With the arrival of the new marching band director, Ms. Megan King, in place of former director Mr. Andrew Gekoskie, the band’s choice of musical genre has shifted from classical to hip-hop.

At the end of the last school year, when Mr. Gekoskie left on a medical leave and new band director, Mr. Jim Kirchenbauer was not expected until Fall, Langley was left in need of a separate director for the summer practices.

Ms. King studied music education at the University of Georgia and is currently an assistant director for the Arlington Community Band, as a well as the choir director for Cooper Middle School.

“I was already scheduled to work with the marching band on staff and was asked to serve as the director,” said Ms. King. “I was in the right place at the right time.”

Ms. King’s plans include playing more contemporary music that the audience can easily identify, instead of the elegant, classical, but somewhat sleep-provoking pieces of the past. These modern additions consist of “Let’s Get it Started,” “I’ve Got a Feeling,” “Glamorous,” and “Pump it,” by American hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas.

“Once you get to a certain level of musicianship, though, any type of music can be made very appealing to an audience,” said Ms. King, “Both the band members and the audience can enjoy and relate to popular music.”

Band members seem to enjoy the new twist to the repertoire. “It’s better to have familiar music because we know what we’re playing,” said junior Mira Yoon.

Additionally, instead of only the drum line of the band participating in pep rallies by playing throughout the halls, Ms. King is interested in making a separate ‘pep band’ out of the original marching band. A pep band would be a smaller and more compact version of the original.

Overall, band members and their parents are satisfied with the newcomer. “The new marching band director is focused on learning, teaching and music study,” said Ms. Lori Shafran, mother of band member Kendall Shafran.

“She communicates with the students very well,” said junior Inah Jung, another member of the marching band. “She sends everyone emails, and she’s really good at encouraging students to cheer up.”

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Photos by Na He Jeon