Larry R. Blocher

Dr. Larry Blocher is Professor of Music and Director of the School of Music at Troy University in Troy, Alabama. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Blocher serves as an associate conductor with the university bands and teaches undergraduate and graduate music education courses. Before coming to Troy University, Dr. Blocher served as Associate Director of Bands and Director of Music Education at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas for 10 years. He received his BME and MM (music education and performance) degrees from Morehead State University in Kentucky and his Ph.D. in Music Education from The Florida State University.

Dr. Blocher serves as Chairman of the Journal of Band Research and is currently a member of the editorial board. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Band Association, and has served on the editorial board of the Music Educators Journal and the Advisory Board to the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. He is a past president of the Kansas Bandmasters Association. In 2005, Dr. Blocher received both the Outstanding Bandmaster and the Outstanding Contributor to Music awards from the Kansas Bandmasters Association. He is a past recipient of the Mortar Board Outstanding Educator Award (2004 – Wichita State) and the University Leadership in the Advancement of Teaching Award (2002 – Wichita State). Most recently, he was the recipient of the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Commissioning Grant (2009), was named a Lowell Mason Fellow by The National Association for Music Education (2009), served as an invited clinician for the Instrumental Academy during music education week (NAfME) in Washington D. C. (2010), and presented a clinic session at the 2011 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.

Dr. Blocher has been a guest clinician/conductor/adjudicator in 30 states and 9 countries. His original music for concert band is published by Wingert-Jones. He is a co-principal author of the Teaching Music through Performance in Band series (GIA).