Ms. Meredith Casey was hired as the Assistant Director of Bands at Washburn Rural High School in 2021. She serves as the woodwind specialist throughout USD 437. She teaches marching band, jazz band, International Baccalaureate (IB) music, woodwind ensemble, concert band, pep band, summer music camp, and assists band classes at WRMS and the Auburn-Washburn elementary schools. She also founded the Woodwind Club that performs at all concerts and KMEA Solo & Ensemble. Ms. Casey also has been teaching woodwind private lessons to 5th-12th graders since 2017. Additionally, Ms. Casey enjoys playing as many secondary instruments as she can throughout the school year, especially during pep band. Before Washburn Rural, Ms. Casey attended Avon High School in Avon, Ohio before moving to and graduating from Blue Valley Southwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas in 2017. Ms. Casey graduated summa cum laude from Kansas State University as a Bachelor of Music Education in 2021. While at K-State, she performed with various groups including the Pride of Wildcat Land Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, Concert Jazz Ensemble, Lab A Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Pit Orchestra, Pub Crawl Band, Cat Band, University Band, University Choir, Woodwind Ensemble, Clarinet Choir, the Little Apple Clarinet Quartet, and many chamber ensembles. In many of these groups, Ms. Casey placed principal player on both clarinet and saxophone for four years. She was also heavily involved in the Pride of Wildcat Land as both an Assistant Drum Major in 2019 and Head Drum Major in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped transfer all K-State music leadership, ensembles, and student organization activities to virtual learning while serving as the Head Drum Major. During this time, she also helped write the constitution for the K-State Marching Band's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Ms. Casey was also elected as the Treasurer for the honorary band service sorority Tau Beta Sigma, the Secretary for the National Association for Music Education, and the Marketing Chair for the jazz ensembles. During her junior year, she was chosen as a conductor for K-State's University Band. During her senior year, she was chosen as an inductee of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. Ms Casey was completing her student teaching at Blue Valley North High School with Daniel Freeman and Cedar Hills Elementary School with Carey Bowden when she joined the WRHS team in the Spring of 2021.
In addition to teaching at USD 437, Ms. Casey regularly performs with the Crossroads Wind Symphony, International Clarinet Association, Washburn University Band, Manhattan Municipal Band, and various chamber ensembles. When she is not doing thousands of band activities, she spends time with her family in Olathe and her mini-cavapoo, Ruby.