Dr. Charles Laux is the Director of Orchestras at Lassiter High School in Cobb County, Georgia, just north of Atlanta. He also serves as an Essential Elements clinician, consultant, and contributor for the Hal Leonard Corporation and as an endorsed artist-educator and clinician for D’Addario Orchestral Strings and Eastman Strings. Dr. Laux holds degrees in music education from Ohio University, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, with a minor in educational technology.
Previously he served as Director of Orchestras at Alpharetta High School from 2016-2022 where his duties include directing five levels of orchestra, including the nationally recognized AHS Symphony Orchestra. In 2018, the AHS Symphony Strings were invited to perform at the Midwest Clinic. While in Fulton County he also served as a member of the Fulton County Schools Vanguard (technology) team and as AHS webmaster.
From 2012 to 2016, Dr. Laux served as Assistant Professor of String Music Education at Kennesaw State University near Atlanta, Georgia. At KSU, his responsibilities included teaching courses in string techniques and pedagogy, instrumental methods, and music education technology. He also supervised student teachers, conducted the KSU Philharmonic, coordinated string outreach, and served as director of the KSU String Project and Summer Music Intensive. Under his leadership, the KSU String Project grew to provide group lessons to over 100 students taught by 14 undergraduate music education majors.
Dr. Laux spent fifteen years as a public school orchestra director in Nevada, Florida, and Ohio. In 1996, he began directing orchestras in the Clark County School District. During his term in the CCSD, Dr. Laux was chair of the CCSD Middle School Honor Orchestra and served as a technology consultant for the secondary music teachers.
In 2003 Dr. Laux relocated to Orlando, Florida to begin teaching in the Orange County Public Schools. There he served as the orchestra director and guitar instructor at Cypress Creek High School. After two years at Cypress Creek, Dr. Laux was appointed as the orchestra director at Winter Park High School. In 2006, the Winter Park Philharmonic was selected to perform at the prestigious Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.
For the 2007-2008 school year, Dr. Laux served as a graduate teaching associate in strings and full-time Ph.D. student in residence at The Ohio State University under the supervision of a world-renowned string pedagogue and researcher, Dr. Robert Gillespie. His teaching duties included teaching string methods and string technique labs for music education majors, supervising student teachers, and serving as assistant conductor for the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra Chamber Strings.
Dr. Laux served as director of orchestras, grades 7-12, in the New Albany-Plain Local Schools in New Albany, Ohio during the 2008-2009 school year. From 2009-2012, Dr. Laux served as orchestra director and string specialist in the Hilliard City Schools, Hilliard, Ohio.
In addition to public school teaching, Dr. Laux spent twelve years teaching as an adjunct faculty member at the collegiate level. He taught for the College of Southern Nevada and Valencia College (Orlando, FL) teaching online music appreciation courses and applied string lessons. He has also served as an adjunct faculty member at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he taught string instrument methods.
Dr. Laux’s leadership roles include serving as president of the Nevada and Florida chapters of the American String Teacher’s Association (ASTA) and as the southern division representative on the NAfME Council for Orchestral Education. He is also a member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Georgia Music Educators Association, and and alumni member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity. He currently is serving a term on the national board of ASTA as member at large (2023-2025).
A dynamic presenter, Dr. Laux completed over 150 educational sessions at conferences in 24 states, including national conferences such as the Midwest Clinic (2007, 2012, 2019, 2022, 2023), the American String Teachers Association, and the Technology Institute for Music Education (TI:ME). He regularly presents professional development in-services for school districts across the country and has presented internationally at Colegio Menor San Francisco near Quito, Ecuador. He has conducted regional orchestras in Florida, Georgia, Ohio, New Mexico, and South Carolina. His state-level appearances include the 2012 New Mexico All-State Concert Orchestra, the 2013 Georgia MEA Statewide Honor Orchestra, the 2016 South Carolina Middle School All-State Orchestra, and the 2018 West Virginia Middle School All-State Orchestra. Dr. Laux will conduct the Alaska All-State Orchestra in November, 2023 and present a session at the 77th Midwest Clinic in Chicago in December, 2023.
Dr. Laux has performed with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the Nevada Chamber Symphony, and several other orchestral ensembles. From 2008-2012 Dr. Laux was the business manager and violinist in The Columbus String Quartet. In 2016, he performed as a soloist, collaborating with several members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Laux remains in frequent demand across the nation as a presenter, orchestra clinician, conductor, and adjudicator. He enjoys giving back to the string and orchestra community through his “Orchestra Teacher” website, podcast, and YouTube channel. In his spare time, he enjoys running, cycling, camping, cooking, watching sports, boating, and wakeboarding. Most of all, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Stacy, and sons, Charlie (14), and Anderson (12).