2023 Marching Band Results: Season in Review

Dec 15, 2023 | News

2023 Marching Band Results: Season in Review

A UIL 5A podium sweep headlines the 2023 marching band results

The biggest of the 2023 marching band results came at the UIL State Marching Band Contest, where bands playing my shows took all three 5A medals. Cedar Park won gold, Rouse took silver and Wakeland took bronze. Panther Creek won 4A silver.

At Bands of America, Rouse won the Austin Regional and Wakeland won North Texas, and Rouse added the Class AAA title at the San Antonio Super Regional. Outside Texas, Millard West was Nebraska’s state grand champion and Mountain Ridge won Arizona’s Division I title.

Here are the full 2023 marching band results for bands playing my music, circuit by circuit. Every result here comes from a published recap or score list.

2023 Bands of America results

Bands playing my music made 23 BOA finals in 2023 and won 8 class championships. Two of them won their regional outright: Rouse at Austin and Wakeland at North Texas.

Grand National Championships, Indianapolis

Collinsville (IL, Mirror Mirror) and Milford (OH, Queen Bee) marched Grand National prelims.

Super Regionals

Regional finalists and class champions

Two more bands won their class without making finals. Argyle won Class AA at the San Antonio Super Regional with Subaqueous, and Gatesville won Class A at Austin with a Mix of Selections from Evan’s Catalog. Both swept all three class captions.

2023 UIL Area and State results

Fifteen bands playing my music marched at the UIL State Marching Band Contest. Nine made finals and four came home with medals, and bands playing my shows took all three 5A medals. It started at Area, where 30 bands playing my music made finals and seven won their Area outright.

State medalists

Other State finalists

Also advanced to State

Area finalists

Fifteen more bands made their Area finals in 2023.

The 2023 Area result files are no longer on UIL’s site. Area names link to archived copies of UIL’s official files where they exist, and the other placements come from TxBands contest reports.

2023 state championships outside Texas

Two bands playing shows from my library won state titles in 2023. Millard West was the grand champion of the Nebraska State Marching Contest with a 96.750, adding Best Music, Visual, General Effect and Percussion. Mountain Ridge won Arizona’s Division I title.

State champions

State finalists

Lancaster earned a Superior rating at the OMEA State Marching Band Finals with Classic Rach. Benton and Conway (Hypnotic) earned First Division ratings at the Arkansas State Marching Contest.

2023 USBands results

Byron Nelson won the USBands Central Texas Championship outright with a 96.000.

The people behind these results

These placements belong to the students, directors and staff who earned them over a long season of rehearsals. I’m proud my music got to be part of their year. And to the directors: thank you for trusting me with your shows and for making me part of your teams.

If you want a season like these, start by listening to the shows. More than half of these bands began with a show from my library, adapted to their instrumentation and players. You can see every result since 2022 on my contest results page, read the 2022 season in review and the 2024 season in review, or tell me about your band and we’ll talk about your next show.

FAQ

Who won the 2023 UIL 5A State Marching Band Contest? Cedar Park won the gold medal, Rouse took silver and Wakeland took bronze. All three performed custom shows I wrote for them: Belle Mechanique, Requiem and Sense of Direction.

Which Bands of America regionals did Evan VanDoren shows win in 2023? Rouse won the Austin Regional with Requiem (85.150), and Wakeland won the North Texas Regional with Sense of Direction (88.750). Both also won Class AAA.

Can an adapted library show win at UIL State or Bands of America? Yes. In 2023, Panther Creek won 4A State silver and Goshen won Class AAA at BOA Central Ohio with shows from my library. Millard West won the Nebraska state grand championship with TRAINlapse, and Mountain Ridge won Arizona’s Division I title with Play!. See how adapted shows work.

About the author

I’m Evan VanDoren, a composer and arranger based in Austin. I spent nine years as band director at Cedar Park High School, where we won three UIL State Championships, and I now write for Santa Clara Vanguard. My work is published through RWS Music and Alfred Music, and I write adaptable and custom marching band shows for programs across the country.

Results compiled from official BOA, USBands, UIL and state association recaps, archived UIL Area files, TxBands contest reports and published score lists. Compiled in 2026.