Dartmouth High marching band reaches semifinals in Grand National competition

For the first time in the school’s history, Dartmouth High School’s marching band drove to Indianapolis to compete in the Bands of America Grand National competition, from Nov. 9 to Nov. 11. 

Dartmouth typically competes at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey at the smaller USBands National Championships, where they have won 11 times, including seven titles just since 2016. Bands of America is a larger, more competitive circuit that gathers bands from across the country. 

The band gained some confidence last year after winning the regional Bands of America competition, a precursor to Grand Nationals, even as the smallest band in the finals with 92 members. It was the first time Dartmouth even opted to participate. 

Dartmouth won the regional competition again this year, just two weeks before heading to Indiana. 

Dartmouth’s 2023 performance is about street art — specifically, the art of Banksy. The music is a modern take on the orchestral piece “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky, but the traditional arrangement has been modified with “hip-hop themes” and “urban sounds.” 

That show impressed the judges at Grand Nationals, and earned Dartmouth a spot in the semifinal group of 33, chosen from a group of 90. Unfortunately, Dartmouth did not move into the narrow group of finalists, ending their run of competition wins.