07/01/10

Dr. Robert L. Larsen with James Collier

Founder, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Des Moines Metro Opera since its inception in 1973, Dr. Larsen is a man of many talents. In his role as Artistic Director, he is in charge of musical and stage direction for all productions of the Opera Festival, and has done so for the past thirty-seven years and 120 productions.  He has coached singers at Tanglewood and Oglebay Park, West Virginia; Chicago, and New York, and has assisted in the training of many singers with important operatic careers.

Most recently, Dr. Larsen was Professor of Music at Simpson College, where he has served as chairman of the music department for thirty-four years. He taught piano, Medieval and Renaissance Music, 19th and 20th Century Music, Advanced Conducting, Romanticism in the Arts, in addition to directing the Madrigal Singers and occupying the G.D and Maine M. Larsen Chair in Opera.

He has received the Orpheus Award from Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia for "significant and lasting contributions to the cause of music in America", Simpson College's Award for Distinguished Research for a second time, and Lambda Chi Alpha's Order of Achievement.

Dr. Larsen holds an undergraduate degree from Simpson College; a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Michigan, and a doctorate in opera and conducting from Indiana University. He has appeared as a conductor with the Mississippi Opera, the Da Capo Opera Theater in New York, as a stage director with the Carmel Bach Festival, Carmel, California, and as musical and stage director with the University of Arizona Opera Theater.