Ted Randall performed with Pacific Crest in 1994, the corps’ first ever competitive season. He is an annual Director’s Circle Donor to the Tour Fund, and in this Alumni Spotlght he notes how the PC experience affected him and why he continues to give back.
Currently I’m working for a mutual fund company named Dimensional Fund Advisors. I’m a Vice President in the research department where I design software for portfolio management. I was born & raised here in Southern California. I did my undergradate studies in business at USC, and received my MBA from UCLA.
I got involved in Pacific Crest after dropping leaving VK just before tour in 1992 because I felt it was too difficult for me to manage college and a full-tour drum corps (and my girl friend at the time). I had met one of the PC instructors, Jim Yee, in a youth music group a few years prior and I saw him at a drum corps event. He told me about PC and, to be honest, it was mostly appealing because they were not going on a full tour and wouldn’t take up as much time.
High school and college marching band was fun, but drum corps, even as small as PC was at the time, was very different. Everyone was serious and focused. Kids didn’t march because they were trying to fulfill units like they did in school, they wanted to be great. It was serious, and everyone cared. I think that was the best part about it. It was great to be in a group where everyone was focused on doing the best they could.
I still approach life the same way. I find I work extremely hard, and I think that a lot of my focus and determination comes from spending countless hours drumming and trying to make a piece of music and a show absolutely perfect. You never achieve it, but that is what you are always trying for. After deciding not to go on a full tour with a corps because I thought it would take too much time, I have to say that our mini tours (I think we took two bus trips up to Northern California) were the most enjoyable parts. Now I can see that it is definitely worth the time, but I aged out the year I played with PC.
Why do I give back to PC? Performing music was what I enjoyed more than anything. If I can help ensure that there is a place for kids to continue performing, I will. I’ve lived in Southern California my whole life, and PC is the best drum corps in the region. So, I really want them to continue. I want to see them go on full tours. I want kids to have a place where they can work really hard on something and have a chance to perform and show off what they have worked so hard to perfect.
