Alumni
Image
B'ville Music Teacher and Marching Band Director Casey Vanderstouw, '03
OCC Music Alum Casey Vanderstouw, '03 is a music teacher and marching band director at Baldwinsville High School. He's preparing the Marching Bees for their New Year's Day performance in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.

Casey Vanderstouw, '03 is about to lead the Baldwinsville High School Marching Band on the trip of a lifetime. Vanderstouw and the 140-student "Marching Bees" will be celebrating New Year's Day in California, performing in the Rose Parade hosted by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses. "Getting invited there is such a huge accomplishment. The Rose Parade has an international feel to it. There are bands from South America, Asia, Europe, and a few high school bands. We're fortunate to be one of them. It's such a big stage."

Three decades ago Vanderstouw fell in love with marching bands while growing up in the Moravia School District in Cayuga County, joining the marching band in 6th grade. "I was in way over my head but it was unlike anything else I had ever done. It wasn't like any sport or activity. It was very unique. Our school was pretty small but we got to perform in some pretty big stadiums. As I got older I knew one day I wanted to be able to give kids the same chances I had."

While performing Vanderstouw focused primarily on percussion. When he started taking classes in the Music major at Onondaga Community College, he formed a strong bond with Professor Rob Bridge whose specialty was percussion. "He was a huge influence on me and still is to this day. He was so innovative and hard working and personable, would go above and beyond and I related to that. There were tons of late nights and weekends. Echoes of what he did back then are still in my teaching today."

Vanderstouw became a music teacher and marching band director at Baldwinsville High School in 2009. Five years ago he brought the Marching Bees to New York City to participate in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "Once we got into Macy's, the next goal was the Rose Parade." They had applied three times and been denied. In October of 2018 the Marching Bees learned they had been selected for the Rose Parade on January 1, 2020, making them the first band from New York State to be invited in more than 30 years. "In our application we talked about community and how much we perform in the community. We have a track record of success. It's our job to represent our community well and be professional."

Sixteen years after he earned his degree at OCC, his positive experience on campus remains fresh in his mind and he occasionally shares stories about it with his students. "I've told them a lot of what I learned in my career I learned there. I had some really good instructors there. I was determined to do well and OCC had enough structure for that. It's a community based school and I connected with that. I was proud of my time there."

You can watch the Rose Parade and the Marching Bees performance January 1 at 11 a.m. eastern time. The event will be broadcast on multiple television networks.

Keywords
OCC
Onondaga Community College
Baldwinsville High School