Lawrence Dwyer
Associate Professor of the Practice, Jazz
Assistant Director of Bands | Director of Jazz Studies
Research Interests
- Jazz Bands
- Introduction to Jazz
- Jazz Improvisation
- Marching Band
- Concert Bands
Biography
Larry Dwyer is a graduate of Notre Dame, where he was Outstanding Bandsman (1966), trombone soloist all four years with the concert band, and twice named “Best Trombonist” at the Collegiate Jazz Festival. He earned his Masters's degree in music education and did doctoral studies at the University of Illinois.
Dwyer has been principal trombonist of the South Bend Symphony Pops Orchestra, a pianist with his own jazz trio, and has performed with such jazz greats as Thad Jones, Clark Terry, Sonny Stitt, and Sarah Vaughan. Among his jazz band compositions are a religious trilogy: "The Old Beelzebub Blues," "Lord Save the Sinner," and "The Abha Kingdom." His orchestral arrangements of the music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and others have been performed and recorded by the South Bend Symphony, Houston Pops, Utah Symphony, and Rochester Philharmonic. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, Mr. Dwyer taught band and jazz band in the South Bend public schools, and was director of jazz studies at Concordia University in Montreal
Performances
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C Jam Blues
Duke Ellington