Lawrence (Larry) Long has been playing the guitar since high school. He has taught privately and concurrently with the University of Tennessee most of his adult career. Mr. Long studied classic guitar with the late C. I. Maracle of Toronto, and earned a B. S. degree in Music Education from the University of Tennessee. He played string bass with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for nine years until his private guitar teaching schedule required his full attention. He served a stint with the U.S. Army Band in France where he played guitar, tuba, and trombone.
As testament to his skill as a teacher, many of Mr. Long's students have earned university guitar scholarships, and have gone on to become successful professional teachers and performers. In addition to his busy schedule as a teacher, Guitar Society president, and composer, Mr. Long still finds time to perform. He has enjoyed success throughout the eastern United States, both as a soloist and with noted tenor Ambrose Holford from the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina to the Holland, Michigan Tulip Festival.
Over the years his accolades have been many. Of all the citations and awards of appreciation Mr. Long has received from grateful student groups and others, the one of which he is most proud is the prestigious Who's Who Among America's Teachers award.
Lawrence Long currently teaches at Pick 'n' Grin in Knoxville, TN.
He has been composing for several years and has released a collection of pieces for guitar entitled Conversation Pieces which can be ordered through Mel Bay. (Searching the Google search engine also gives several results.)
This page was last modified Tuesday, 26-Jun-2007 11:17:25 EDT.
Mr. Long is a founding member of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Guitar Society and served as its President/Program Director from its inception in 1971 to 2002. It continues to flourish today, and is one of the oldest societies of its kind in the country. A list of renown guest guitarists who have performed for KORGS will soon be listed here.
I -- Daniel Bridges, current webmaster of this site -- had the privilege of taking lessons with him in preparation for my freshman year at Middle Tennessee State University (I was entering the McLean School of Music), and he is a wonderful teacher. Very motivating, very engaging, and very productive, accommodating and generous! I personally feel that I was better equipped than many other freshman guitarists, as a direct result of Larry's tutelage. I'm not the only one who feels this way; he has received letters of gratitude over the years, and some will be duplicated here.
