VIRGINIA BEACH — Last month, Norfolk State University band director William Beathea and the Marching Spartan Legion wowed the West Coast with a spectacular performance at the annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.
I recently had a chance to speak with Beathea, who lives in Virginia Beach, about that experience, which he has called the band’s biggest performance to date.
The Monday, Jan. 2, parade was watched by millions of people around the nation. It drew positive press coverage of the band and university, and it simply featured a stellar band at the top of its game.
And they are not resting on their laurels. Beathea and the Spartan Legion were preparing for another gig when we spoke.
“The band is packing for Atlanta, and the pep band is heading to Echols Hall for the game tonight,” Beathea said.
The pep band pepped the Spartan basketball team to a victory over arch-rival North Carolina Central, and then the legion was off for the HBCU All-Stars Battle of the Bands in Atlanta, which was scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4.
He said the attention the Rose Parade brought focused on the abilities and work of Norfolk State’s marching band and others, too.
“Aspire TV on cable did a 30-minute documentary on each team that entered,” Beathea said. “You can see our story, Bethune-Cookman, everybody. It’s really nice how they did it.”
Beathea said he had never been so proud of his charges. They represented themselves, their families, the state, region, city and Norfolk State University.
And Norfolk State stood out as a number of bands gathered for the parade. A photograph of the Marching Spartan Legion performing at Pasadena City College prior to the Rose Parade appeared above the fold of a special section of The Los Angeles Times.
Behold, the green and gold.
It’s heritage. It’s the drum line. His bloodline.
Beathea’s specialty is percussion. His mother was a drummer, so he became a drummer.
“My mom, Dr. Carol Beathea, is a retired therapist,” he said. “She is a pioneer of sorts. Before she went to the University of Michigan and Western Michigan, she played the drums when it wasn’t common for young ladies to play drums. I’ve even seen a picture of her in the drum line in the 1960s.”
Beathea, who lives near the Kings Grant area, added: “She was ahead of her time. That was her thing. Playing the drums. When I was old enough, she said, ‘I’m going to try my son out and see if he’s interested in it. So she bought me a pair of sticks and a pad.”
The rest, he noted, is history.
“The real, real story of the parent with talent who passed it on to their children,” he said.
What a talent, and Beathea is among the music educators passing their gifts along to young musicians. The response to the performance has been overwhelming. And the Tournament of Roses Parade knew it had something special in the Spartans.
“People from the parade stand had been emailing me like crazy,” Beathea said.
Rose Bowl officials told him that NSU was the best, and they would play for six minutes at the grandstand.
“Norfolk State’s band is phenomenal when you haven’t seen them before,” Beathea said.
“One gentleman emailed me that he’d been coming to the Rose Bowl parade for 40 years, and Norfolk State’s band was the best he’d ever seen. We received a lot of comments with accolades like that. It was mesmerizing to people.”
Beathea and his staff – which includes Stephanie Sanders, associate director of bands, and Chekita Jones, operations coordinator – put together a memorable performance.
The Marching Spartan Legion opened with the Black Eyed Peas’ “Let’s Get It Started,” followed by a campus staple, “Pancake House,” a display of energy and choreography.
“We ended the set with Dr. Dre’s “California Love,” Beathea said. “When they are on, out there vibing and stuff, motivated and feeding off each other playing, there is a ‘whoa’ factor.”
Anybody who has seen them play here in Hampton Roads knows it, and, this past month, it was heard from coast to coast.
The author is a writer and documentary filmmaker who grew up in Norfolk and lived in Virginia Beach for much of his life. He ran a production company, worked in college athletics and was curator at an art gallery in Virginia Beach for years.
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