Langley High School has a band program, which is an elective and performs concerts, with around 200 students who are organized in three bands for players in all different levels. Two-thirds of the students in the band program also participate in Langley marching band, which is a varsity fall sport.
“I like marching band more [than band class],” Junior and drum major Jayden Lee said. “In a concert band, you don’t really get to interact with people around you because you are playing all the time. During marching band rehearsals, you get a lot more time to talk to people who you otherwise wouldn’t, so I enjoy that aspect more than concert band.”
Lee is one of two drum majors in the marching band. His position requires him to conduct the band and make sure that the players are keeping tempo and rhythm. In the concert band, Lee also plays the flute and has been playing since sixth grade.
“Being a drum major is a lot of fun,” Lee said. “One of my best decisions in high school so far was auditioning for the position.”
For those on the field, marching band requires students to memorize their music and play it on beat and in tune, all while walking around and performing physical gestures and rhythmic movements. Since marching band is a fall sport, they started their season in August and ended their season in November.
“We had several marching band competitions and we ended our season with the state marching assessment, where we got a superior rating from all of the judges, which is the highest rating you can receive,” Langley Band Director, Doug Martin said.
As the marching band season came to an end, the three concert bands also showcased the pieces they had been working on in the first quarter in their annual fall concert. Recently, the highest band, the wind symphony, has also been preparing for their upcoming performance at the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) Conference. This will take place on Friday, November 17.
“We are one of only two high school bands that were invited to perform,” Martin said. “We performed there back in 2017, and I had students for years afterwards telling me that that was their favorite experience of their four years in the school band, so I am really excited for this batch of students to have a similar experience.”
However, the band’s experience at VMEA this year will be slightly different from the one in 2017, as Langley’s second highest band, the wind ensemble, will be a lab band for the conference this year. Additionally, Langley also has a flute quartet performing at the conference.
“The band director for Shenandoah University asked us if our second band could be his guinea pigs…and I’ve never in my 25 years in the profession seen a lab band at VMEA that was not the most advanced band of the school,” Martin said. “At 2 o’clock our wind symphony is playing, at 3 o’clock our wind ensemble is rehearsing, and at 4 o’clock the flute quartet is playing. It is like we are taking over.”
Aside from the concert bands practicing for the VMEA performance, they are also preparing for the winter concert, which will be right before winter break, as well as their performance at the winter assembly with the orchestra and choir. However, Martin and his students are all focused on performance at the VMEA conference.
“I look forward to the VMEA concert. Mr. Martin has really hyped it up, and he says it is always a very memorable experience for everyone,” Lee said.