LAWRENCE DALE HARPER is Director of the Wind and Percussion Institute at Carroll University and conductor of the Carroll University Wind Symphony, a position he has held for the past 19 years. From 1986-97, he was the Music Director and Conductor of the Waukesha Area Symphonic Band and has been the conductor of the Wisconsin Wind Orchestra since its founding in 1995. He has brought these ensembles to local and regional prominence through innovative programming, CD releases, commissioning and premiering new works, performing at major concert halls and conferences throughout the state, and hosting internationally recognized composers and conductors.
Harper holds the doctor of musical arts degree in wind conducting from Michigan State University in East Lansing and has done post-graduate study in conducting at the University of Northern Colorado. He also earned a Master of Science degree in music education from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from California State University, Northridge. His conducting teachers include Harry Begian, Eugene Corporon, Ronald Johnson, and David Whitwell, and he has taken additional study with Frederick Fennell, Elizabeth Green, Allan McMurray, Larry Rachleff, and H. Robert Reynolds.
Dr. Harper is an active member of the College Band Directors National Association and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. His national reputation has led to appearances as guest conductor and panelist at CBDNA regional and national conventions and he served for five years as the Wisconsin State Chairperson of the association. In 2002, Harper was an invited speaker and guest conductor at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Eastman Wind Ensemble where he presented research on the West Point Military Academy Band Commissions of 1952 and guest conducted the West Point Military Band. Harper has served as a clinician and guest conductor throughout the United States, as well as in Central America, Europe, and Israel. He has appeared as conductor and speaker at several national and international conferences, including the World Association of Symphonic Bands Conference in Jonkoping, Sweden. Most recently he acted as guest conductor for one of Europe's most accomplished professional wind ensembles, the Holland Wind Players, as well as the Youth Wind Band of the National Institute of Music in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The Conductor
