Jim Casella is a composer from Portland, Oregon. Internationally recognized as one of today's most prolific arrangers for marching percussion, Casella has served as a composer/arranger for the Santa Clara Vanguard (1996-2004), and The Cavaliers, 7-time world champion drum and bugle corps from Rosemont, Illinois (2006-09). 

Casella attended San Jose State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied with Anthony J. Cirone and Jack Van Geem. In Portland, he works as a composer/arranger for performance groups, as well as film and media projects. He also co-founded and operates Tapspace, a publishing company specializing in creative percussion music. 

His latest broadcast composition projects have included nationwide spots for Cadillac, ABC College Football, Regal Cinemas, and Goodwill Industries. His score to the award-winning short film "There's Something Out There" received great reviews, and his new score to Brian Pulido's feature film "The Graves" starring Tony Todd (Candyman) and Bill Moseley (The Devil's Rejects) had a nationwide theatrical release in 2010 as a part of After Dark Films Horrorfest 4 "8 Films to Die For." 

Jim Casella is a signature artist with Innovative Percussion Inc. who manufacture his popular series of drumsticks and keyboard mallets. In addition, Casella is an official endorser/clinician for Pearl Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, and Sibelius Software. He is the co-founder of Tapspace Publications and the producer and programmer of the innovative sample library, Virtual Drumline.

Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Vic rose to public awareness as a member of the eclectic hip-hop band Kids These Days and founder of the Chicago collective SAVEMONEY alongside Chance The Rapper and other local upstarts Joey Purp and Peter CottonTale. His solo debut mixtape INNANETAPE dropped in 2013, igniting immediate accolades (including a spot on the XXL Freshman cover in 2014), and a fortuitous introduction to Jay Z that led to a record deal with Roc Nation. Mensa went on to help Kanye West pen his esoteric song “Wolves” from The Life of Pablo, drop three critically acclaimed EPs (2016’s There’s A Lot Going On, 2018’s Hooligans, and 2020’s V TAPE) and his debut full length The Autobiography (2017), as well as furthering social causes in his hometown through his nonprofit SAVEMONEYSAVELIFE. In both music and his social activism, Vic challenges the American system responsible for a history of overcriminalization, racial injustice, and issues that affect the lives of people in underserved communities, while showcasing profound levels of consciousness and self-reflection.

I began composing almost as soon as I learned to read music, and in college I flirted with the idea of becoming a composition major, but ultimately remained in education. I'm currently the Guitar/Piano/Percussion teacher at Hurricane High School in West Virginia. I specialize in writing technical exercises for percussion and guitar. I play in several Christian bands and at my church (reGenerationWV) I'm on the worship team, the band leader team, and I teach classes through its educational outreach program, The Living Room Collective. I've composed for marching and concert percussion ensembles, popular music ensembles, and have recently started composing for short-form videos. I have a plethora of unfinished/unreleased works for band, percussion, and orchestra as well.

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