The Lionel Hampton School of Music has had many directors since it was established, but the newest director — Torrey Lawrence — has been a part of the school of music for over a decade.
“I am a tuba player. I started music in elementary school, junior high and high school,” Lawrence said. “Then I went to college and was a music major and studied music, I just kept going.”
Lawrence studied at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where he received a bachelor’s degree in Tuba Performance and a master’s in Music Theory.
Lawrence joined the University of Idaho in 1998, where he currently teaches various music classes.. Marching band member and University of Idaho sophomore Alyssa Pietz said she appreciates how approachable
Lawrence is.
“He will make a great director for the school of music because he is not only extremely respected by music students at the school of music, but he’s also a great guy.” Pietz said. “He is easily approachable and extremely charismatic. If I have any music related questions, I could just go right up and ask him anything.”
Lawrence spent the last 14 years as the director of the UI marching band, and for the 2012-2013 academic year he was the associate director of the school of music.
“The associate director in the school of music is largely responsible for curricular matters and working with the students,” Lawrence said. “It was wonderful having done that experience and learning about the intricacies of that. I feel more prepared having been associate director. It gives me a better perspective.”
Lawrence said he is excited for the opportunity to be the director of the school.
“It’s an exciting opportunity, we have a great program, we have great people here, great faculty, great staff, great students,” Lawrence said. “There are going to be challenges but they are exciting challenges. My job is to help people do what they do to the best of their ability.”
As the director of the school, Lawrence has taken on a lot more administrative responsibilities, which he said is a big change from his previous positions.
“What is new in this role … there are a lot more administrative responsibilities, I deal with hiring people, and evaluations and assessment. Administrative matters I’ve been involved with, but not fully responsible for in the past,” Lawrence said.
Even though his main responsibilities have changed, the director position still provides ample opportunity to interact with the community, something Lawrence said is his favorite Pa part of the job.
“We are very involved with the community, we give 150 concerts every year,” Lawrence said. “That provides a great opportunity to reach out in the community, and have them on campus and have them see and hear what we do. We also have parts of the school that reach out in other ways, we have a preparatory division that offers music instruction to elementary, junior high, and high school students. We are very involved in the community, that’s one of the most rewarding and exciting parts of this new position. It gives me a chance to be more hands on with these events and maybe add some new things.”