About Us | New York Marching Band

About New York Marching Band

Launching in 2026, the New York State Marching Band (NYMB) exists to unite outstanding student musicians from across our state in a safe, inclusive, high‑quality, and FUN marching band experience that celebrates excellence, teamwork, and pride in representing our state.

Our team is committed to providing a platform for musicians to showcase their skills and exercise their passion for music. Creating opportunities for marching band student performers across New York State is our primary mission.

Core Values

Excellence & Education: Striving for high musical and marching standards

Inclusivity: Welcoming and valuing students of all backgrounds, identities, abilities, and experiences

Safety: Prioritizing physical, emotional, and mental well‑being

Fun: Ensuring the experience is enjoyable, memorable, and rewarding

Casey Vanderstouw

NYMB Director

Casey Vanderstouw is the director of the New York State Marching Band, leading the ensemble’s inaugural 2026 season. He is a nationally recognized music educator, district-level arts administrator, and marching arts leader with over two decades of experience in music education, ensemble leadership, and large-scale program development at the middle school, high school, collegiate, district, and statewide levels.

As a marching band director, Casey has led student ensembles to perform at some of the most prestigious events in the world, including:

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Tournament of Roses Parade (Pasadena, CA)
Bands of America Regional Championships
US Bands National Championships
Collegiate Bowl Games
Performances at unique venues including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland), NASA Cape Canaveral (Florida), USS Intrepid (NYC), Jack White’s Nashville studio
Performances for the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills
Performances and partnerships with over 15 New York State colleges

In addition to directing ensembles at the highest level, Casey remains an active performing artist. In addition to concert percussion performances with various ensembles, he has been selected to perform on snare drum with Saluting America’s Band Directors (SABD), an elite national ensemble honoring music educators, including:

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — 2023
Tournament of Roses Parade — January 1, 2026

Color Guard

Shannon Spalding

Longtime guard performer, Shannon's previous marching experience includes Trumansburg World, Patriots, and Syracuse Brigadiers. She's instructed, designed, and consulted various groups including Brigadiers Winterguard and Homer Winterguard.

Shannon was inducted to the Mid-York Color Guard Hall of Fame in 2023.

Currently, Shannon is the Technical Supervisor for Brigadiers Winter Guard and the Director of Baldswinsville Varsity Winterguard and teaches other Baldwinsville programs including the Marching Band and JV Guard.

James Branche

James has a long history in the marching arts. He has marched drum corps in Canada with the Kingston Grenadiers in 2004 and 2005, in New York with the Empire Statesmen from 2007-2013 as well as the color guard co-caption head for the NY Skyliners in 2016 and 2017. He has taught Marching Band since 2004 with New Hartford HS in NY as well as the Baldwinsville Marching Bees, where he proudly was able to march in the 2020 Rose Parade in Pasadena California. He has designed for and directed for winterguard programs in NY and Georgia and is a Winter Guard International Contest Administrator and travels across the country managing regional events. During the day, James is the Human Resources Manager based in Georgia.

Skyla Cieslik

Skyla began her color guard career at Central Square High School, where she performed for seven years across both winter and fall seasons, graduating in 2019. During her time there, the program medaled first or second place six out of seven years, highlighted by a 2019 World Championships appearance where they placed 7th in A Class out of nearly 300 guards and were voted Fan Favorite during finals.

After graduating, she moved into instruction, teaching at Phoenix High School from 2020–2022 before joining the Baldwinsville program in 2022, where she currently serves as the director of the JV color guard. Skyla has weapon training, but flag is her primary focus as both a performer and educator.

Winds

Kris Czerwiak

Kris Czerwiak is from, and resides in, the Syracuse area of New York state. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in music education with an emphasis in oboe from Ithaca College. Kris is enjoying her 25th year of teaching music and has served as a band director

for the past 17 years in the Baldwinsville Central School District. Over the years she has either marched or taught marching band for 17 seasons and cites marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as an amazing highlight of her career with marching bands.

Jennifer Greene

Jennifer Greene has been an instrumental music educator, specializing in bands, for more than thirty years. Currently, she is the Wind Symphony Director at Binghamton University, an adjunct professor at Onondaga Community College, and a course facilitator for Kent State University’s Master of Music Education online program. For the majority of her career she held a position at Fayetteville-Manlius High School, a suburb of Syracuse, New York, where she taught Concert Band, Studio Music, Music Theory 2, AP Music Theory, brass and percussion lessons, and chamber ensembles. She was also a director for the Pep Band and the Parade Band for Memorial Day. As a music educator, Dr. Greene is an active member of the New York State School Music Association for which she is an adjudicator for majors and All-State brass, a member of the Manual Selection Committee, and the Zone 3 Representative. Dr. Greene’s marching band roots began as a high school student in Loudoun County, Virginia, and continued through to her time with the Marching Royal Dukes while an undergraduate at James Madison University.

Tyler Jessie

Tyler Jessie has six years of experience teaching high school marching band. He specializes in visual performance and movement instruction, helping students develop strong fundamentals, clarity of technique, and confident performance skills.

A low brass musician, Tyler marched with Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps, where he built a strong foundation in discipline, visual excellence, and ensemble performance. Tyler is passionate about creating a positive, supportive, and high-energy rehearsal environment.

Jason Varga

Jason Varga holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Music Education from Ithaca College. He is currently an Instrumental Music Teacher at Draper Middle School, Marching Band Director, and Pit Orchestra Conductor within the Mohonasen Central School District (Schenectady, NY). A founding member and Past President of the Schenectady County Music Association, Mr. Varga has also significantly contributed to the New York State competitive marching band community as a director, instructor, and arranger. Mr. Varga has also served as a music adjudicator for US Bands. As Director of the Mohonasen Marching Band, he led the ensemble to become the 2023 NYS Champions and participate in the 2024 USBands National Championships. Mr. Varga will serve as President of the New York State Field Band Conference for the 2026-2027 term. Mr. Varga also performs on French Horn throughout the Capital Region of New York State, and has been a feature soloist and guest conductor for the Guilderland Town Band.

Drumline

Dan English

Dan English is best known as the leader and a founding member of Downbeat Percussion, the official drumline for the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Based in the Syracuse area, the group performs around Highmark Stadium, at the Great New York State Fair, and at various collegiate and private events.

In addition to his work with the Buffalo Bills, Dan English has a strong background in marching and indoor percussion:

Vortex Indoor Winds: He serves as the Director of Percussion for the Syracuse-based indoor winds and percussion ensemble.
WGI Sport of the Arts: English has represented New York at the WGI Advisory Board Meetings, helping grow the independent winds and percussion circuits in the state.
Local Education: He is active in local youth music programs, having worked with the Jordan-Elbridge Marching Eagles.