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Prof. Larry Dissmore honored as “Collegiate Educator of the Year”

Published on Apr 13, 2015 by Paul K. Logsdon

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Dr. Larry Dissmore has been named the 2015 “Collegiate Educator of the Year,” by the Missouri Division of the American String Teachers Association.

Each year, Mo-ASTA honors outstanding teachers at the elementary, secondary and collegiate levels.

Dissmore has served as professor of strings and director of orchestral activities at Evangel University since 1988. His graduates hold teaching and other music positions in Missouri and around the nation.

While teaching at Evangel, Dissmore also had opportunities to teach and influence hundreds of pre-college young people in Southwest Missouri through various lessons, but mainly during the nine years that he served as music director of the Springfield Youth Symphony, from 2002 to 2011. Under his leadership, this ensemble made its Carnegie Hall debut in June 2007.

As a violinist, Dissmore performed with the Excelsis Trio for more than 20 years, and he currently serves as the principal second violinist with the Springfield 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.

In the commercial arena, 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.

A Passion for Teaching

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this recognition from the top professional organization in my teaching area,” said Dissmore.

“I have a passion for music making, a passion for teaching, and a passion for serving students,” he said. “For the past 26-plus years, I have been blessed to be able to fulfill my calling to teach within Evangel University’s fully Christian and supportive environment.”

The American String Teachers Association provides resources and support for string teaching in the United States, including publications, workshops, networking opportunities and sponsorship of an annual string performance competition.

The Missouri chapter of ASTA is the major organizing force behind the annual Missouri All-State High School Orchestra and, every four years, the Missouri All-Collegiate Orchestra.

The award was presented during the 2015 Missouri Music Educators Association Convention. Awardees are nominated by the membership and approved by the Mo-ASTA board.

A native of Kenosha, Wisc., Dissmore holds a B.M.E. from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (1983); an M.M. in Violin Performance from Wichita State University (1985); and a D.M.A. in Orchestral Conducting from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, where he was a student of Dr. Robert Olson.

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PHOTO (left) BY: Kacey Grissom

PHOTO (right) BY: Mo-ASTA