the bands.
In 2012, James Logan High School and
Ayala High School
Senator Ruben S. Ayala Senior High School, often abbreviated as Ayala High School or AHS, is located in Chino Hills, California. It is one of the four comprehensive high schools in the Chino Valley Unified School District. The school was establ ...
tied for first place at the WBA Championships, with both scoring 93.40. However, the tie was broken based on Ayala's General Effect score. The tiebreaker settled Ayala as the WBA Champions.
Scoring system
Each individual judge is assigned to a specific caption (Individual and Ensemble Music, Individual and Ensemble Visual, General Effect,
Auxiliary
Auxiliary may refer to:
* A backup site or system
In language
* Auxiliary language (disambiguation)
* Auxiliary verb
In military and law enforcement
* Auxiliary police
* Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of ...
, and
Percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
). General Effect and Music are each worth 30% of the total score, Visual is worth 20%, and Auxiliary and Percussion are each worth 10%.
Awards are released by division. The band with the highest award points for each caption per division is awarded a caption award, while the band with the most overall points in each division is awarded first place-prize. The band with most points in A/AA/AAA combined classes and AAAA/AAAAA combined classes are awarded a "sweepstakes award", with that band removed from the rankings of their class; the next band in placement in that class is moved to "first place" and so on (only for that class). Each competition will have two Sweepstakes winners, one each for A/AA/AAA and AAAA/AAAAA.
Marching band circuit
The WBA organizes a marching band circuit with competitions held throughout October and November leading up to the circuit championship competition. Classifications were updated in 2021.
There are currently five divisions:
*Class 1A: 45 performers or less
*Class 2A: 46-65 performers
*Class 3A: 66-85 performers
*Class 4A: 86-115 performers
*Class 5A: 116 performers or more
**Classifications prior to 2021 beginning 2004:
* Class A: Bands with up to 60 members
* Class AA: Bands with up to 80 members
* Class AAA: Bands with up to 100 members
* Class AAAA: Bands with up to 140 members
* Class AAAAA: Bands with more than 140 members
**Prior to 2004, there were only four divisions. The original Class AA was expanded to two classes, now AA and AAA. AAA and AAAA became the current AAAA and AAAAA classes. Prior to this (before 2000), WBA had A-60, A-90, AA, and AAA as the classifications.
Class champions at the WBA Championships are determined at the conclusion of preliminary competition at championships. After prelims, the bands then move on to one of two finals competitions: the A/AA/AAA Championship and the AAAA/AAAAA Championship. The top three bands from each division move on to their respective championship and the remaining field is filled by the next highest scoring bands.
The Finals field is composed of:
* The top 3 bands from each of Class A, AA, and AAA, then the next highest 6 bands from those 3 classifications combined (regardless of class and score) for a total of 15 bands in finals.
*The top three bands from each of Class AAAA and AAAAA, then the next highest 9 bands from those 2 classifications combined (regardless of class and score) for a total of 15 bands in finals.
Past champions
Below is an incomplete list of past class champions and sweepstakes winners:
Class champions
Sweepstakes winners
Combined A/AA/AAA Grand Champions
Previously known as the Class A/AA Championship.
Combined AAAA/AAAAA Grand Champions
Previously known as the AAA/AAAA Championship.
''Denotes a tie overall score. However, the tie was broken by a higher general effect score.''
Regional Championships
The 2021 season had Regional Championships held at 1 site in each region.
See also
*
Bands of America
Bands of America (BOA) is a music education advocacy organization and promoter of high school marching band competitions in the United States, such as the annual Grand National Championships. Established in 1975 as Marching Bands of America (MBA), ...
*
Northwest Association for Performing Arts
The Northwest Association for Performing Arts (NWAPA) is a governing body and competitive circuit of high school marching bands, Color guard (flag spinning), color guards, and percussion ensembles based in Portland, Oregon. The association was fou ...
*
Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association
The Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) provides a number of services for elementary through college level instrumental music groups in Southern California, including providing clinics for educators and students and h ...
*
Tournament of Bands The Tournament of Bands (TOB) is one of the largest competitive band organizations in the United States and is one of several major circuits in the mid-Atlantic states (other circuits include Cavalcade of Bands and USBands). TOB was founded in 197 ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Western Band Association
Music organizations based in the United States
High school marching bands from the United States
Organizations established in 1979