DOUG MARTIN
Director of Bands
Doug Martin has served as the Director of Bands at Langley High School in McLean, Virginia since 2012. In this position, he teaches the three concert bands and the marching band, and oversees the percussion ensemble, jazz bands, chamber winds and winter guard. During his time at Langley, enrollment in band classes has more than doubled, and the program has expanded rapidly. In recent years, the Langley Wind Symphony has performed at Carnegie Hall, the National Concert Band Festival and twice at the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) annual conference. The Wind Symphony has also earned ratings of "Superior" from every judge at every band performance assessment throughout Mr. Martin's tenure. The Langley Bands were first named a Virginia Honor Band by the Virginia Band & Orchestra Directors Association in 2019, and have earned it every year since. In 2023, the Langley Bands were named a national “Program of Excellence” by the National Band Association, one of only thirty high school band programs in the country to ever earn that distinction.
Prior to his appointment at Langley, Mr. Martin held similar positions at Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria and J.E.B Stuart High School (now Justice High School) in Falls Church. During his nine years at Justice, the bands were named a “Virginia Honor Band” seven times, and enrollment in band classes nearly doubled. Under Mr. Martin’s leadership, the Justice Bands commissioned and gave the world premiere of “Aurora Awakes” by John Mackey, and were part of a consortium which commissioned the popular composer Eric Whitacre.
Mr. Martin served as treasurer of VMEA from 2016-2021. He has served in other leadership capacities for VMEA, including as the logistical coordinator for their annual conference. He has been an adjudicator and a clinician for concert, jazz, and marching band events across Virginia. He is a National Board Certified Teacher, and was named Fairfax County Band Director of the Year in 2017.
Mr. Martin received his bachelor’s in music education from Florida State University and his master’s in music education with a focus in instrumental conducting from George Mason University, where he graduated with the Distinguished Graduate Student Award.
KAI SMITH
Assistant Director of Bands
Kai Smith was pleased to join Langley High School in January 2023 as its Assistant Director of Bands. At Langley, Mr. Smith choreographs and directs the Marching Saxons marching band program as well as directs the concert ensembles with Mr. Martin.
A Fairfax native, Mr. Smith graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in 2015, and from James Madison University in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in Music Education. At JMU, Mr. Smith studied tuba under Kevin Stees, was principal tubist in the Wind Symphony and in the Brass Band, and also played in the Symphonic Orchestra, The Marching Royal Dukes and several brass quintets and chamber groups.
Active in Drum Corps International, Mr. Smith was a member of the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps and worked on the staff of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps.
After graduating from JMU, Mr. Smith was cast in the Japan tour of “Blast! The Music of Disney.” Upon his return, Mr. Smith accepted a position in Winchester, VA where he taught middle school band and music for the last three years, as well as worked with high school bands in the Winchester and Loudoun County areas.
The Langley High School band program welcomes Mr. Smith!
DOUG WALLACE
Percussion Specialist
Doug Wallace is a performer, composer and educator with experience in percussion performance and pedagogy. A graduate of The Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School, Mr. Wallace has performed with ensembles including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Theater Chamber Players, the Battery Four Percussion Group, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Post Classical Ensemble, Washington Symphonic Brass and the Amadeus Orchestra.
Mr. Wallace has participated in many honors ensembles and festival orchestras including the Tanglewood Music Center, the National Repertory Orchestra, the National Orchestral Institute, Music Academy of the West and the International Symphony Orchestra. He has performed under the baton of Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev, Pierre Boulez, James Levine, John Williams, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin and Placido Domingo.
In demand as a music educator and clinician, Mr. Wallace is Director of Percussion of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras and percussion director, clinician and percussion sectionals instructor at several Fairfax County Public Schools. Mr. Wallace was the first full-time Professor of Percussion at Christopher Newport University. Mr. Wallace's private students have been accepted to The Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, the New England Conservatory, Boston University, the Peabody Conservatory, the Eastman School of Music, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the University of Miami and DePaul University.
Mr. Wallace's teaching techniques are highlighted in his methods book, Percussion with Class, published by FJH Music, and his compositions and arrangements have been performed at The Juilliard School, the Eastman School of Music, New York University, George Mason University, Christopher Newport University, the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen Music Festival, Temple University, the Noncert Chamber Series, the Music for All National Percussion Festival, the Virginia Music Educators Conference and Nationals Park. Langley is pleased to have Mr. Wallace assist our percussionists!
