Larry Dissmore, D.M.A - Evangel University

Job Responsibilities: Concert Orchestra, University Orchestra, Violin, Viola, String Techniques, Instrumental Conducting, Instrumental Materials. Graduate courses in Conducting.

Org Memberships: President, David Kraehenbuehl Society. Memberships in: National Association For Music Education, American String Teachers Association, International Conductors Guild, College Orchestra Directors Association, Music Teachers National Association, Christian Instrumentalists and Directors Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Eta Sigman, Kappa Delta Pi

Started Work: 1988

Favorite Thing About Work: The Students!

Originally From: Kenosha, WI

Personal Information: Dr. Dissmore’s wife, Gayle, is a teacher at Buffalo (MO) High School. Their two sons are proud graduates of Evangel University–Anthony (Class of 2010) and Gregory (class of 2013)

The varied career of Dr. Larry Dissmore has included work as a conductor, violinist, and teacher. At Evangel University, he has served as the Director of Orchestral Activities and as Professor of Violin and Viola since 1988. Under his baton, the Evangel Concert Orchestra (a 36-40 member ensemble) has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. In the spring of 2015, the Concert Orchestra recorded its 10th compact disc. In addition, Dissmore continues to lead the Evangel University Symphony Orchestra (an ensemble of 50-55 players)in 3-4 performances each semester. In 2012, the University Symphony’s performance of Kraehenbuehl’s Toccata Sinfonica was accepted for inclusion on the disc, “The Music of David Kraehenbuehl: An Anthology” which has been distributed internationally. The outstanding performance of the University Symphony has also been recognized through invited performances at the Missouri Music Educators Conference.

From 2002 to 2011, Dr. Dissmore served as the Music Director and Conductor of the Springfield Youth Symphony. Under his leadership, this ensemble made its Carnegie Hall debut in June, 2007, performed at the Midwest Clinic in December, 2005, and also toured to Washington, DC, Illinois, and within the state of Missouri. Additional conducting performances have included appearances with the Springfield Symphony and as a guest conductor/clinician with orchestras in southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas.

As a violinist, Dr. Dissmore performed with the Excelsis Trio for more than 20 years and currently serves as the Principal Second Violinist with the Springfield (MO) Symphony. In January 2014, he made his solo debut with the Springfield Symphony in a televised performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto in G Major. Dissmore’s past orchestral positions have included serving as Concertmaster of the Springfield Regional Opera Orchestra, as Concertmaster of the La Crosse (WI) Symphony, as First Violinist with the Wichita (KS) Symphony and Music Theatre Orchestras, and as First Violinist with the Rochester (MN) Symphony. He has made solo appearances with orchestras in Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In the commercial arena, Dr. Dissmore has performed with such varied entertainers as Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Price, Kenny Rogers, Leslie Uggams, Regis and Kathy Lee, John Tesch, Mel Torme, Daniel O’Donnell, Johnny Mathis, and many others.

While Dr. Dissmore enjoys performing, he also has a passion for teaching. Graduates from his studio are excelling in the classroom, in church ministries, and on the concert stage. This past January, Dissmore was recognized as the 2015 Collegiate Educator of the year by the Missouri chapter of the American String Teachers Association.

Dissmore’s scholarly work has centered on the orchestral music of the American composer, David Kraehenbuehl. Recently, he, along with other distinguished scholars from the United States and Great Britain, was invited by Yale University to present his recent paper, “The Triad as Symbol in the Mature Orchestral Works of David Kraehenbuehl” at a Kraehenbuehl Conference co-sponsored by the Yale Music Library and the David Kraehenbuehl Society. In addition to this presentation, Dr. Dissmore has also presented lecture concerts and other performances of Kraehenbuehl’s music in Missouri and Wisconsin. In the spring of 2013, he was elected President of the David Kraehenbuehl Society.

Dr. Dissmore holds a BME degree from the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire (1983), an MM in Violin Performance from Wichita State University (1985), and a DMA in Orchestral Conducting from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri—Kansas City where he was a student of Dr. Robert Olson.