Andrew Larson
386-822-8971
Dr. Andrew Larson (B.M. - Utah State University, M.M. - Brigham Young University, D.M.A. - University of Illinois) is Associate Professor of Choral Studies and serves as Associate Director of Choral Activities. Beginning in Fall of 2013 he will conduct the Stetson Women's Chorale and the Choral Union while continuing to teach choral methods and a First Year Seminar called Mozart, Movies, and Musicology. Larson has studied with conductors, composers, and scholars such as Will Kesling, Ronald Staheli, Mack Wilberg, Fred Stoltzfus, and Chester Alwes. He has written for the Choral Journal, and is in frequent demand as a clinician, lecturer, and adjudicator. The Stetson Women's Chorale has been invited to perform at the ACDA Southern Division Conference in March 2014. There they will premier his most recent composition, "What If I a-Walking Went." His choirs have appeared at FMEA, twice at the Florida ACDA conference, and at ACDA Southern Division Conference in Memphis. The Stetson Women's Chorale also recently releaced a CD titled "Life's Loveliness" (Click Here to Read More) and the Concert Choir under his direction released a CD "A Candlelight Tradition," both on the Clear Note label. (see also iTunes, Naxos, etc.) Both recordings projects contain compositions by Larson. He has conducted county, regional, and all-state festivals in 8 states, and regularly adjudicates choirs from all over the country. He served two seasons as an artist faculty member at the New York State Summer School of the Arts. He is currently President Elect of Florida ACDA.
His compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations have been performed by numerous high school and collegiate ensembles from many states. His works have been featured in choral reading sessions around the U.S. His published works appear with Santa Barbara Music under the Jo-Michael Scheibe series, with Hinshaw Music, and under the Lorenz label. He is currently working on an orchestration commission for "Salvator natus est," recently published by Hinshaw Music.
In Utah, he conducted the Madrigal Singers at Logan High School, the BYU Women's chorus, and the Wasatch Chorale. As a pianist he has accompanied soloists and choruses at USU and Stetson. He has been a church organist since the age of 12. Larson catalogued over 5000 choral works as the University of Illinois choral librarian. His dissertation pioneered research on the choral music of Eric Whitacre and was nominated for the Julius Hereford national prize for dissertations in musicology. It has been referenced in numerous other student papers on the composer in the past 7 years.
A native of Richmond, Utah, Larson sang with his parents and six siblings across the U.S. in numerous performances. After living two years in Eastern Europe and serving as a professional interpreter/translator, he sang as tenor soloist and chorus member with the USU Chamber Singers under the Howard Choral Scholarship, and with the BYU Singers in numerous recording sessions and television broadcasts, including premier recordings of Eric Whitacre's choral music, in addition to numerous concerts across the United States, the UK, Israel, and Jordan. He has sung in many solo and chamber recitals at Stetson, and he sang two seasons with the professional early music ensemble Musica Reservata. He was a soloist with the University of Illinois Chorale, and he has sung the roles of Neville Craven in "The Secret Garden", Ivan Stepanovich in the Russian Opera "The Music Shop", and various other musical theater roles. He most recently studied voice with Barrington Coleman and Arden Hopkin. His formative vocal instruction was carried out by Cynthia Dewey and Marta Johns Rigby. He has been a guest chorister four times with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
He has taught voice at Parkland College in Illinois and for the USU extension program. His voice studio at Stetson produced singers who performed leading operatic roles in the Stetson Opera Theater, won competitions, and who have been accepted in graduate school for vocal performance.
Professional memberships include the Pi Kappa Lambda honor society, ACDA, NCCO, and FMEA/FVA, CMS, and NATS. Dr. Larson is active in his church and community, residing in DeLand with his wife and four children.
