CTJ Wins Austin, 5 Straight In BOA
The Claudia Taylor Johnson Marching Band won its fifth consecutive Bands of America championship on Saturday, capturing first place in the finals competition at the BOA Austin Regional at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Round Rock.
Johnson’s finals score of 83.75 was more than a half-point better than second-place Leander (83.10). Vandegrift (82.30) was third, followed by Vista Ridge (82.05) and James Bowie (80.05).
CTJ was also awarded Outstanding General Effect in finals for its 10th anniversary show, “Tremendous Sea of Love.”
In preliminary performance, Johnson was named the Class AAAA champion, winning the captions for Outstanding Visual Performance and Outstanding Music Performance. Since the beginning of the 2017 season, Johnson has been awarded 24 out of a possible 30 captions in Bands of America events.
The win was CTJ’s eighth BOA super regional or regional championship, all since the beginning of the 2014 marching season.
Johnson will perform in competition next on Saturday, Oct. 20, at the UIL Region 12 Marching Contest at Heroes Stadium.
Six From CTJ Honored In Jazz
Six members of the Claudia Taylor Johnson Jazz Band program have been named to the Texas Music Educators Association All-Area/All-Region Jazz Band following auditions this month.
Those honored are: Isaac LaVigne, senior, drum set; Juan San Miguel, junior, alto saxophone; Hondo San Miguel, sophomore, baritone saxophone; Connor Tipton, senior, trumpet; Eli Canales, junior, trombone; and Tanner Clemmons, sophomore, guitar.
These six students will perform with the TMEA All-Region Jazz Band in late January or early February 2019. They will have the opportunity to audition for the TMEA All-State Jazz Band in a few weeks.
CTJ Fourth in 6A State Honor Band
The Claudia Taylor Johnson Wind Ensemble finished fourth out of 16 6A schools statewide at the Texas Music Educators Association 6A State Honor Band Hearing on July 26 at
the Texas Bandmasters Association Conference in San Antonio.
The top five bands included the 2018 Honor Band Vandegrift (first), Flower Mound (second), Duncanville (third), and Coppell (fifth).
“We are thrilled to be included in the TMEA State Competition,” said CTJ Director of Bands Jarrett Lipman. “Our students understand the great challenge of advancing through the elimination process and recognize the incredible company they are a part of at all three levels of the contest. While the competitive results are always an exciting part of the process, the recordings and memories through preparing the for the state contest will last a lifetime. It was an amazing ride for the 2018 Wind Ensemble, and we can't wait to see what the future holds.”
The CTJ Wind Ensemble had placed first at the TMEA 6A Area E and Region 12 Honor Band hearings in June, advancing the group to state. The showing was Johnson’s third Top Five statewide finish in Honor Band competition since 2012. CTJ finished in third place in the 2014 TMEA 5A competition, and fifth in the 2012 TMEA 5A competition.
