Zach Busch’s love of music proves contagious with students in Holley’s Jr./Sr. band program

Holley sees return and growth of jazz band, marching band and Music Boosters

Provided and file photos: Medina native Zachary Busch conducts the Jazz Band at Holley High School, where he is director of the Fine Arts Department and the band program.

HOLLEY – The director of Holley High School’s band program brings a lifetime of talent and passion for music to the table.

Zachary Busch grew up with music, son of Chris and Cindy Busch of Medina. His dad played trombone in the Mustang Marching Band and was a former assistant drum major. Zach believes he and his father were the only father/son duos to each serve as drum major in the Mustang Marching Band, until this year’s Ryder Jones, whose father Ric Jones was also drum major in his senior year.

Zach’s earliest memories of band are seeing his sister in the Mustang Color Guard in the 1990s.

Zach began playing trombone in the fourth grade. He continued to play in Medina’s concert, jazz and marching band as he grew up. He was drum major from 2010 to 2011, when the Mustang Band won the 2010 New York Field Band Conference title in their division and Grand Champion at the 2011 Gorham Pageant of Bands.

He graduated from Fredonia State College in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in music and in 2019 with a master’s degree. He studied trombone with the late Carl Mazzio, former principal trombonist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a member of the Fredonia Trombone Choir; and a member from 2013-16 and director in 2015-16 of the Fredonia Jazz Ensemble.

Pictured from left in May 2019 include Callie Updike, Evan Valentine, Band Director Zach Busch and Thomas Dobri of the Holley HS Concert Band. The band won first place in a music festival at Darien Lake, topping seven other bands.

Busch started teaching at Holley Junior/Senior High School in the fall of 2016.

“Teaching at Holley is my first and only gig,” he said. “Something I think about often is my goal for this to not only be my first job, but for me to be the only teacher to spend his entire career here and retire from here.”

When he accepted the position at Holley, he knew the first thing he wanted to do was revive their marching band. Over the years they had had several versions of a marching band, but when Busch came on board, they had been two years without one.

“I wanted the students to enjoy the same benefits of marching band I enjoyed,” he said. “Marching band was always a highlight of my life.”

Busch said there was a group of about 20 kids who were enthusiastic about marching band, including wind instrumentalists, a drum line and color guard.

“The group was small, but they knew they were important because they were bringing band back,” he said.

The Holley-Kendall Marching Band Color Guard includes students from both Holley and Kendall school districts.

A joint effort with Kendall had previously been established around 2011, and after getting approval from Holley’s principal Sue Cory, he approached the Kendall administration. The schools already shared other activities, such as unified sports, wrestling, basketball and bowling, and were onboard with a combined marching band.

“Holley and Kendall are rival schools, but I love the way they come together to be better as one,” Busch said.

The Holley-Kendall Marching Band’s first performance was Memorial Day 2017. They played an arrangement of theme songs from “The Magnificent Seven.”

Soon after the marching band’s rebirth came the global Covid pandemic.

“To not only maintain our numbers, but to grow though it was pretty indicative of how much the kids wanted to be part of a band program,” Busch said.

From 20 students in 2017, the band has grown to 50 this year.  They have marched in the Holley June Fest Parade, Holley Memorial Day Parade and Albion Strawberry Festival Parade. They competed in Springville’s Pageant of Bands in 2022, winning first place in Class C parade and Best Drum Major. In 2023, they were third in Class B Parade. At Sherburne Pageant of Bands that year they were second in Class B Parade and third in Class B Color Guard.

Members of the Holley-Kendall Marching Band enter the field for a competition.

Several Holley band members shared their passion for the group.

Isabella Emery, 12th-grade trumpet player and drum major of the Holley-Kendall Marching Band, said her favorite part of being in the concert band was seeing the growth during the school year.

“It is fun to look back on our progress and the great music we have made,” she said. “I first knew I wanted to be a part of the marching band when my elementary band director started talking about marching band. I expressed my interest and she invited me to join in fifth grade as a banner carrier. My favorite part of being in the Holley-Kendall Marching Band is the family feeling I get during the course of our session.”

Senior Owen Schultz, trombonist and assistant drum major, isn’t sure what drew him to join the band in seventh grade.

“It was more of a gut feeling this was something I should be part of,” he said. “My favorite part of concert band is contributing to the larger goal of giving great music performances. I knew I wanted to join the marching band because Mr. Busch said it would be a good opportunity to ‘play loud,’ and in my opinion, that is the best way to play the trombone.”

Maggie Keehan is a senior and alto saxophone player. She got to watch all her siblings play in the band and knew she wanted to be part of the fun they had. She didn’t join until her junior year, when her friends told her how much fun it was.

“My favorite part is building new friendships with people I normally wouldn’t see or interact with.”

Sophomore Aidan Kelley signed up for band in fourth grade. A clarinet player, he said he has always loved music and it plays a big role in his life. He joined marching band in sixth grade after the invitation from Busch.

“I’ve enjoyed being part of the growth of the program ever since,” he said. “I have made friends with people I wouldn’t have otherwise met.”

Holley’s band began in 1958 as the Holley Hawks Marching Band under the direction of Raymond Shahin. They enjoyed tremendous success, including State Fair championships and New York State Field Band Conference titles under direction of Jerry Kelsey.

The Kendall Royal Blue Marching Band was formed in 1963 under the direction of Richard Roberson and had many top finishes at the State Fair from 1963 into the 1970s.

Students perform during a performance of the Holley High School Concert Band, under the direction of Zach Busch of Medina.

Busch also revived the Holley Jazz Band in 2019 with 15 members. It was derailed by Covid in 2020 but the jazz band came back in 2021. It has grown to 30 members in grades seven through 12.

Holley Music Boosters was revived in 2022 and is still building up, Busch said. They have helped with travel costs for the Music Department trips, including Philadelphia this year; purchases for the Marching Band, such as new instruments, and registrations for students attending area All-State festivals.

Busch said he still bounces ideas off his dad.

“I know he loves it and has an ear for it,” Zach said. “And I value his perspective, as well.”

Zach’s wife Andrea, originally from Staten Island, is music teacher at Oak Orchard Elementary School and assistant band director for the Mustang Marching Band.

As for Zach, he loves his job and wouldn’t want it any other way. In addition to his duties as band director, he is chair of the Holley Fine Arts Department, Holley golf coach and president of the Orleans County Music Educators Association.