Larry Christensen Curricula vita

Larry Christensen is Director of Music, Worship, and the Arts at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Des Moines, IA, where he conducts the Cathedral Choir, Cantorei, and Chamber and Festival Orchestras. He is the lead person for planning liturgies and works with the Worship Ministry Team supervising choir directors and musicians. In his work with the Arts Ministry he plans the “Midweek Music” Wednesday lunchtime concert series and the Performing Arts Series, coordinating with the Arts Visioning Team on all areas of Arts Ministry at St. John’s. 

Larry graduated “with distinction” with a Master of Music degree in Church Music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, and was selected for membership in Pi Kappa Lambda honorary music fraternity. His B.S. in Ed. Degree is from Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, NE, where he was Student Conductor of the touring A Cappella Choir for two years, and was chosen for Blue Key academic honor fraternity and Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. Following graduation he taught vocal music for six years in Omaha and Loup City, NE.

Larry was the Founding President of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and has served as Chairperson of the Music, Worship, and the Arts for the Southeastern Iowa Synod. He has been a workshop presenter or panel member for ALCM, AGO, ICDA, CTIM, Grand View University and Concordia University in River Forest, and has been an adjudicator for the Aria and Concerto Competition at Central College in Pella and the state level Thrivent’s Got Talent competition. Larry serves on the Boards of Directors for Arts in the City and the Des Moines Choral Society.

At the graduate level, Larry studied Choral Literature under Daniel Moe at the University of Iowa and conducting with John Kemp and Joseph Flummerfelt at W.C.C.  While singing in the Symphonic Choir at Westminster, Larry had numerous occasions to sing with major symphony orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Milwaukee Symphony. These performances plus special summer festival chorus experiences have given him the opportunity to sing under the batons of Wilhelm Ehmann, Robert Shaw, Zubin Mehta, John Aldis and Eric Leinsdorf.

Larry is married to Linda Christensen, a former Public School Early Childhood Educator and Kindermusik business owner. She is now a self-employed Interfaith Spiritual/Retreat Director. They have two children: Erik, a Lutheran pastor in Chicago, and Tara, an artist in Atlantic, Iowa.