About Larry

Larry Dean has over 25 years of professional performing and teaching experience that has expanded from orchestral music to genres such as jazz, rock, and Latin music.

Currently, he is Third Trumpet of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra. Larry teaches trumpet and jazz at Bethany College and served 21 years in the United States Army as a musician, performing across the United States and multiple countries in Europe and Asia.

Most recently, he performed with the State Theater Ballet of Ukraine, The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Salina Symphony, The Marcus Lewis Big Band, The 704 Orquestra, and was lead trumpet for the Columbia, South Carolina production of Wicked (North American Broadway Tour).

Larry is often called for theater shows. In addition to Wicked, he has performed on Dreamgirls, The Wizard of Oz, and Bye, Bye, Birdie.

As an orchestral trumpeter, Larry has also performed with The South Carolina Philharmonic, the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, The Virginia Symphony, The Austin Symphony Orchestra, The Austin Lyric Opera, and the Aiken Symphony Orchestra. He has been a soloist with multiple United States Army Bands, community bands, and school bands in Japan, Norway, and the United States.

As an educator, Larry teaches privately and has served as a Wind and Marching Band clinician in Texas, Virginia, and in Vicenza, Italy.

Larry’s primary teachers include Jack Laumer and Dr. Keith Winking from Texas State University, and Armando Ghitala, former principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He was a finalist in the 1997 International Trumpet Guild Mock Orchestra Audition Competition, taking third prize overall.