About an hour before Syracuse faced Old Dominion, Casey Vanderstouw implored his trumpets to play louder. The Baldwinsville (New York) High School band director and Syracuse grad was a percussionist in the Carrier Dome during basketball games in the mid-90s. He knew the volume and balance needed to be much higher than an average Baldwinsville basketball game.

“There’s a huge echo in here that bands have to deal with, and a delay,” Vanderstouw said. “So you really have to listen to each other and not the echo.”

The Baldwinsville pep band, Plan Bee, fills the role of the Syracuse pep band for four games during SU’s winter break in place of the regular Sour Sitrus Society. Featuring about 120 members between grades six and 12, Plan Bee has already performed at Syracuse’s (7-4) games against Old Dominion and Buffalo, and will also play during the Arkansas State game on Dec. 22 and against Clemson on Jan. 9. Many of the students overlap with Baldwinsville’s marching band, which will participate in next year’s Rose Parade at the Rose Bowl. The group brings a full, at times unique sound to the classic role of a pep band, and that’s because they let everyone be involved.

“It’s just really cool to see how much the band has evolved from just a small thing to this huge thing with all these instruments and opportunities and events that we go to,” Desiree Hoff, a sophomore at Baldwinsville, said.

Molly Bolan | Staff Photographer

Whenever Syracuse ran out of its tunnel on Saturday and Tuesday, the pep band played the SU fight song, just as the college’s usual band does. But Vanderstouw doesn’t remember ever being asked to have his students learn it. Rather, SU trusts Plan Bee to do a good job, he said, because that’s all they’ve done throughout the years.

Two of the band members, Vanderstouw’s daughter Viviana, along with tenor saxophone Hoff, couldn’t decide which song they execute was their favorite. Crocodile Rock by Elton John, maybe, or Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond, they said. But regardless of the song choice, they don’t feel nervous performing in the Carrier Dome. Rather, their weekly practices, along with carryover from performing together in the fall’s marching band, has prepared them to fill the spacious Carrier Dome with sound.

“I feel like that’s the warming part of being in this group is just to see how much the audience actually appreciates us being here,” Hoff said.

Molly Bolan | Staff Photographer

The group also plays fewer songs during SU games than they do in Baldwinsville, Vanderstouw said, due to the Dome’s commercials and piped-in music. That requires Viviana to don a headset and be in communication with the Dome staff throughout the game to know when it’s their turn. Then, Vanderstouw steps onto an elevated stand to direct his 120 musicians.

At halftime of the Old Dominion game, one of the more unusual elements of the Baldwinsville pep band stepped forward: the bagpipe player. Last year, when the band was considering adding “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by Dropkick Murphys to its repertoire, Vanderstouw posed the question. Tyler Norman, a tuba player, raised his hand, and said he knows the bagpipes, Viviana recalled.

So last Saturday, Norman stepped up and opened the halftime set. Before the game, Vanderstouw said the bagpipes were going to “blow your mind.” Then, after Norman got the tune underway, the rest of the group joined in, a full sound surrounding the bagpipe melody in the Carrier Dome. The group repeated the halftime song choice on Tuesday during the Buffalo game.

Baldwinsville also features unusual pep band instruments like violins, obos, bells, a cello and a viola. Those aren’t typical of a pep band, Vanderstouw said, but it’s typical of his group.

“Kids show up and they want to do it, you don’t tell them no,” Vanderstouw said.

“Nobody sits on the bench, which is great,” Viviana added.

The performances in the Carrier Dome aren’t the only big events Plan Bee has in the works. The group also has an album release upcoming at The Palace Theatre in Syracuse. It features a collection of songs recorded from their live performances over the past three and a half years.

The name of Plan Bee’s album: Bee Sides.

“I like to keep it tongue in cheek,” Vanderstouw said.

Usually, the Sour Sitrus Society only performs the Syracuse fight song at the conclusion of SU victories. But after Old Dominion upset the Orange, that didn’t stop Plan Bee. The Baldwinsville students blasted the classic song, and didn’t stop there, playing a few more songs before putting away their instruments.

The trumpets blared. Vanderstouw stamped his feet as he directed from his elevated perch. After the loss to Old Dominion, surrounded by a crowd of unhappy SU basketball fans, the local high schoolers didn’t lose energy and jammed on.

Published on December 20, 2018 at 11:05 am

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3