Music

Robert L. Larsen

Robert LarsenDr. Larsen has been a piano student of Lorene Bigelow, Cecil Berryman, Sven Lekberg, Joseph Brinkman, Rudolph Ganz, Guy Mombaerts and Walter Bricht. He was a student of Boris Goldovsky in opera stage direction, Berkshire Music Festival at Tanglewood. Independent studies were done at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. His conducting teachers include Wolfgang Vacano and Tibor Kozma.

Dr. Larsen has been an opera and song coach/accompanist in Chicago, at Tanglewood and at the Oglebay Institute of West Virginia. He was awarded the first Governor's Award in Iowa for musical contributions to the state in 1974 and the Iowa Arts Award for outstanding contribution to the arts in 1998. He has been named to Who's Who in America among many other honorary listings. He was the recipient, in 1988, of the Distinguished Research Award from Simpson College.

He appears widely as a conductor, pianist, stage director and adjudicator. He is the founder and artistic director of the Des Moines Metro Opera for which he has given musical and dramatic direction to one hundred productions in thirty-two years. He is the editor of anthologies of opera arias for all voices which are published by G.Schirmer, including new ones for coloratura soprano in 2002 and a second volume for soprano in 2004, and is heard frequently as a pianist in recordings for the G. Schirmer library. Besides the numerous recitals he plays for faculty, visiting artists, and students at Simpson, Dr. Larsen has also included accompanying for the internationally known bass-baritone Simon Estes in Midwest appearances. In the last few years he has done adjudication and master classes at Louisiana State University, Temple University, Baylor University, the University of Memphis, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Texas at Austin and the Eastman School of Music.

Dr. Larsen served as Chairman of the Department of Music from 1965 to Spring, 1999. He is a teacher of piano, music history, conducting, and advanced seminars at the college and also directs the Madrigal Singers and the opera program. He has been a coach, teacher and mentor for generations of students who now perform and work in the arts internationally.
Last Updated: 10/1/08